A lick of flame, p.13
A Lick of Flame, page 13
“This…him,” the tribesman growls before spitting on the ground at Bard’s feet in a show of displeasure. “Give gold, or I take.”
“Bard!” I say. I can’t help but smile. It is good to see a familiar face despite the situation. “It’s good to see you.”
Bard’s expression shifts to one of confusion. He holds my gaze for a few moments. “You were taken by the fae. No…it can’t be.” He shakes his head. “Where is the mage? What wicked sorcery is this?”
“It has to be evil magic,” one of the others shouts. Murmurs go up around us.
“Silence,” Bard says, holding up a hand.
“It him.” The tribesman shoves me toward Bard, but I put a foot out and stop myself from colliding with my old friend.
Bard steps around me, his eyes narrowed in distrust. Without warning, he delivers a swift kick to the back of one of my knees, and I go sprawling onto the ground.
My chin hits the dirt with a thud; my right shoulder, too, sending waves of pain shooting through me. I grunt and struggle to push myself upright.
“Don’t hurt him.” Maya’s muffled voice sounds both frantic and afraid. “Please!”
“I’m fine.” I try to keep my voice even. “I’m okay.”
Someone puts a boot between my shoulder blades, holding me down. I suspect it’s Bard. I grit my teeth in frustration. I know these men. I once considered Bard to be a friend, but those days are over.
If Maya wasn’t here, I would retaliate, but in order to keep her safe, I don’t. I can’t let anything happen to her. They want me; they don’t need her. She could quite easily become collateral damage. I need to keep my cool…for now.
My tunic is ripped from the top of my back. Bard hisses when he sees the mark there.
“It him,” the tribesman bites out.
“I’m telling you, it’s me, Bard,” I grit out. “You know me.”
Maya whimpers. I crane my neck and see that she is being hauled from the saddle.
“Let me—” I start to say, but Bard pushes his boot deeper into my spine.
“I don’t know you. Not a word, fae. Not so much as a word. Don’t move,” he says; his jovial demeanor is all but gone. “Get the coin, Hamlin.”
“Are you sure, Bard?” Hamlin says. I recognize his voice. “This is Dante. This isn’t—”
“It can’t be Dante,” Bard says. “Look at him. It’s Orion. He has the mark and pointy ears. Dante was human. They look alike. That’s all it is.”
“But he knew your name,” Hamlin says.
“I am well known around these parts. Of course he knows my name,” Bard snorts. “We’ll deliver him as agreed. The woman, too. There is a bounty on her head as well.”
“Who wants Orion?” Maya asks; her voice is shrill. “Why is there a bounty on my head? What is going on?”
“Put the bag back over his head and get them onto horses,” Bard barks, ignoring Maya. “Put two guards on each of them. I want eyes on the fae at all times. Am I clear?”
Men all around us make murmurs of agreement.
Hamlin gives the tribesmen a velvet bag. He takes it, mounts, and leaves, taking the horse I rode in on along with him. My eyes are still on the small, wiry man as he and his tribe ride away when the bag is pulled over my head. Hamlin ties it.
Once I’m back astride a horse, we set off again. We ride for hours. It feels like days. From time to time, the men speak among themselves in soft tones about nothing in particular, but for the most part, we ride in relative silence. They are a team of twelve…fifteen at best. A smaller group than Ethan’s bunch, but I would wager, far more efficient. Although I only recognized some of the faces, I know that they are a tight, well-trained bunch of men. They ride together, eat together, and fight together. Men who are closer than brothers. I know because I once rode alongside them. Back when I was a human. When I was Dante, the mercenary.
By the time we arrive, my body aches, and my mouth is dry. I’m pulled from my horse.
Maya moans.
“Maya, are you alright?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says in a small voice. Then we are being led somewhere.
“Sit!” someone commands. I don’t recognize his voice. We do as instructed. Maya sighs, sounding concerned.
“The female needs food and water,” I insist as the sack is removed from my head, and I stare up at Bard.
Hamlin removes the sack from Maya’s head as well.
