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    Charred Tears (#2, Heart of Fire)
    Charred Tears (#2, Heart of Fire)
    Charred Tears (#2, Heart of Fire)
    Ebook368 pages4 hours

    Charred Tears (#2, Heart of Fire)

    By Lizzy Ford

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Skylar is being hunted by the very people she used to trust. Stung by Chace’s betrayal, she struggles to keep one step ahead of the slayers while digging deeper into the past she doesn’t remember for answers. Her heart belongs to Chace, but she won’t be fooled by him again, not when the price of trusting him could cost more than their lives.

    Chace got what he wanted – freedom from the curse – only to discover he’s given up much more than the power he didn’t want. He’s lost the woman who holds the other half of his heart. Exiled and powerless, he’s all that stands between her and the danger tracking both of them. To save her, he must prove himself worthy of her heart and trust and find a way to recover the magic he traded to become human.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLizzy Ford
    Release dateDec 22, 2013
    ISBN9781623781316
    Charred Tears (#2, Heart of Fire)
    Author

    Lizzy Ford

    I breathe stories. I dream them. If it were possible, I'd eat them, too. (I'm pretty sure they'd taste like cotton candy.) I can't escape them - they're everywhere! Which is why I write! I was born to bring the crazy worlds and people in my mind to life, and I love sharing them with as many people as I can.I'm also the bestselling, award winning, internationally acclaimed author of over sixty ... eighty ... ninety titles and counting. I write speculative fiction in multiple subgenres of romance and fantasy, contemporary fiction, books for both teens and adults, and just about anything else I feel like writing. If I can imagine it, I can write it!I live in the desert of southern Arizona with two dogs and two cats!My books can be found in every major ereader library, to include: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Sony and Smashwords.

    Read more from Lizzy Ford

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      Book preview

      Charred Tears (#2, Heart of Fire) - Lizzy Ford

      Chapter

      1

      Iwish I had a magic cabin, Chace thought, struggling to focus on the thin bar of light slowly making its way across his cabin ceiling. It was morning again. As with the past several mornings, he was surprised his battered, fevered, weak body decided to wake at all. Living hurt more than he ever imagined it could .

      If some part of you cares for her, you’ll do whatever it takes to survive.

      The parting words of the dragon shifter that abandoned him left Chace a miserable wreck, unable to fix himself but unable to simply die the way he felt like doing every time he opened

      his

      eyes

      .

      But if he died, so did Skylar. There were a few people he thought of who deserved a quick death, but she wasn’t one

      of

      them

      .

      Dammit. Though unable to sit up in two days, he was able to brace his feet against the bed enough to roll onto his side and then pushed his heavy body off the mattress.

      Chace made it out of bed and rested on his knees. He was burning up from the inside out. His mouth was parched, and the head wound he’d tried to bandage smelled funny. He opened his mouth in a noiseless laugh, wondering if gangrene in his head meant someone was going to have to chop his

      head

      off

      .

      Sky would laugh.

      He didn’t let himself dwell on her too long, knowing he didn’t remotely deserve to think of her after betraying her the way he had. Still, the memory of their time together, her sky-colored eyes and radiant smile, her oddball sense of humor, the heat of her skin and peachy scent, the way her slick core gripped his arousal, the sounds she made when

      she

      came

      …

      The thoughts made him more fevered. He pushed

      them

      away

      .

      The one room cabin was cold from the chilly night, his skin clammy and cool to the touch despite the fever raging within.

      He was thirsty, but the trip to the sink on his hands and knees was going to be agonizing. For a moment, he considered just hefting himself back into bed and staying there.

      But he didn’t. He crawled on his hands and knees across the cabin. The journey felt like a million miles, and the effort of keeping his head upright left him breathless.

      He reached the refrigerator. For reasons he wasn’t able to explain, the fridge was the only part of his cabin that retained some sort of magic. Maybe Gavin did it to help him, or maybe his passive-aggressive cabin was messing with him one

      last

      time

      .

      Opening the door, Chace blinked to clear his

      blurry

      gaze

      .

      The fridge was full of vegetables and oranges, as if the magic thought he had a simple cold and not a head wound that required more than a huge dose of

      Vitamin

      C

      .

      That’s not going to work, he muttered. He closed the door and leaned

      against

      it

      .

