Fate Summoner

Chapter 1

1

I didn’t think I had ever been happier.

About seven months ago, I had been shoved into this heart maiden business, completely lost, confused, and somewhat scared. I had gone through a lot. I had learned about my lineage and my powers, I had found out my mother had never been honest with me, I had gained a father and two half-brothers, I had found love and gotten my heart broken into a million pieces, and I had made many friends and lost quite a few too. From my inner circle, Sloan, Nico, and Ramon were gone. I had met the previous heart maiden, who somehow was still alive and had gone mad; she was now waging war against me and any other tzigane. I had found out being the heart maiden wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine—the magic came with a disease called the fire heart fever, and because of it, I was bound to go mad. Once the elder council found out about it, they would kill me. But then someone new walked into my life about two months ago.

Kane.

The same man who swam toward me right now.

Smiling, I pushed against the water, putting some more distance between us.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, his voice husky.

Despite the unusually hot March day and the warm water from the waterfall—which I had heated up using my fire magic—a shiver rolled down my spine.

I had never been happier, and I was sure most of it was because of Kane.

“Away from you,” I joked. He knew I wouldn’t go too far from him. Ever. Not if I could help it.

One corner of his lips curled up.

By Saint Sara-la-Kali, he was gorgeous. How could he not be, with the laser-cut face, the five o’clock shadow over the sharp angles of his jaw and chin, the piercing hazel eyes, and the long dark brown hair, which was combed back now because of the water. He had come to the Lovell enclave because he had felt a pull inside him. He often said it was because of me. He had come for me. I wasn’t sure about that, but one thing I had learned in the past seven months was that nothing was impossible. All that mattered was that the master slayer and his special powers had changed my life.

Kane disappeared under the water, and I knew he was coming for me. I spun around and swam to the shore, but he was much faster than me. His arm snaked around my waist and I yelped. When he emerged from under the water, he tightened his grip around me and pulled my back against his hard chest. He splayed his fingers across my midriff, trapping me in his arms, and he leaned his head forward, brushing his lips on my neck.

A moan escaped my lips.

“I won’t let you go, Mirella,” he whispered, his mouth on my ear. His warm breath washed over my skin, sending another rippling shiver through my body. “Never.”

I spun in his arms and looked into his hazel eyes. “I’m counting on that.”

Kane’s hand shot up and he gripped the nape of my neck, pulling me to him. His mouth crashed over mine and I melted into him. There was no way I could resist him. I didn’t want to resist. Why would I? He was handsome, hot, took care of me, and treated me like an equal.

He teased me by kissing me hard and deep and fast. With a smirk, he broke the kiss and pulled back a few inches.

I blinked at him. What the hell?

Stifling a chuckle, he asked, “Ready for the ceremony tomorrow?”

I groaned. He really had to bring that up now? “I think so.”

The truth was—and he knew it—that I really was. The three-day long festival that started tomorrow was a big deal for the tziganes, and the ceremony I had to perform was even bigger. It was supposed to exile winter and welcome spring, which in theory was supposed to make more heart flowers bloom in the area. Since it could only be performed by a heart maiden, none of the tziganes had seen it done before. All they knew about it was what they had learned from books, journals, or word of mouth.

“You’ll be okay. I’m sure of it.” Kane reached over and brushed a wet strand of my hair back. “You’re strong, intelligent, powerful, caring, beautiful.”

My brows furrowed. “What does being beautiful have to do with that?”

A lopsided grin took over Kane’s lips. “That’s just an added bonus. One I like very much.”

I shook my head. “You’re impossible.”

He gestured to himself. “It’s part of my package.” My eyes scanned his ripped chest. By Saint Sara-la-Kali, I had a hard time keeping my hands to myself when he was shirtless, or even worse, n***d. When he purposely drew my attention to his hot, hot body? I was a goner.

Desire pooled low in my belly, and I closed the distance between us. My eyes fixed on his, I used the water to push me up and wound my arms around his neck. Then, I wrapped my legs around his waist, pressing my hips against his.

Kane let out a low hiss. Slowly, his hands snaked around my body.

“You’re so full of yourself,” I said, my voice low.

His eyes flicked to my mouth. “And you like it.”

“You know it.” I licked my lower lip, drawing his gaze back to my mouth.

A groan rumbled from his chest and he leaned into me. His lips found mine again, but this time, he took his time. He controlled the kiss, moving his lips slowly against mine, and I enjoyed every second of it, drinking him in as much as I could.

Deepening the kiss, Kane backed us up until my back hit one of the rocks jutting out of the water by the waterfall. He pressed my back against the rock, careful that there weren’t any sections that could hurt me, and pushed his body against mine.

A moan rolled past my tongue.

He broke the kiss, but his lips didn’t stop working. They slid down my neck, leaving a trail of fire, fire that wasn’t related to my magic. I threw my head back, giving him better access, and he licked the hollow of my throat before nipping the soft spot between my neck and shoulder.

“I could eat you up,” he whispered.

My stomach tightened with the thought. “Please do.”

He pulled back, enough so he could look at me. “Mirella, I l—”

“There you are.”

Her voice was like pellets of ice hitting our backs. Kane and I stiffened and submerged half of our chests into the water before turning to the newcomer.

“Hi, Trina,” I said, trying to sound normal, and not a bit upset Kane’s ex-wife had interrupted us.

Truth be told, I couldn’t be mad at her. Despite her history with Kane and how she had betrayed him, Trina had come to our enclave when we called for help, and if it weren’t for her expertise in alchemy, a few dozen tziganes would now be dead.

