Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats 1)

Kiarra approached the four-story brick building covered in advertisements and a big “TO LET” sign attached to the corner. She double-checked the address, but this was the right place.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and walked up to the building.

The door opened before she could even knock and a woman, sporting upper-arm tattoos and wearing an empire-waist dress that cascaded down in flowing strips of color, greeted her. The style seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it. This must be the “woman dressed in traditional Feiru garb.”

The woman remained silent and motioned Kiarra inside. Either a security camera was hidden somewhere near the door or the woman knew what she looked like. Kiarra did a sweep with her eyes as she entered, but didn’t see anyone waiting to attack her.

She remained alert as they walked down a hall and stopped in front of a door guarded by a large man dressed in black. From the few stolen glances she’d had, the style was similar to the people from last night, which confirmed her suspicions about who had been behind the attack and responsible for Jaxton’s capture.

The man guarding the door said, “Spread your arms,” before he frisked her for weapons. It took every bit of restraint she had to remain still, reminding herself of the bigger picture. Kiarra had left her gun back at the apartment, wanting to make her capture as smooth as possible. To make her plan work, it was vital for them to underestimate her.

The man finished with a nod, and the woman opened the door and motioned Kiarra inside. Kiarra held her breath, wondering if she’d finally see Giovanni, but she released it when she saw Ty Adams, her former lover and researcher, standing to the side.

The sight of him brought back memories of her time inside the AMT—the experiments, the helplessness, the isolation. At one time, those memories would’ve made her freeze, and maybe cower, but now, they only strengthened her resolve. Kiarra was no longer a prisoner. She had her freedom and her fire. And she wanted to help her friends.

It would damn well take more than Ty Adams’ presence to stop her.

Kiarra stood taller, careful not to let her anger show through. “Ty.”

Ty dismissed the other woman and gave Kiarra a wry smile. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to see you again, Kiarra.”

She ignored his attempt to distract. “I came here to bargain for Millie’s life.”

Even from halfway across the room, Kiarra could see the surprise in Ty’s eyes. A second later he replied, “Something is different about you. But even so, you have nothing to bargain with. The only reason I’m here is because I called in a few favors.” He took a step toward her. “You probably won’t believe me, but I wanted to make sure you were brought in unharmed.”

Kiarra raised an eyebrow. “Bullshit, and we both know it. You watched from behind the mirror as they carted me off for a whipping. A whipping, I might add, for an offense I never committed.” Ty took a step toward her, but Kiarra took a step back and maintained her distance. “You lost the right to care about my welfare the instant you said nothing and let them accuse me of seducing you.”

For years she had been angry and hurt by Ty’s actions, but now all she felt was anger at his selfish cowardice.

Since her teenage years, Kiarra had assumed no one cared about anything but themselves. From the perceived abandonment by her parents to Ty’s callous behavior, her whole world had seemed self-serving. But thanks to the strange man who’d blazed into her cell, Kiarra now knew there was good and bad inside every person. Just as there were people who only cared about themselves, there were also people who put others first.

Kiarra wanted to be the latter.

Any doubts she’d had about seeing her plan through dissolved.

Ty stopped trying to close the distance between them. “Everything I did was for your welfare. I wish you could see it.”

Kiarra snorted. “Yeah, right. You tell yourself that.” She made sure to reach her free hand to the south for show and raised a palm. “Meanwhile, you should know something.” Kiarra summoned a flame to her hand and realized how much easier the process was becoming, even without Jaxton nearby. “Your experiment was a failure.”

Ty blinked, and Kiarra felt satisfied at his surprise.

“How can you summon fire?” Ty asked. “I nullified the ability.”

Kiarra gave a slow smile. “That?

?s why I’m safe without your protection.” She flipped her hand, palm downward, and the flame danced to remain on the top of her hand. “The AMT won’t kill me because they like to study anomalies.”

Her next move was risky, but Kiarra had gone into this meeting knowing that this was her only chance to find her friends. If Gio was willing to torture an innocent woman, he wasn’t just going to hand over Millie without a fight. And she highly doubted Ty would be willing to negotiate Millie’s release.

A first-born who could gather fire despite years of receiving their precious Null Formula, however, would be carted away to the nearest research facility and studied. Since AMT research facilities were few and far between, Kiarra was betting that they’d bring her to the same one as Jaxton and Millie. The AMT staff might try to neutralize her abilities, but if she could direct fire without reaching to a particular compass point, then she might be able to use elemental fire in a neutralization chamber.

The plan was full of a lot of “what ifs,” but hopefully her gamble would pay off.

Kiarra gathered energy toward her and created an eight-inch-tall flame before she directed it toward Ty’s head. As expected, he reached for a tranquilizer gun as he rolled out of the way and shot a dart straight at her. Kiarra didn’t try to dodge it, and once it sank into her arm, she instantly felt the effects.

She slumped to the floor and the world went black.

And why do I deserve it?