Page 99 of The Flame and the Forsaken

Mariel smiled gently. “I know.”

“I didn’t mean to lie to you, but once it was out, I couldn’t take it back. I ken I was fearful you’d see he was different, and would fall for him, just as you did, in the end. I’m sorry.”

Mariel had suspected as much. “There’s no need for apologies, Auggie. I understand.”

Remarkably, neither seemed mad. There was sadness trailing between them, mostly unsaid, but they’d exhausted enough of it before she’d arrived, and she’d come upon the precipice of their acceptance. She supposed that had been Destin’s intention, to spare her the worst of it, but she would have liked the opportunity to have decided for herself.

“Erran has already promised to send gold where it’s needed. He’s committed to this cause too, just... legally,” she said, but at the mention of his name, they both went sour, exchanging disgusted looks. They weren’t there yet. Maybe they’d never be. It was enough for one night. She could only take one step at a time.

Above the rest, they were still her family. With their vigilantism behind them, perhaps they could even act like one.

“Where did my brother go? He didn’t say?”

Remy shook his head. “Only that he had to do what was necessary. You know Des. He rarely makes sense.”

What was necessary.The words were simple enough, but why did they settle in her belly like an undigested pit?

“You should go,” Augustine said, lifting for a chaste cheek kiss before turning and wrapping herself in her shawl.

Remy kissed her next, brushing awfully close to her mouth. He made a soft sound against her flesh before withdrawing. “This is one end, but it’s nottheend.”

Mariel was crying too. “What I wish for the most is for it to be the beginning of something too, something we’ve waited a long, long time for, all of us.”

“Time will tell.” Remy blew her an air kiss and darted off after his sister.

Chapter21

The Flame

Mariel rode back to Goldsea Spires in a haze of wistfulness and melancholy. Her parting with Remy and Augustine had gone as well as it could have, but it was as Remy had said: time would tell. A part of her had died with the dissolution of Obsidian Sky. Whether it was a part she would miss remained to be seen.

The ocher sunset glowed behind the hills and cliffs of the coast. She took it in. There was so much beauty in the world that she’d taken for granted, or had simply overlooked in her single-minded purpose. It had robbed her of more than a normal life. It had taken sunsets and sunrises. The comforting smells of baking bread or fresh rain. Life’s great beauties had been no more than practical measurements, tellers of time or indicators of potential impediments. No small joys for her.

Guilt had settled over her long before she breathed in the start of dusk. Enjoying anything when others still suffered was a luxury, one she’d railed against for so long, the words and sentiments were habit. And now she would benefit from these luxuries, even though they had nothing to do with her choice to stay with Erran. Her children would never miss a meal or know the true meaning of need. And a part of her was so glad for it, so relieved to not pass her trauma to another generation, that it only deepened her shame.

No matter what, she’d always be the Flame. It wasn’t a name; it washer. Not even retirement could take that from her. Erran had promised to help her people, and she believed him. She’d never surrender her principles, not even for him.

She’d just commenced her final approach up the cliff to the Spires when a rider raced up in a plume of dust. Before it had cleared, she could see it was Erran.

“Mariel.” He panted, skidding to a stop inches from where she was waiting. “Destin was arrested tonight. Again.”

Mariel pulled her hood back, unsure if she’d heard him right. “What?”

“Destin...” He put a hand to his chest and breathed deep, trying again. “Destin was arrested.”

“But why?”Said he had to do what was necessary.“Erran, tell me he didn’t...”

Erran’s woeful air was the only answer she needed, but he told her anyway. “He claimed to be the Flame again, but this time...” The trepidation woven through his words and expression had her terrified of him continuing. “He gave details. Lots of details. About many of your heists. He knew far too much, the guard told my father. Far, far too much for it to be incidental.” He massaged his mouth. “And, ah, this time he was sober. He said...”

Erran’s words trailed, muted, into the background. The sunset burned her eyes, obscuring her path, as she rode toward the keep, loosely aware of nothing but the horrible nightmare she’d had so many times over the years. Destin saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. Destin swinging from a scaffold. Destin gone, gone, gone when she’d spent the past decade building and fortifying protections from the cold cruelty of life and reality.

She heard her name in the distance. Erran was calling for her, and his voice was close enough that he couldn’t be too far behind. Did he know what she intended? Did she?

Oddments of the meeting she’d missed felt like memories. ShesawDestin telling the others about her and Erran, about why it all had to end. She was right there with him, listening to his intentions and standing witness to them, but her own voice was locked. There was nothing to add, no words that would connect past to future.

Mariel leaped from her horse before she’d reached the long staircase. She narrowly prevented injury by landing in a crouch, her palms springing off the ground as she leaped back into motion. There wasn’t time to think, but her unending thoughts spun anyway, filtering through disorienting memories and premonitions. She was aware of every inch of her own flesh, tingling from the inside as she raced through the doors, her instinct overriding her courage. Her ears rang, forming a barrier from the anxious questions being hurled her way.

All the while, Erran screamed her name.

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