With a deep frown between her brows, Trina stopped a couple of feet from the edge of the water. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Her voice was tight. Usually, she was outgoing and spat whatever came to mind, but there were a few times in the past two months when I was sure she was hurting on the inside, especially when she looked at Kane and me. Was she jealous? Did she regret cheating on him? As far as I knew, their wedding had been arranged when they were kids. They barely knew each other when they got married and they never loved one another. That didn’t change the fact that they had spent a couple of years of their lives together—and I was jealous of that. “I just … I had some thoughts and I had to talk to you, Mi.”

She was serious, which prompted me to be serious too. “What is it?” I trudged to the edge of the water.

“It has been two months.” Trina started pacing along the lake’s bank. “Two months without any problems. We haven’t been attacked by alchemists, red alchemists, or revenants. Not even when you found that heart flower about a month ago. They didn’t come and that’s weird. And Damara is too quiet. She must be plotting something big.”

I walked out the water, and grabbed my towel from one of the rocks. “I know. I keep thinking about it too.”

It really was weird. After Damara’s last attack, I kept expecting her to show up at the enclave with her army and wipe us out. But the days passed, turning into weeks, which turned into months. Right now, I was just content we seemed to be at peace.

Letting out a long sigh, I wrapped my towel around my body. “I know she’ll attack at some point. That’s why we increased security around the enclave, and we’ve been training a lot.” Thankfully, I had improved in hand combat, thanks to Kane and his immense patience. “We’ll be ready.”

Trina shook her head. “I think she’ll attack tomorrow.”

I stilled. “What?”

“Think about it. We’ll all be distracted and celebrating. It’s the perfect time for her army to strike.”

“That’s a valid concern,” Kane said, walking out of the water. He had swimming trunks on, and nothing else. Although Trina probably knew every inch of his body, I didn’t like him parading his hotness in front of her like that. Especially when I caught her stealing glances at him. Like now. Irritated, I threw the second towel to him. He caught it with one hand. “I’ll make sure to bring that up with Theron, and we’ll work on reinforcing security for tomorrow.”

Since Artan fled the enclave with Kizzy two months ago, Theron had become the leader of the warriors. He hated answering to the council, but besides Artan, he was the best. And though Kane hadn’t joined the rank of warriors officially, he helped every opportunity he got.

“I have a bad feeling about tomorrow.” Trina pressed her hand over her chest. “Just … be ready.”

Kane patted his shoulders with the towel, hiding most of his torso behind it. “We will.”

After glancing at me again, Trina marched out.

I stared at the spot she walked into the trees before disappearing into the forest for a few seconds. “Do you think she’s right?”

Kane stalked to me. “I don’t think so, but there’s no reason why we can’t bring that up to your brother and increase security. Better safe than sorry.”

Damara wouldn’t dare attack us on such a special day, would she? She was evil, she was mad, but she was still a tzigane, wasn’t she? She also needed the heart flower to feed her madness and defy time. That was the only way she was over two hundred years old and still alive.

Kane was right. I shouldn’t worry about it yet. Tomorrow was an important ceremony for me, for all of us, and I would focus on what I had to do—nothing else. I would leave the security problems and worries to the warriors.

I stared at Kane, totally mesmerized. The sun was starting its descent, tinting the sky with pinks and oranges. The water droplets on Kane’s body gained a golden hue, and he looked as if he were made of gold.

By Saint Sara-la-Kali. Would my desire for him ever lessen? I seriously doubted it.

I cleared my throat. “Hungry?”

Kane put his heavy arm over my shoulders and pulled me into his side. “Always.” I chuckled. That was true. Maybe it was his height and strength, but the man ate as much as a horse. “But how about if I cook tonight?”

I smiled at him. “How about you let me help?”

He placed a kiss on top of my head. “Deal.”

After grabbing his swords from the rock—he never went anywhere without them—Kane slid his hand into mine and guided us back to my cabin at the edge of the enclave. Walking like this, with him, after a nice swim at the lake, I could almost pretend we were a normal human couple with no other worries in the world. Just us.

But as tziganes, our worries only increased.

Halfway down the forest path leading back to the enclave, we heard footsteps and the crunching of twigs to our side. On high alert, I channeled my fire, and Kane drew out his swords.

Darcy yelped as she stepped onto the path and saw us. “By Saint Sara-la-Kali.” She hugged the wicker basket in her arms tight. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“We thought you were an intruder.” I extinguished my fire, and Kane lowered his swords. “Sorry.”

The old hag narrowed her eyes at me. She was the head of the elder council and mother of the rom baro, the leader of the enclave—not to mention Artan’s grandmother. I knew she had disliked me from the moment she first met me, and the feeling was mutual. I had always butted heads with her without any resentment, but lately, I had been honestly afraid of her. I was sure she knew I had the fire heart fever, and yet she either hadn’t told the rest of the council, or she had and they were waiting for the madness to show up before taking me away and killing me.

The old hag brushed her long white braid back. “Have you trained today?”

I sighed. “Yes, I trained all morning.”

Her gaze shifted to Kane, then the towels in our hands, then back to me. “Don’t you think you should have trained all afternoon too, and gotten ready for the ceremony tomorrow?”

How could someone get on my nerves so much? “I’m ready, Darcy, don’t worry.”

She tsked. “If only we didn’t need the heart flowers …” Shaking her head, she stalked away, taking the path back to the enclave.

I gawked at Kane. “Was that a threat? That was a threat, right?”

He stared me, serious. “No, I don’t think so.”

He was lying.

I pointed in her direction. “I told you she knows about the fire heart fever. That was a threat.”

Kane wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me to him. “Don’t worry, Mi. While I’m with you, the fire heart fever won’t get you, and I have no intention of ever letting you go.”