      So, there I was, drinking a glass of beer, when this thoroughly pissed off dragon came to get me. Plucked me right out of my seat. You know what happened then, Chace?

      Chace raised his head, unable to focus his senses well but trying to. Was there really someone in his cabin, talking to him, or had he moved from fevered to delusional? If he was delusional, he wasn’t about to put in the effort it would take to turn around.

      He kidnaps me, tells me I can’t use my magic again until I do exactly what he says, then dumps me on a cold beach in the middle of the night in Oregon.

      Gunner? Chace ventured. "Where

      are

      you

      ?"

      "Um, right

      behind

      you

      ."

      Chace shifted painfully, wincing each inch he went, until he spotted the large panther shifter from the corner of

      his

      eye

      .

      Gunner was staring at him. The normally hard-to-ruffle shifter was disheveled, his dark hair a mess, his clothing wrinkled and his features pale beneath the

      olive

      skin

      .

      Cats don’t fly, Gunner said, gaze sharpening. But I have a feeling you’re in worse shape.

      I hope you’re really here, because I need a doctor, Chace said. "Pretty sure I have gangrene in

      my

      head

      ."

      A puzzled smile lifted one corner of Gunner’s mouth. He moved forward and knelt beside Chace, unraveling the pillowcase Chace wrapped around his head. One of Gunner’s many occupations over the years had been as a physician, and he’d prescribed Chace sleeping pills on more than one occasion.

      I’ve seen five-year-olds make papier-mâché sculptures better than this,

      Gunner

      said

      .

      Chace grunted, sagging against the fridge.

      I told you, didn’t I? Gunner continued. "Don’t make a deal with some jackass who only comes around at night and won’t tell you

      his

      name

      ."

      I know. You were right again.

      Holy shit, Chace. Gunner dropped his hands, staring at the head wound.

      "Is

      it

      bad

      ?"

      If by bad, you mean is it the most disgusting, infected, horrible thing I’ve seen since I became an emergency room doctor, then yes, it’s bad, Chace.

      Chace grunted. "Can you

      fix

      it

      ?"

      Gunner was quiet for a moment, staring at the wound.

      Yo, Gun. Can you fix it? Chace asked again.

      I don’t suppose you have any penicillin. Gunner looked around. Cabin. Meds, please.

      It’s not magic anymore.

      Then we’ll do this the old fashioned way.

      Gunner

      rose

      .

      Chace followed him with his gaze, his energy for the morning spent. He waited, doubtful Gunner was going to be able to save his head, but hoping his friend could.

      Okay, here we go. Gunner tugged a stool over and set down a bucket full of supplies. He grabbed a pair of scissors and reached for

      Chace’s

      hair

      .

      No! Chace all but shouted.

      "Look, I need to scrub out the wound and clean it. Your hair is in the way and might have germs

      that

      can

      –"

      "I’d rather die with hair than

      live

      bald

      ."

      Fine. Gunner wiped his face and dropped the scissors in the bucket. I was going to be gentle with you, but not now. You’re being arrogant and stupid, so that’s how I’ll treat you. He pulled out a scrub brush with thick bristles that had been under Chace’s kitchen sink. "I’m gonna use peroxide to kill off what germs I can. It’s the only chemical you have in the house. Then I’m going to scrub the shit out of

      your

      head

      ."

      For reals? Chace eyed the stiff bristles of the scrub brush, not wanting to imagine the pain it was going to cause against his tender head wound.

      For reals, Chace. You wanna live? This is the price.

      This is gonna hurt. What other choice did he have? No matter how he felt about what he’d done and how much he screwed up, he was only able to think about the parting words from the infuriated dragon shifter. If Chace died, so did Skylar.

      He’d fucked her over enough. He wasn’t about to be the reason

      she

      died

      .

      Hopefully you pass out, Gunner said, upbeat.

      Yeah, Chace agreed, bracing himself. Okay. Turn me platinum.

      I deserve all the pain in the world after what I did

      to

      her

      .

      Chapter

      2

      "W hat happens after I find my dragon?" young Skylar asked her cheerful mother. Her legs swung, not yet long enough for her feet to touch the ground at the kitchen table in the farmhouse where they’d lived for a few months .

      "You

      protect

      him

      ."

      I know. Skylar rolled her eyes. "But what else do

      I

      do

      ?"