“Let us go,” she snarls.
“You will be well looked after,” Bard says. “You’re worth a lot of coin. Your pretty friend included.” He nods at Hamlin, who lets us both take our fill from a waterskin. He holds the skin to each of our mouths so that we can drink.
“You’ll eat when the food is ready.” Bard starts to turn away.
“Please, can we talk?” I ask him. “We rode together for many years. We—”
“I have never met you, fae.” His eyes are blazing. His jaw is set. “I do not know who you are.” He shakes his head.
“I think you do. You know exactly who I am. You recognize me. I know it. It’s me. I am Dante. We rode together for a long time. I once pulled an arrow from your belly and nursed you back to health. Your favorite food is hog head stew. Your favorite ale is from a—”
“Lies! All lies! The Dante I knew was a man. You are no man.” He points at me; his eyes are hard and filled with rage.
“I can explain everything. Give me a chance, for old times’ sake,” I implore him just as Hamlin arrives with iron shackles.
Kakara help me! There is no way I can get out of those. Bard knows it, too. He is far more clued up than that simpleton Ethan will ever be.
“I don’t know you at all. Perhaps I never knew Dante, either. Perhaps it is Dante who is the liar.”
I watch him walk away.
Damn it all to hell and back.
I want to shout after him, but I don’t. He has made himself abundantly clear.
Bard’s sidekick shackles my arms.
“It’s me, Hamlin,” I try again. “I—”
“You heard our leader. We’re selling you both for enough coin to last our whole lifetime. You’re not the man I once knew.”
“You’d be selling out a friend. What about the code?”
“You’re a fae.” He snaps the shackles onto my ankles. There are eight men surrounding us and more nearby. I can’t do anything that wouldn’t jeopardize Maya’s safety. “The code does not extend itself to the likes of you. One more word, and I’ll gag you.”
Then he starts to put shackles on Maya.
“She doesn’t need those,” I tell him.
Hamlin gives me a scathing look and snaps on the irons.
I push out a heavy breath but hold my tongue.
Once he is done shackling her ankles, he leaves as well. We are surrounded by men. They stand a mere ten or twelve feet away, their eyes on us. No, their eyes are on me, almost daring me to try something, anything, so that they can retaliate. They won’t kill me, but they might just beat me bloody. I recognize more than one man, but I know it will be futile to reach out to any of them. I look over at Bard, who is untacking his horse.
The rest are setting up camp. Night is falling fast. We are already out of the Hourglass, which means we covered plenty of ground. We’re not headed for my territory. We’re going the opposite way. To the land of snow. To the icefae. To…
“You’d better tell me what the hell is going on,” Maya hisses under her breath. “All I know is that you’ve been lying to me, Orion… Or is it Dante? Whatever the hell your name is. Who are you, exactly? A mercenary? A cage fighter? I think not. Why is everyone after you? Why is there such a huge bounty on your head?” She swallows thickly. “Enough gold for a lifetime.”
I look her way. Maya’s jaw is set. Her beautiful eyes are filled with hurt and anger in equal measure.
I sigh softly. “I am those things. At least, I was for a while, but before that, I used to be more.”
So much more. How am I going to tell her? I find that I don’t want to hurt her. When she hears the truth, she will feel betrayed. Perhaps she will hate me all over again. In fact, I know she will…and just as we were becoming friends.
Friends.
The word feels wrong.
Enemies?
No, that feels wrong, too.
I don’t know what we are, only that when I look into her eyes – eyes filled with defiance and anger – I feel something stir inside me. Something that’s best left alone.
20
Maya
How is it that I still find him attractive? Even now, when he’s shackled. His green eyes bore into mine. So vivid they take my breath from my lungs. His lashes are long and thick. His jaw is covered in a dark shadow, his chin smeared with dried blood, reminding me of the situation we are in. His chin is still held high, and his broad shoulders are back. He’s regal in his bearing. I should have seen it.
He lied to me. He isn’t who he said he was.
He lied!
