Page 63 of King of Fire and Flames

“Did you suspect you were different to the Light Realm fae?” I asked.

The leather armor covering her chest creaked as she heaved a sigh, her black and red cloak whipping around her body. “No. They wiped my memories when they dumped me at Coridon, a bit like what happened to you, Zali. Our stories are quite similar.”

I nodded and pressed my palm to her cheek, wet with rain and tears. “We are alike, Esen. We’re not enemies. Not if we choose to be friends.”

She smiled through her tears. “You’re right in a way. As a child, I did feel wrong inside. Somehow, I knew that I was different, unworthy of the storm fae’s love. Anger flowed through my veins, sustaining me, and I made myself hate everyone except Ildri and Stormur, my foster parents. I loved my brother, Raiden, too. And I foolishly adored Arrow in the exact way one shouldn’t love a male like him. I hated you because from the moment he first saw you, something about you called to his damaged heart. I longed for him to look at me that way. I thought if I got rid of you, one day, he would.”

I squeezed her shoulder. “Esen…”

“Don’t pity me. Please… anything but that.”

I forced sorrow from my features, then stepped away, no longer offering comfort, since it was the last thing she wanted.

“While Arrow was in Mydorian helping you kill your brother, Azarn sent a messenger to Coridon who revealed my true identity. The Fire King asked for a meeting, and filled with hate for Arrow, the fae that had put you—a human—above me, I did as Azarn asked. And then I learned the horrible truth about what they’d put me through to transform my fire magic into lightning. Instead of feeling used, I felt wanted, needed, as though I’d finally found my place. My purpose.”

“But something changed,” I guessed. “What was it?”

“I saw how the fire fae used you, Zali, as if you were nothing. Chattel to be bartered. Manipulated. Imprisoned and controlled. Jealousy stopped me from pitying you when you experienced the same treatment in Coridon. But your ancestor married the great Zareen. Her blood flows in your veins, and yet Azarn has no respect for that. No respect for you, even though your magical bloodline demands it. And I finally realized he only cared about what I could do to help him build power and wealth. I meant nothing to him. I never had.”

“I understand. Men like Azarn will always underestimate us, but if we unite and stand together, we can wrest the power back from them. Will you help me, Esen? If you do, I’ll give you a position you deserve. A high counselor to the Queen of Mydorian perhaps. And if that role doesn’t suit you, then I’ll find another that does.”

For the longest time, she said nothing, but at least her crying had ceased. The rain continued to pelt down, our clothes hanging like wet sacks, stuck to our bodies.

Finally, Esen smiled. “I want to be your ally. I really do. But more than anything, Zali, I want to be your friend.”

With a gust of delighted laughter, I lurched forward and wrapped my arms around her stiff frame, hugging her tightly. She bore the affection for the span of a few heartbeats, then wriggled out of my arms.

“We must go,” Esen said. “I need to find Arrow and beg his forgiveness. Enlist his help as best I can while Melaya’s magic ties my tongue in knots.”

As we trekked up the mountainside, I pondered her words, a new-found hope brimming in my heart. If Esen planned to seek Arrow’s help, then she must believe that his cozying up to the Fire King since he’d arrived in Taln was just act. Nothing more.

“Tell me the truth,” I said as we neared the fire moat. “Did Arrow betray me? Or did Azarn trick me into believing so?”

Blue hair curtained her face as she shook her head. “I can’t speak about that. Melaya has cursed my speech so that I can’t disclose Sun Realm plans that directly concern Arrow. Even if there was a way to break the spell and tell you, it would be the end of me. A long and painful end. But I advise you to think carefully about what I did tell you and everything you’ve seen since your capture.”

“I will,” I said, my heart turning somersaults against my ribs, because her words almost seemed to confirm that Arrow was on my side.

Giddy with hope, I grinned at Esen as we rounded the south wall, then climbed the steps into the main foyer of the palace. “Your magic, storm and fire combined, must be incredible when unleashed.”

“One day, I’ll show you.” She flashed a smile. “I’m no match for Melaya… but I will be quite the asset in Mydorian. Azarn’s soldiers have a training session I must attend. Go now and spend time with the royal family. Appear meek and mild—if you have it in you—and watch everything like a sea hawk.”

Hurrying through the palace, I wondered who else knew about Esen’s astonishing revelation. Did Arrow or Raiden realize that she’d been born a fire fae—here—at Taln?

Esen and I were so similar. Our memories and pasts had been wiped, stolen from us by Azarn and Quin, who had used us for their own twisted means, and when we’d served our purposes, discarded us like foul-smelling shit they had trodden in.

United, we would make men like them pay. Together, we could fuck them up and make them sorry they had ever underestimated us.

For the first time since arriving in Taln, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.

Now, I had Esen as a friend and ally.

And possibly Arrow, too.

The part of me still hopelessly, foolishly in love with him was busy swooning and performing a victory dance inside my head as I headed toward the Great Hall, hoping to find Azarn and his family on the dais, eating lunch.

As I marched along the shape-shifting passages, I kept my gaze fixed ahead, away from the endless mirrors lining the walls. Today, their dark surfaces reflected images of horned fire fae that spat a tar-like substance at anyone who made the mistake of glancing at them.

Disorientated and doubting my ability to locate the hall, I rounded a corner and came across Ruhh hovering like a ghoul at my eye level.

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