Burning Blood

Lucien nodded, his blazing fingers curling around the man’s wrist. Gritting his teeth, he plucked his hold off him. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s dangerous to play in the road?”

The old man gasped, shaking so badly he almost fell back down. “I...I need to talk to you.” Shooting a panicked glance around the busy village, he winced at the happy children, almost sobbed at the young adults making lanterns for their lost ones, then grabbed Lucien as if his heart had given out. “I’ve been waiting twenty years. I knew an Ashfall would return. I knew it would be you. You have to listen to me. Have to trust me. Please.”

Another waft of heat came off Lucien as he disengaged again and stepped away. “What’s wrong? Why are you in such a state?”

The old man’s eyes filled with frantic desperation. “Please.” Backing toward the small pathway where he’d come from, he put his dirty hands together in prayer. “Please come. You must come. Please? But not here.” His gaze darted to the convoy—to Uncle Wen and Dillon who stood beside the vehicles with questions on their faces. “Not in front of them. Just you. Only you.”

Lucien didn’t answer, but I felt his control fraying.

Fire coiled beneath his skin like a dragon straining at its cage. The air around him shimmered, distorting the sunlight, just as hairline cracks splintered the road as if the earth itself couldn’t bear his power.

The old man stiffened, staring at the heat bending light around Lucien’s shoulders.

We both tensed to see how he’d react but...there was no surprise in him. No fear. He merely sagged with weary confirmation as if his long wait was finally over. “Please...” He held up his hands again. “Please come with me. Let me speak.” Staggering toward Lucien, he tried to grab him again, only for Lucien to jerk back.

A pulse shot through my heart—the bond delivering echoes of Lucien’s dislike at being touched by strangers.

Without looking in my direction, Lucien extended his hand to me. The tips of his fingers glowed, barely there but growing worse each moment I didn’t touch him.

I went to him.

The moment my ice-laced hand slid into his, he shuddered.

The frost inside me arrowed into him like a dart, delivering an antidote to the flames poisoning him.

Inhaling sharply, his fingers crushed mine. “Just tell me here—”

“No, no, no.” The old man shook his head. “Not here. It can’t be here.” He flinched as he looked at the Snowflake Corp guards. “Just you.”

“I’m not going anywhere without her.” Lucien tugged me to his side. “If you want to talk to me, you’ll talk to both of us.”

“Fine.” The old man took off, hobbling toward the path between the two buildings. “That’s fine. More than fine. Come. Hurry.” He disappeared into the shadows and Lucien shot me a look.

“Do we go?” he asked quietly.

“You kind of already agreed.”

He grunted with a

“Xiao Lu?” Uncle Wen called as we stepped toward the shadowy alley. “Where are you going?”

“Rook?” Dillon shouted. “Wait. I’ll come with you—”

“No need,” Lucien huffed. “Stay here.”

He dragged me between the buildings, and shadows swallowed us whole.