My chest tightens. I know I’m being silly. I made it clear that we’re not friends. He promised to help me get rid of this curse. I told him I didn’t want to know anything about him, but…I can’t help feeling betrayed. He kept vital information from me; I know it, and with every passing second, the feeling of betrayal is growing inside me. It’s eating me alive. I haven’t known him for very long, but we’ve already been through more than most will go through in a lifetime.
He sighs softly, his gaze turning cloudy. “I am those things. At least, I was for a while, but before that, I used to be more.”
What does he mean by that?
“More? They say that you were human. That can’t be. How is it possible?” I heard Bard gasp. I sensed him recoil. I didn’t need my vision to know that the man was shocked to his core when he laid eyes on Orion. I could still see it when the sack came off my head. The anger rolled off the man. That and the same betrayal I am feeling.
“It’s true. All of it,” he insists, his voice a deep murmur. “I was a human with no recollection of who I was before. I believed myself to be a mercenary. Bard found me bleeding and beaten, barely clinging to life.” His eyes lift in thought; his mouth starts to tug into the start of a smile, but he catches himself and schools his emotions. “He often said that it was a miracle I survived. Either it was that or sorcery. As it turns out, the only reason I survived is because I am a fae.”
“It doesn’t make sense. You will need to explain it to me.” My voice is hard and filled with irritation. I have to work to keep from being overheard by the nearby guards.
“Bard wasn’t wrong. It was sorcery. Wicked magic at its best. I didn’t want to tell you the truth at first because I didn’t trust you and then later because I was trying to protect you.” He looks down for a few beats. When he looks back up, his eyes are filled with remorse. “I should have told you last night when I suspected that they knew about me. When I suspected that there was a bounty on my head.”
“Now you’re stalling. Who are you?”
“My name is Orion. For ten years, I thought I was Dante the mercenary. When you touched that dragon egg, you broke the spell that had been cast over me and the others. The spell that made me human, and took away my markings.” He looks down at his shoulder. The one that has a dragon on it. “And all of my memories from before. I didn’t know up until that moment. I was hidden away in plain sight. It’s so damned clever when I think about it. I was about to be killed in the pit when I turned back into a fae. When I remembered everything. It helped me escape. I spent ten long years thinking I was someone else.”
“Who are you?” I repeat.
He swallows thickly, looking away for a few long beats. Then he locks eyes with me. “Maya, I’m the Beastfae King. I’m that Orion.”
I gasp, feeling myself reel with shock.
“The mark on my back proves it. It’s the mark of royalty. The gold within the flames shows my rank, namely the highest rank there is.”
I shake my head slowly; my mouth has dropped open. My eyes have gone wide, so I blink them, trying to comprehend what it is that I am hearing right now.
“The king… No… It… No…” I stammer, stilled stunned.
“It’s true.”
As shocking of a revelation as this is, and despite my words, I know it’s true. I can feel it. All these men are after us. They want him. No wonder they do. A king. One of the Lost Kings returned. Hidden in plain sight.
Kakara help me!
“Say something…please,” he says in a deep rasp. I hate how his voice affects me.
“It’s a lot to take in. You should have told me sooner. We were in danger from the moment we set out on this quest. Our lives are interwoven…you said it yourself, and yet you didn’t think I needed to know this integral part of the equation?”
“I knew when I escaped the fighting pit that word would have gotten out about me. They saw my markings. They saw a man turn into a fae before their eyes, but it’s like whoever put this bounty on my head knows exactly where I am and where I go. They’ve been able to track me all the way out here. I didn’t expect that. I thought if I stayed in the shadows, kept my head down and my ears covered, that we would go undetected. That no one would be the wiser about who I really am. Not telling you helped with concealing my identity. This should never have happened. If I had known, I…I would have told you sooner.”
“You should have! You should have told me before we set out.”
“I didn’t have to tell you anything back then. I didn’t think it was necessary. You said it yourself: we’re not friends.” His eyes cloud for a moment as he throws my words back at me, and rightly so. Then he squares his shoulders. “We weren’t friends then, and nothing has changed.”
