Page 64 of The Alien's Vicious Starflash Manor

“There,” he said finally, dropping the bloodied cloth. But his hand lingered on my face for a moment too long, and something molten pooled in my core. “Try not to get yourself killed again.”

The words were harsh, but his voice was rough, almost tender. It made something in my chest ache.

No. I couldn’t let myself feel this. Couldn’t let this strange attraction cloud my judgment. He was still my captor, still the man who had thrown me into his kitchens and bound me with magic.

But as I watched him retrieve his coat, movements precise and controlled as always, I knew I was fighting a losing battle against my own heart.

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms. The pain helped ground me, helped me remember who and what he really was.

Even if part of me whispered that maybe I didn’t know him at all.

Ivrael bent down so his eyes were level with mine, and I could almost feel the heat of the sparks in them as his voice turned pleading. “Promise me you will not try to escape through these woods again.”

“I promise,” I said.

His expression suggested he didn’t believe me.

I hoped I’d get better at lying to him.

And to myself.

As we touched down in the courtyard and Ivrael dismissed his horse, I stared at the mountains in the distance, in the opposite direction from the forest. The ones inhabited by the firelords I’d decided were the only ones who might be able to beat him.

Once again, Adefina was waiting for us when Ivrael returned me to the kitchen. She had dark circles under her eyes, and it was clear she hadn’t slept for worrying about me.

“Why do you keep trying to leave?” she asked. “You’re going to die a horrible death if you don’t quit putting yourself in danger like that.”

Ivrael flashed a tired smile at Adefina before saying, “She’s right. You need to listen to your friend. She’s wise.”

I glared at him. “You’ve brought me back to my cage now. You don’t have to stick around.”

I’d worked hard to make sure not to seem too introspective on the ride back to the manor, closing my eyes and feigning sleep. Not that it was difficult to do after my night spent hiding from monsters. But I was eager to put my plan to contact the firelords into motion.

And to do that, I needed more information than I had. I began quizzing Adefina and Fintan for every piece of information they had about the firelords. Every chance I got, I asked for more information. What did they know about firelords? Why were the Caix and the firelords enemies?

I tried to weave my interest in all things firelord into everyday conversation, but it was bound to be noticed sooner or later.

“Why the sudden concern with the firelords?” Adefina asked a few days later as we sat down to our daily tea break. Fintan opened the door and came through to join us.

“I’m bored here,” I said, having already come up with my answer since I was certain she would ask at some point. “Back home, I had my phone, books, the internet, games, movies, everything I could ever possibly want at my fingertips. Here, I don’t have anything. I am dying for entertainment.”

To my relief, they all seemed to accept the response. “Ask away, then,” Adefina said, as we all settled around the small table with our midafternoon warm drinks. “I don’t know much, but what I do know, I will happily share.”

And so I continued gathering information about the firelords, even as I watched the days tick down to Izzy’s birthday.

“His Lordship’s father, the duke as was, never discussed the firelords,” Adefina told me one afternoon as she and I scrubbed lunch dishes.

We might have to cook for only a very few Starcaix, but we always had to wash dishes for everyone.

“He came from the borderlands, the old duke, the ones in the foothills of the Firelord Mountains themselves,” the cook continued. “I don’t know for certain, but I suspect his people suffered from firelord depredations in times past.”

“The duke’s father was Icecaix?” I asked, surprised. “Ivrael’s coloring is so different from everyone else’s here—” I paused, considering. “And there’s that picture in the gallery of his father. Ivrael looks just like him. I guess I just assumed the old duke was Starcaix.”

“I do not like to gossip, you know,” Adefina said primly.

I had to bite back a snicker. Gossiping was almost all we did, every day, all day long. I knew if I remained silent long enough, the cook would tell me everything she knew.

“The old duke lost his mind, and Duke Ivrael gave him the kindness of the Eternal Dream, all long before my time,” Adefina said, “so I cannot say with any certainty.”

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