      Her mother looked up from her breakfast, blue eyes sparkling in a golden complexion framed by dark hair that matched Skylar’s.

      "Well, you help protect the

      others

      ,

      too

      ."

      What others?

      The dragons and other shifters.

      Skylar contemplated this for a long moment. "We might need a

      bigger

      farm

      ."

      No, Sky! Her mother laughed. "They aren’t zoo animals. You don’t keep them on a farm. When they need help, you’ll know. And then you go and

      help

      them

      ."

      How? she asked skeptically.

      "The answer is in the palm of

      your

      hand

      ."

      The dream slid away. Skylar awoke to the scents of bacon and eggs cooking. She lifted her head from the pillow and looked around. She’d fallen asleep on the couch and woke up in bed, no doubt because her newly found father carried her there.

      She sat with a grimace. She felt sluggish and tired despite sleeping the night. With more effort than it should take, she put her hair back in a ponytail and swung her legs off the bed to reach the cool marble flooring.

      Her hair was greasy, too, a feeling she absolutely hated. She pulled free a strand and eyed it. Normally, it took about four days for her hair to feel this yucky, and she’d washed it the day before.

      Gotta be the humidity. Trapped on an island somewhere near the equator, she wasn’t accustomed to the mugginess of

      the

      air

      .

      She padded down a hallway to the open-aired kitchen at the edge of a vast living area with a near 360 degree view of the beaches and ocean around it. The contrast between the teal waters and sugary sand was beautiful this morning, and large palm trees leaned in an ocean breeze.

      "I’m on a

      protein

      diet

      ."

      She turned at the man’s voice, the peace she felt at the sight of the ocean fading.

      If you like carbs, you’re out of luck, her father, a dragon shifter named

      Gavin

      ,

      said

      .

      Fried chicken? she half-joked, doubting he’d understand her humor.

      Nothing fried.

      Chace would

      get

      it

      .

      The man who betrayed her – made love to her then traded her for his own selfish purposes – was probably the only person who ever liked her sense of humor.

      I’m good with bacon and eggs, she said and went to the breakfast counter overlooking the stove.

      Gavin was tall, with a runner’s body and cold eyes the same color of hers. He was dressed all in black. He glanced up at her

      then

      back

      .

      How are you feeling? he asked.

      A little blah, she said with a shrug. "Maybe I slept

      too

      much

      ."

      "Possibly. You’ve been asleep for almost

      a

      week

      ."

      Seriously?

      Yes. The side-effect of having the bond you have with Chace broken.

      She frowned. "

      What

      bond

      ?"

      "The one that put that tat on

      your

      neck

      ."

      She reached back absently to feel the raised tattoo. It was still there, a reminder of how she’d ended up tagged by a dragon shifter in the first place. It had to do with one of many incredibly erotic meet-ups that made her blood race just thinking

      about

      it

      .

      Her father dropped a plate in front of her, yanking her attention from the thoughts of lying in bed naked with Chace, doing all kinds of yummy, naughty things.

      Oh, she managed. "So it’s broken because he

      betrayed

      me

      ?"

      "Because

      he’s

      dead

      ."

      She froze, the news a shock. A tremor went through her. She didn’t know what it was: fear, sorrow. Disbelief.

      Not my dragon. Was it stupid for her to want her betrayer to be alive and healthy, even if he was too far away for his wicked mouth and fingers to roam

      her

      body

      ?

      Oh, she said again. She felt her father’s gaze on her. That’s, uh … interesting. Can I ask what happened?

      "One of the slayers got

      to

      him

      ."

      Skylar picked up her fork and poked at the scrambled eggs, which were still steaming. According to her training as a dragon slayer, only a dragon slayer was able to kill a dragon, and she was the only one remaining.

      She didn’t kill her own dragon. So either her father was lying …

      Or those who brainwashed her into thinking she was supposed to kill dragons were the liars.

      This is too confusing, she said. Either way, she didn’t want to think that she’d never see Chace again.

      But why did she want to, after all

      he’d

      done

      ?

      I’m glad his death doesn’t bother you, Gavin said. I was worried it might. By his measured tone and the pause that followed his words, he was waiting for her reaction.

      Skylar was quiet for a moment, exploring the instincts that had led her to Chace on more than one occasion.