Hearing him say it hurts me, but only because I’m an idiot. “No, we’re not!” I respond a little too sharply, but I don’t care. “And we never will be,” I add unnecessarily. I mean it, though. I mean every word.
“I’m glad you agree. We’ve struck up a reluctant truce so that we can find a solution to your problem…so that you don’t get sick and die with a catastrophic knock-on effect.”
“Namely your death.”
“Raila, too. That’s all this is.” He looks between us. “And then I need to search for the other Lost Kings. Together, we need to find a way to best Snow, to take back our birthrights, and to help our people. Your people, too. We need to fix the whole realm…to heal the very soil. All of my decisions have been with that end in mind. It isn’t about me. It isn’t about your feelings, either. I’m sorry I betrayed you, but I would do it again in a heartbeat if I knew it would help me achieve my goals.”
“I’m sure you would.” I know I sound like a petulant child, but after all we’ve been through together, I can’t help it. Just like I can’t help the hurt, anger, and betrayal bubbling inside me. The worst part of all of it is that I’m not sure if it’s because he didn’t tell me about who he is or if it’s because of his stinging words.
We are not friends. We never will be. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
“For the record, I don’t care that you’re a king. I won’t be bowing down to you or doing your bidding. You can get any of that right out of your head.”
His mouth twitches. “I would never expect it. You’re not one of my subjects. Then again, while you’re tethered to one of my dragons, you’re technically one of my people, but I won’t enforce it.”
“You’d better not because you will be sorely disappointed.” I huff out a breath. “What are we going to do about our current situation?” I ask, trying hard to push my feelings aside. The fact of the matter remains that I need Orion. I need him to escape and to help me break this tether. Just thinking about Raila has me connecting with her through my mind. I let her in. I feel her energy and allow her to feel mine. She misses me. I need to do this for her, too. I don’t want anything to happen to her. If we stay tethered, she will die. We all will.
Orion bumps me softly with his shoulder. “Are you listening?”
I suck in a breath. “No, I was… It doesn’t matter,” I mutter.
“Was it Raila?”
I nod.
“She probably senses your…emotions…the fact that you’re upset.”
“More like spitting mad.” I narrow my eyes.
He smiles, and something lights up in me, which makes me even more angry. “Don’t do that. There is absolutely nothing to smile about. Not one thing.”
“Okay…you’re right. You asked what we’re going to do.” He keeps his voice low.
“Yes. Shouldn’t we be coming up with a plan of escape?” I ask, talking as softly as I can.
“We have zero chance so long as these iron shackles are on my wrists and ankles,” he says; his eyes seem to darken a little. “I’ll take an opportunity if it presents itself. I will keep trying to convince Bard to let us go.”
“I don’t think there is much hope of that happening. From the sounds of it, there is a huge bounty on your head. One they won’t want to give up easily for someone they once knew.”
His throat works as he swallows. “I have to try to change Bard’s mind about me. I knew him for years before I was captured. They know me almost better than I know myself.”
“They don’t know anything about you.” I can’t help the retort. “They thought you were a man. A son of a mercenary. Beyond that—”
“They knew me,” he insists, his eyes blazing. “At least, they knew the parts of me that count. The parts that make up foundation and character. The most important parts, Maya. Not the shape of my ears.” Why do I feel like he’s trying to convince me, too? “I had no idea who I really was. Bard feels betrayed, but I never betrayed him.”
“No, you saved that for me,” I blurt before I can stop myself.
“I gave you my reasons for keeping you in the dark, and I’m sticking with them. I’m sorry you are hurt, but I’m not sorry that I did what I did.”
“For the last time, I’m not hurt. I’m irritated. I’m in this mess because of you,” I grind out, my cheeks heating. I am hurt. I wish I wasn’t, but I am. I can’t seem to move past it or the fact that I care about Orion when I really shouldn’t. Especially since he clearly doesn’t give a damn about me. “We need an escape plan. I’m not going to sit here and wait to be handed over to Kakara knows who. I refuse.” I shake my head.
