Defying the North Wind by Anna Hackett Read Free Book Online

wind.
    Luca pulled back, even though he wanted to keep kissing her. “You need to get dressed. Soren will be here soon.”
    “Jesus!” She scrambled to grab her clothes.
    Luca stood slowly, watching with great disappointment as she covered her naked body. He adjusted his own clothes and a few minutes later, a warm, humid wind spiraled into the tower.
    A tall, lean man materialized on top of the cage in a crouch.
    “ Mio fratello .” Luca raised a hand.
    Soren gripped it through the bars, his grasp tight. Damn , Soren looked bad. Grooves dug deep into his cheeks, his gray eyes were dull and even in the few days since Luca had seen him, he’d lost weight.
    “How are you doing?” Luca asked.
    “I’m holding.” Soren flicked a glance at Rayne. “Going to introduce me?”
    “Rayne, this is my brother, Soren.”
    Rayne stepped forward. “Soren Vulturnus Venti, Keeper of the East Wind. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
    Soren’s eyes widened and he studied her intently. “You’re Aurae?”
    She nodded.
    “Amazing.” He looked back at Luca. “I’m stunned my do-it-himself big brother is accepting help.”
    Rayne shrugged. “I didn’t give him any choice.”
    The faintest smile crossed Soren’s face. “We need to talk.” The smile vanished. “I take it Caecius trapped you in here.”
    Luca scowled. “You’d guess right.”
    Soren unclipped a slim metal rope from his belt. “How about we get you out?” He clipped the rope to the cage then leaped into the air. The warm, humid East Wind streamed upward, lifting him high as he flew to the top of the tower.
    “He needs help,” Rayne murmured.
    Luca stared after his brother. He knew she didn’t mean help to break open the cage. Helplessness was a wicked pain in Luca’s gut. “I can’t help him until I defeat Caecius.”
    “Until we defeat Caecius.”
    There was a groan of metal and the lid flew off the cage. Luca wrapped his arms around her waist. “I haven’t forgotten.”
    He summoned the wind and leaped into the air, holding her tight.
    ***
    Rayne could really get used to this.
    Flying through the air, being the very wind itself, was exhilarating. Maybe it was just the sensation of being one with the Keeper of the North Wind, but something told her she wouldn’t enjoy this quite as much if she wasn’t with him.
    She sensed Soren close by. His wind was hotter, laden with moisture, like it wanted to carry everything it could. It rippled over her senses—edgy, needy. He was close to succumbing to the greed that his wind harbored.
    Then she sensed something else.
    Smoke.
    Ahead, flames rose into the night sky.
    Venice was burning.
    They materialized atop a building on Campo San Polo. The second largest square in the city was filled with a volatile crowd. Some people fought hand-to-hand, others were throwing bottles; bodies littered the ground. At one end of the campo, polizi in riot gear engaged the crowd, lobbing tear gas into the mass of humanity.
    Rayne’s heart gave a solid thump and she pressed a hand to the base of her throat. She’d seen violence up close, saw the horror of it reflected in Skye’s pale eyes every day. But Rayne had never seen anything like this.
    “We have to help,” she choked out.
    “We will.” Luca’s face was set like stone. His tone unforgiving.
    She knew he’d do everything he could to stop the chaos. If she’d learned nothing else about the man, it was that he’d die fighting Caecius if he had to.
    She’d studied Luca, studied all of the WindKeepers, pored over their files. She’d believed Luca to be nothing more than the vice that simmered inside him. But he was so much more. A loving brother, a dedicated WindKeeper, a passionate lover.
    “I can’t stay, Luca.” Soren’s gray eyes were solemn, his veins stark under his skin. “I can hear Apeliotus’s ugly whispers. Promising me things.” Soren pressed a palm to the side of his head. “Things I want so much.”
    Luca clasped his brother’s