Page 75 of King of Fire and Flames

He held his hand out, and I grabbed it, allowing myself to be tugged to a shadowy corner of the library. Arrow backed me into the stacks, the smell of old books and dust teasing my senses. Soft lips kissed me tenderly, first my mouth, and then the side of my neck over the pulsing Aldara glyph.

“What are you doing?” I asked, so breathless I could barely speak. “I thought you were going to show me something about the fire showers.”

“No, I decided to ignite my creative passions, just like you told the guardian I would.”

“See? I always end up being right, don’t I?” I teased.

“If you kiss me again,” he breathed in my ear, “then you’ll definitely be as right as the gold-flecked desert. As perfect as the sun that blazes above it. And as—”

“Oh, do shut up.” I laughed, smashing our mouths together and silencing his ramble. “Why waste time arguing when we could do this instead?” I said between kisses.

My head spun, my limbs loose and languid, and for a few minutes, I forgot that we stood inside a library, located in a hostile realm.

But reality soon intruded, and I remembered that if we wanted to escape Taln, we had a lot of work to do, and locking lips leisurely would have to wait.

I pushed Arrow’s chest, reluctantly breaking our kiss. “How is this showing me what causes the fire rain to fall?”

“It isn’t,” he said, his dark-gold hair a ruffled mess and his breathing rough and heavy. “Obviously.” He let his face fall into the crook of my neck and rumbled the words against my skin. “But I can’t stop thinking about last night.”

“You can’t stop thinking about my blood?”

His low laugh sent a shiver down my spine. “No, your everything, Leaf. Eyes. Smile. Voice. Smell. Taste. Laugh. And in case you’ve forgotten, you’re mine. Mine. Mine,” he rasped. “Forever mine as I am yours in life and death.”

“I’d prefer not to contemplate our deaths right now.”

“No? Then think about this,” he said, his fangs sliding into my neck and drawing blood. Only a sip, but enough to make my head fall back in response, something heavy tumbling from the shelf onto the floor.

“Arrow, the book…”

“Ignore it,” he replied through our bond, his silver gaze hot as he raised his head.

“More.” I wound my fingers into his hair and tugged him back to where I needed him.

“Absolutely not.” His forehead pressed against mine. “You need your strength, and I only took enough blood to speak through our bond. I have a plan. We’ll return to your cozy reading corner, converse about things of no consequence, bicker, and then I’ll leave in an apparent rage. You’ll wait five minutes, and then meet me by the fire moat.”

“Why there?”

He rolled his eyes. “For once, instead of arguing, please just follow my instructions.”

“Now you’re worried about being discreet? Anyone could’ve walked around the stacks and seen us. Bakhur, even Azarn, who I’ve heard loves to lurk around his city, hoping to find someone plotting his demise.”

“Are you ready?” he asked, leading me back to the couch where my books waited on a low table.

“As I’ll ever be.”

“You’re quite wrong, Princess,” he said in a fake pompous tone. “My ice sculptures shouldn’t emulate forms from other realms.” Frowning, he sat beside me and angled his head toward the window. “Look carefully at the pair near the library entrance playing a board game,” he said through the bond.

Two cloaked men that looked a lot like Raiden and Zaret moved clay figures over a board, joking and laughing as if they hadn’t a care in the world.

“You’ve set watchdogs near the entrance?” I asked.

He smirked. “Yes.”

I crossed my arms, forcing a frown. “I disagree. I think featuring fae from other realms in your art is actually a radical act of peace. You should try it.”

As I spoke, Esen approached Arrow’s guards across a courtyard dotted with statues of winged orcs and trolls. Rising, Raiden smiled and slapped Esen on the back, then she squatted down and joined the game.

“I have no desire to sculpt fire fae,” Arrow rumbled, sounding cross.

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