One Thousand Kisses by Jody Wallace Read Free Book Online Page A

a male voice. He tried to turn her, his grip firm. “You’re safe now. I—”
    She silenced him with a flick of her wrist and groped for magic. Fairy lights sizzled out like torches in water. Inky darkness replaced the white.
    The panic she’d been trying to stifle broke free.
    “Get away from me!” She flung herself at her attacker. Her hands curled into claws, ready to rend. She barreled into his body. Warran?
    In the dark she grabbed his throat and squeezed. He smacked into the wall behind him. Magic sang in her hands. She’d never felt this rage before. Never hurt anyone.
    He began burn up and down her frontside, right through her clothes.
    “Anisette,” he groaned. “Stop.”
    “Don’t tell me what to do.” She could kill him. As she could save life, she could end it. She dove into his magical core, searching, searching…
    Flames surrounded her, licked her like hot tongues. Inside this man was a heat that boiled without burning. She fell into it, yellow and red and orange, beautiful and wild.
    Warran had no fire inside him. His soul was pure ice.
    With a gasp, Ani jerked herself out of the man’s consciousness. She released his throat and stared into the blackness. “Who are you? What do you want?”
    He coughed. Big hands grabbed her wrists. Before she could react, he maneuvered her against the wall, pinning her. “Calm down.”
    His voice was raspy with pain. She’d done that to him.
    “I’m calm,” she lied. She was decidedly not calm. She was pressed to a stone wall in the depths of the Court complex by an unknown assailant. Her hands stung, her body ached and two Elders had just done…something terrible. What had she been so afraid of?
    Hatred. Ice.
    “What did you do to the lights?” More coughing interrupted his words. When he was finished, she responded.
    “I took their magic.” For large or spontaneous spells, sometimes the magic that infused the Realm was inadequate. An extensive spell could create a brownout that lasted seconds to hours.
    She wasn’t surprised hurting took more magic than healing. She was just surprised she’d overcome decades of training and the healer’s code to do it.
    “I’ve been looking all over for you.” The man’s hands gentled on her shoulders. He smelled like smoke and spice. “You were in danger. What happened?”
    “I feel like I’m in danger now.” She reached for the light network, brushing it with power. “You need to…”
    The lights flickered on, dim and golden, and the face of Elder Embor hovered above hers. His cheekbone was scuffed, his neck laced with developing bruises.
    She’d done that, too.
    “Oh my stars.”
    “Are you all right?”
    He was asking if she was all right? His scent was the one she breathed. His hands were the ones holding her upright. His life was the one she’d almost taken.
    “Oh my stars. The Primary.” Ani closed her eyes. “This can’t be happening. I thought you were… Oh my stars.”
    “Are you all right?” he repeated.
    Fresh panic rose within her. “Please forgive me. I didn’t mean it.” Attacking the Primary was punishable by all sorts of things. “I can fix it. I’m authorized to heal. I’ve got my journeyman’s license.” She reached for his throat, and he stopped her.
    “It can wait.”
    “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t trying to…”
    Assassinate him. Assassinate the Primary. Who would do that?
    Fear. Hatred. Ice.
    Ani’s vision tunneled white. Again. Her chest heaved convulsively, as stark and desperate as a heart attack. Her tight bustier didn’t make breathing any easier.
    “Shhhh.” Warm hands cupped her face, stroked her hair. Lips touched her forehead, her temple.
    Her body pulsed with fright. “I nearly killed you.”
    “Hush. You’re all right.” Was he kissing her? She tasted smoke and sweet but couldn’t feel her face. She’d gone numb.
    She began to shake, worse than when she’d been so cold. When had she been so cold? Her extremities prickled. She heard a dry