Page 84 of King of Fire and Flames

My entire body flushed hot as I remembered how he’d kissed me in his room while I flickered in and out of visibility, and for a selfish moment, I wished we were alone. I quickly told Ari about the serpent fae and the orchid petals he’d given me.

“If there are only a few of us, we should save the petals for our escape and use my reaver cloak instead,” she said.

“Did the Zareen tell you anything about how Melaya’s blocking power works?” I asked her.

“It’s veiled in mystery. But it is true that the twin mages, not the king, possess the most power in the realm. Melaya has set blocking wards throughout the kingdom. Beyond the Fen Forest, your own reaver cloak would likely work, as would Arrowyn’s storm power.”

“If the brothers are so powerful, why don’t they get rid of the king and take control of the city?” I asked.

“Estella,” Arrow replied, his thumb stroking the sensitive skin of my forearm and his chest plate of feathers rough against my back. “She is the key to Azarn retaining power.”

I sat up straighter, twisting to face him. “The queen is?”

“Why do you think he took her from the Star Court?” Arrow plucked me off his lap, placed me on the window-seat cushions, then got up and paced across the room. “As you’ve probably realized, theirs was far from a love match.”

I frowned. “I thought it was an arranged marriage that benefited both kingdoms.”

On my bed, Ari folded her legs beneath her. “They may frame it that way now, but no, it was far from amicably arranged. With Melaya’s help, Azarn tricked her, subdued her formidable cosmic power and just… took her. The queen has no lust for gold or desire to control kingdoms. She keeps the mages in line for the sake of Bakhur.”

“Exactly,” said Arrow. “Estella hates Azarn and will no doubt move against him eventually. Her realm only wishes to be left in peace. The star fae can stop time, suck matter into black holes, uncreate life, and do unspeakable things with their power. Thank the gold they are mostly a peace-loving species.”

“But what prevents Estella from taking action or from leaving?” I asked.

Ari sighed. “The bonds between Azarn and Estella cannot be broken without bringing harm to her son.”

“She’d have to kill Bakhur to be rid of her husband?”

“That’s right,” said Arrow.

Hugging my knees to my chest, I thought through what I’d learned, not entirely sure it all made sense. “But why would Melaya help Azarn bring a queen, whose power was considerably stronger than his, to Taln in the first place?” I asked.

“There’s more to it than just Estella keeping Melaya in check, Leaf,” replied Ari. “For him to keep his position and full powers, he must always obey Azarn’s directives.”

I rubbed my temples. “Why?”

“Because at the twin mages’ birth, unbreakable blood bonds were woven through their bodies, making it impossible for them to disobey whoever had been officially crowned the current King of Fire.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“The Zareen shared ancient knowledge with Ari, and since our arrival in Taln, Zaret has been spending a large sum of my gold bribing select fae. His sources hint at a similar story.”

Excitement bubbling over, I clapped my hands together, grinning. “So given her hatred for Azarn, surely Estella will help us get Orion out of that fucking cave.”

“No, Ruhh will,” said both Ari and Arrow at the same time.

“Ruhh? The girl who killed herself because you wouldn’t marry her? The same one who asked me to kill you while you were in bed recovering from a battle wound?”

“Ruhh has forgiven me, and Ari relayed a special message to her from the Zareen. One that means more to her than anything.”

“So you did kill Ruhh,” I said, shooting onto my feet and pacing in front of the bed.

Arrow sat next to his Sayeeda and watched me with a wary expression.

“Leaf, I admit it was a… a terrible situation. When I came to visit Azarn to make amends for your attack on the Sun envoy, Neeron, she threatened to have you killed in Coridon. And I knew she had the means to do it. We argued at the Lake of Fire, and she slipped and fell in. I simply… well, I didn’t help her get out. I couldn’t let her hurt you in any way. Ever.”

“Then why did Ruhh tell me she jumped from the palace?”

“I threw her body from the tallest tower to make it look like she had. Azarn has no proof that I was responsible for her death, but blames me anyway.” Arrow laughed. “In truth, he isn’t wrong.”

---