Page 57 of King of Flames and Shadows

I catch the word like a barbed hook, but I keep my expression blank. Linus, pleased, leans closer.

"It’s remarkable," he continues, his voice now a low murmur. "You’re something they fear even more than the lords, the houses, their armies and pawns. Someone willing to embrace darkness, to destroy the pillars of power that have enslaved us all.”

“That’s not me,” I say, and I believe it, though perhaps I am a fool for it.

Linus looks at me as if I missed his point. “They want a heretic, Calliope. Be their heretic. Burn their kingdom to the ground. Nobody is born murderous. We become this way. In this kingdom, it is beaten into us.”

The words wrap around me like a snake, binding tight and cold. Linus is in my space now. I don’t pull away, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. The flicker in his gaze is unmistakable, though; he enjoys testing boundaries. He enjoys the power, the thrill of control. It’s unsettling, his twisted fascination with me.

Yes, I’m certain now. Something has happened that has unhinged this man. He’s either terrified or manic. Perhaps both.

"Is that what you want, Linus?" I ask, voice sharper than I intend. "A puppet to dance on your strings?"

A dark look crosses his face, but only for a moment, quickly smothered by his charming, chilling grin.

"A queen with teeth," he murmurs, his voice like silk slipping over steel. "One with the strength to seize her destiny."

He paces back into the shadows, his silhouette stretching tall and thin against the wall.

"You have the power, Calliope. Arvoren’s defenses are strongest against external forces, against armies and assassins. But against magic? Against someone with your strength, someone already inside his walls?" He spreads his hands, a look of triumph in his eyes. "You’d be unstoppable. And you know it. You’re not stupid. You know it’s your chance at freedom. You know it’s the only way out. If you don’t act, the other lords will soon rip him to shreds, and his people will kill you. They’ll tear you apart.”

I turn to Lyra, searching her face for some measure of reassurance. But she only nods, her expression anxious and watchful.

"With your magic," she says softly, "you could smuggle us in—Linus and the others. We can bring in allies from the rebellion. Once inside, we’ll have a mage waiting who can finally break your chains." She glances down at the cloth-wrapped metal around my ankles, a slight frown creasing her brow. "But it’ll take a risky diversion. You’ll have to keep Arvoren distracted—keep his attention off the lower gates."

A mage who can break my chains. I’m not naïve enough to believe it; promises from Linus come with hidden blades. But he thinks I’m desperate, thinks he can keep me on his string with the barest scraps of hope. And maybe I am desperate … or maybe I will become so someday soon, if the king keeps his chains on me for much longer.

“You’ll kill him, then,” I say in a small, flat voice.

Lyra chews her lip. “We …”

Linus interjects. “Yes.”

At the very least, despite his cruelty, his unsettling viciousness, his schemes and untruths, Linus will not tell me white lies.

I nod, feigning a soft, hesitant surrender. "When the time comes, should our alliance have held, I’ll open the entrance from the castle into the catacombs. But I want more information first. Names, numbers, locations. The logistics of my escape. Proof of my immunity. No surprises."

Linus’ expression twists briefly, a flash of something annoyed. But then his smooth, predatory calm returns, his grin widening.

"Of course, My Queen," he replies. "We’ll send word soon. And remember…" He steps close once more, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Eventually, you’ll have to make a choice. You can’t stay loyal to him and save your people. You can’t cling to the dragon and pretend you’re anything other than his captive."

"And what about you, Linus?" I ask, unable to stop myself. "Where do your loyalties lie?"

His eyes flash with something I can’t describe. "To myself. To the future. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I have to meet with allies outside of the city by dawn.”

When Lyra and Linus finally disappear back into the shadows, I’m left standing alone in the cold chamber, clutching the book Linus pressed into my hand. My fingers are shaking as I flip through its pages—a mixture of guard patrols, map sketches, and security details, all scrawled in hasty script. The hardcover, torn from another book, reads,The House Szallitás Family Tree Through the Ages.I slip it into my dress, feeling the cold of it press against my skin.

As I climb back to the upper levels of the castle, Linus’s words coil like a snake in my mind, hissing louder and more insistently with each step. He thinks I’ll be his willing weapon, his means to power. But if I play him, if I maneuver this game right, he may become my weapon instead—a contingency, a way out if Arvoren turns on me again.

But if Arvoren doesn’t—if he does free me, if he is the gentle man I knew last night …

I cast the thought from my mind.

Silent, I slip into Arvoren’s chambers—our chambers—and pause just inside the doorway. He sleeps deeply, his face softened, the usual fierce tension gone from his jaw. I lie beside him and study him in the moonlight, the rise and fall of his breathing steady and calm.

Incessant, for hours, I ask myself whether I could really do it, whether I could kill this man. I find no answer within myself. Eventually, I fall into an uneasy sleep.

Chapter 27 - Arvoren

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