Open Flame (Dragon's Fate) Read Online Free Page A

her. His heart beat in his ears and sweat touched his brow. That damn bird. He would find her. He couldn’t resist her draw.
    Fire raced through him once more. The ticks slowed and stopped, everything in the room stilling with the sound.
    He circled and walked to the right. Stall after stall, human beings stood motionless in time. The man to his left held his hand up with a pocket watch in his palm. The woman next to him slipped another watch from the table into her skirt pocket. The next stall was filled with otherworldly who went about their business as if nothing had happened.
    Her pretty brown hair and indigo dress were missing.
    He returned to the table where they’d met, then set out to the left.
    Still nothing. Madoc set his jaw. Panicked.
    To hell and back. His heart pounded faster than he could recall. Otherworldly beings started toward him.
    The raven hopped closer to him and the spot where the girl had stood. He stared at the raven. The bird cocked its head to the side and cawed.
    The energy in the room warped, and pain ripped through his ears. He cringed and bared his teeth.
    “Madoc, what is going on?” A familiar tenor voice came from over his shoulder.
    “Do you need our assistance?” asked another from somewhere beyond the bird.
    That damn bird. Gray feathers, green eyes and black bill.
    He lunged at the fowl and grasped, catching nothing but air. The bird flew off, and Madoc landed with a thud on the rough-carpeted floor. The air pushed from his lungs. His world twirled out of control—as did the hold he had on time.
    “Are you well, Madoc?” Slender icy-white fingers extended in front of him. He grasped the offered hand and pulled himself to his feet.
    Franco stood before him, dressed in his typical pale gray suit. “What is all this time flutter about?”
    He released Franco’s hand. “I am uncertain.” Madoc glanced around the room. Where was that damn bird?
    The odd gray raven had to be the reason his elements and emotions twisted into a bumblebroth. He needed logic where none existed. The image of the girl’s creamy skin, brown curls and full lips filled his mind. His throat tightened. No. He closed his eyes and opened them. He needed to find her.
     
    Sweat ran down Fina’s neck and between her breasts. The air in the hall thickened until she choked.
    Fresh air. She needed fresh air. She ran out the door of the hall and into the sunlight. She blinked, unable to see. Wheeling to the right, she headed toward the gardens.
    That evil man. First he gave her pa a stroke, and now… Now he played with her mind. A witch. The evilest kind of witch. She gritted her teeth. She had hoped to run into him again one day, to tell him what a cad he was. To call him out herself and kill him. She would not fear him. Inhaling the crisp air into her burning lungs, she shivered. Strength. Her pa deserved better than her running away.
    Yet she had not expected him to be here in Paris. She would catch her breath and then find Jonathan. He would help her focus. They would save her pa’s shop and find new inspirations to take back home.
    That dreadful man. She covered her mouth with her hand and fought back tears.
    The red mark on his cheek and the long, shiny hair. She shivered. Once again, she wanted to touch him. His lingering touch on her hand in the hall… Her nightmares crashed back into her mind. Long, muscular legs entwined with hers. Their bodies joined at their cores, sweaty. Passion. Salt, spice and something sweet and unknown from his skin danced on her dream’s tongue. Each time the dreams came, the details lingered longer and longer.
    Heat pulsed through her body, and she stumbled, catching herself on the stone wall beside her.
    “Pfft.” She blew out a breath and mentally shook those thoughts from her mind.
    That same man had almost killed her pa and stolen his year’s work. That needed to be her only consideration. She rounded the corner and headed down the arched entry to the alley that led