      Honestly? she started. "I’ve been lied to so much, I’m not going to believe he’s dead until I

      see

      it

      ."

      Interesting. Her father’s voice

      was

      cold

      .

      The silence between them made her skin crawl.

      Anyway, I’ve been asleep for a week, she said, clearing her throat. I take it things are back to … normal? Whatever

      normal

      is

      .

      She looked up and found her father

      studying

      her

      .

      As normal as can be, he replied.

      The quiet moment grew awkward, tense. If she knew one thing about dragon shifters, it was that they were emotional. They made her – a nineteen-year-old who recently learned she’d been kidnapped and brainwashed – feel like the most stable person in

      the

      room

      .

      I’m just gonna sit in the living room and eat, she said, uncomfortable under

      his

      gaze

      .

      I’m glad you’re okay. The edge in his voice softened, and the words were genuine.

      Thank you. I think, she replied. This is still … Every time she saw him, she remembered that she knew nothing about him or the life he’d shown her through thirteen years worth of scrapbooks. …weird.

      I know,

      he

      said

      .

      He’s not the warm, fuzzy type. That’s for sure. She offered a small smile then went to the living room, where she was able to see the ocean. As she ate, she couldn’t help thinking that no part of her believed that Chace

      was

      dead

      .

      He was a liar. A jackass. Traitor. Dragon shifter. But he wasn’t dead. She didn’t know how she knew it, but it came from the same place within her that the instinct to protect him had

      come

      from

      .

      I’m not that lucky.

      You knocked up my mom without meaning to, which makes me think you dragons don’t know much about protection. I wonder if I should take a pregnancy test? she asked.

      The sound of Gavin choking on his coffee reached her, followed by his coughing.

      I’m just kidding. She laughed without turning. It was nice to have the upper hand for once, even if it was a small victory.

      If he wasn’t … dead, I’d kill him, her father said finally.

      She smiled to herself and ate her breakfast, satisfied to know he cared on some level. He was impossible to read, like Chace – another trait of shifters – but it was nice to know the cold, distant man who claimed her as a daughter had feelings somewhere beneath the hardened exterior.

      I’m going to rest. A nocturnal dragon, Gavin slept during

      the

      day

      .

      She glanced over her shoulder to see him disappear down the hallway. After a few minutes, she set down her plate and went outside.

      The balmy morning was too humid already, reminding her that she needed a good shower after sleeping for

      so

      long

      .

      Skylar walked the beaches around the island, judging the perimeter to be about two miles around. In the center was a thatch of rainforest while her father’s home was built on a small hill on one end. There was no way off the island, no boats or even a dock for one. She saw no land anywhere in the distance.

      Not even a plane flew overhead during the few hours she spent exploring the island getaway. Her father spent years finding a place where no one could get to what he valued most: his wife and daughter.

      He’d succeeded, but it also meant there was no way off the tropical paradise, unless he flew

      her

      off

      .

      Sweating from the heavy heat of the day, she returned to the living room and sat, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows of the cement and glass dwelling.

      Was she protected or a prisoner? It was the latest mystery she had to solve, next to the missing memories from the past six years, what happened to her mother, what really happened to Chace, how to help the rest of the slayers who had been brainwashed …

      She sighed and got up, needing to clean up after her walk. She took a long shower then returned to her room, digging around in the drawers to find clothing. To her surprise, the drawers were filled with new clothing in the brands and sizes she normally bought. She ruffled through some of the stacks. It didn’t seem possible that her father had gone shopping for her clothes. He seemed like the kind who didn’t notice what she wore, so long as she

      was

      safe

      .

      Her eyes went to the two items she’d brought with her to meet him several days ago, the night Chace betrayed her. Her cell phone and one of the lassos sat on top of the dresser. She touched them, uncertain why the reminders of the life she thought was hers bothered her

      so

      much

      .

      Too much unfinished business. It was with more than Chace. The lasso represented all the others who were possibly brainwashed the same way she had been. It reminded her of the shifters it was supposed to catch, the ones that weren’t the threats she was trained to believe

      they

      were

      .

      Skylar closed the sock drawer. Chace had a magic cabin. If her father didn’t go shopping for her clothes, was it possible he did, too? And if so, had her escape route off the island been staring her in the face since she arrived?

      If you’re a magic dragon lair, I’m looking for pink socks, she whispered.

      A

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