Eternal Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

medallion suddenly caught fire, and he pressed it against my skin, branding it into me like a piece of red-hot coal. More pain flooded through my body as I tried to scream. Spots flooded my vision and then…
    Suddenly, a door burst open.
    My eyes fluttered against the glaring brightness and I recognized Victor, Mia, soldiers and servants standing in the doorway. Though it sounded as if they were in a tunnel a million miles away, I could hear them yelling my name. “Sarah? Sarah! Don’t worry! We’re here, Sarah!”
    My gaze searched my bedroom for my attacker, but like the coward Ethano was, he’d fled the scene in the blink of an eye. I had to wonder if I’d dreamt the whole thing, but it was wishful thinking. The nightmare was all too real, and our enemy had come calling.
    “ You’re bleeding. What happened?” my blue-eyed lover asked, scooping me up in his arms. “Are you all right, my love?”
    “ Wh-where were you?” I whispered, touching his face. My voice trembled, almost inaudible.
    “ At the stables, but I rushed right over when I heard your call.”
    “ Are you hurt, Highness?” one of the soldiers asked.
    A wave of dizziness overcame me as thoughts of the jeweled dagger and gold medallion flashed across my mind. My hand flew to my chest, and I was relieved to see that while my dress was still torn and bloody, my skin was intact, and the pain had dissipated. I sucked in a trembling breath. “He…I thought he cut me, burned me…” I stuttered. “He…”
    “ You were cut and burned?” Victor asked, hugging me tight. “That’s odd. We’re connected, and I feel what you feel.”
    “ You didn’t feel it or sense it?” I asked desperately, holding my ripped dress together.
    “ No. Who did this to you?” Victor demanded.
    “ Ethano,” I whispered, mortified. “He immobilized me somehow, and I couldn’t move or cry for help. Maybe he blocked you from feeling my pain so you wouldn’t run to my rescue.”
    Victor’s eyes grew wide as he stared at my torn dress, and in an instant, his compassion ignited into absolute fury. “Did he touch you?”
    I grimaced. “No. He said he wasn’t here for that, but he did slice me with a bejeweled dagger, and there was this strange pendant that he—”
    Before I could even finish, Victor set me down and roared, “I’m going to find him!” He turned his attention to the soldiers. His expression portrayed an intensity I hadn’t seen before as he ordered, “I want Ethano found...now!”
    “ Yes, milord,” one said, then raced out the door.
    Victor looked at Mia. “Where were you?”
    “ Everything went black. He must’ve used his powers to subdue me.”
    “ Victor, we should warn the Immortal Council that he’s escaped,” I said.
    “ Yes,” Victor said, caressing my cheek. “Are you all right, my love? I am so, so sorry that this harm came to you. Had I felt it, I would have—”
    I touched his hand. “I know, Victor. I’m fine. Let’s go find the bastard.”
    A storm was brewing in his eyes like a monsoon, and rage was pouring out of him. “Not only will we find him, but when we do, I am going to kill him,” he swore.
    “ Not if I beat you to it,” I said coldly, slipping into a cloak to cover my ripped dress. The thought of that man walking into my home and branding me like a piece of cattle angered me to my very core. I bolted to my closet and gripped my sword firmly in my hands, then raced out the door, anxious to make Ethano pay.
    * * *
    Victor and I searched the entire grounds for hours, to no avail. Somehow, the cowardly little weasel had escaped.
    I swallowed hard as the hot sun beat down on my face. Damn it! How did he get away? I squinted, then closed my eyes as I gripped my temples. A throbbing headache began to pound, compliments of my new gift trying to emerge. A second later, I felt Victor’s soft touch on my back.
    “ What is it, my love?” he asked, concerned.
    “ I wish Liz were here to take the pain away with