Page 131 of Fear the Flames
Ailliard cuts through the crowd as soon as Eagor steps to the side, enveloping me in a hug that lifts my feet off the ground. I suppress a pained shriek that threatens to surge forward as he presses against my bruises. I don’t want everyone to know I’m hurt. He releases me from his hold after several painful seconds, and I tuck my arms around me to subtly run my fingers up and down my sides in soothing strokes.
“I can’t believe you did it,” he says, a satisfied smile spreading on his face.
“You’re not mad?” I expected him to be at least slightly annoyed.
He brushes a hand through the air, “I wish you told me, but I understand why you didn’t. I probably would have lashed out again, but now all is well, and I’m so glad to see you’re alright.” One of his hands squeezes my shoulder. “I’d like to see the lights before the first course is served. Would you like to accompany an old man on a walk?”
It’s cold, but Ailliard should know the details of what happened before finding out with the rest of the party. He deserves better than that. “Sure,” I say while looping my arm through his and waving to Finnian across the room. “Should we announce we’re leaving?”
“We won’t be gone long; it doesn’t seem to make sense to interrupt their conversations for a stroll.” He guides through the glass doors that lead to the colonnade. “How was Imirath?” he asks after we walk a few feet away from the party, leaving the noise in our wake.
“It was odd…being back. I never saw much of it while I was there, so it didn’t even feel like being back,” I shrug.
“But you did enjoy Zinambra?”
“I suppose.” There was nothing wrong with the town, but I think my enjoyment stemmed from the people I was with. Ailliard cranes his neck around before hurrying us into an empty sitting room and shutting the door behind us. “What are you—”
“I have amazing news.” Ailliard paces across the room while smiling.
I blink in confusion, “That’s wonderful. What is it?”
“We can finally go home.”
My brows scrunch together. “Ailliard, you’ve always been able to go home. I was never holding you hostage.”
“No,” he shakes his head, finally standing in place, “home,” he emphasizes.
Home.
Home.
The confusion on my face bleeds into utter disbelief.
He can’t mean—
“Imirath.” My stomach knots painfully, and acid surges in my throat when he proclaims the word with such reverence. I press my elbow into my bruise to make sure I’m not dreaming.
“What are you talking about?” My heartbeat increases as I take in the sheer happiness on his face. Please, gods, let this be some twisted joke he decided to pull on me. I swallow the bile my stomach threatens to spill out on the floor at the mere thought of Ailliard wanting to return to Imirath. By the looks of it, he yearns to return there. I force my hands to stay firm at my sides; he’ll run a mile with any emotion I give him.
“Garrick has given orders to his soldiers to capture you, not kill you. He has rescinded the bounty on your head. He doesn’t want to kill you anymore; he wants to work with you and your dragons.”
My head tips toward the ceiling as a dry laugh rattles through me. “How generous of him. You know, I’m glad you never had children if that’s your standard of fatherhood.”
“He’s not only a father, he is also the King of Imirath, and he was looking out for his kingdom.” Ailliard’s reasoning plows into me, setting my teeth on edge. He’s defending Garrick, the man he hid me from for half my life.
“Yes, and I am the Queen of Aestilian and Princess of Imirath, not only a daughter, and will bleed him dry the first chance I get.” Venom wraps around my words, and my eyes narrow into slits.
“Elowen, you can’t possibly believe you can go up against him. He’s the largest threat on the continent. You’re a discarded princess that has the chance of being more.” His condescension slams into me, and all I see is red. No, he doesn’t get to stand here and belittle me while he’s
betraying me. I’m fully aware I may not be the best niece, I know I don’t clue him in on everything, but I would never do this to him. I would never stab someone I love in the back; though, I suppose he doesn’t even love me. You don’t send a person you love back into the place that spawned the darkest and angriest parts of them. Anger bubbles in my blood, boiling my temper and sharpening my claws.
“In case you missed what just happened, I set my dragons free, straight from the walls that he cowers behind. He will pay for what he has done, and I will enjoy making him pay for it. He’s not a king, he’s a coward, and he’ll meet death as a coward.” I roll my shoulders, feeling my poisonous anger course through me with no antidote. “Speaking of cowards,uncle, how many nights did you fall asleep on your feather-filled mattress while I bled onto the dungeon floor because of orders dealt by your precious King Garrick? Did you know?”
There’s a chance he didn’t know the full extent of it, considering he guarded my mother, but he hesitates a beat too long, confirming my suspicions in the silence. He knew, of course, he knew. He knew what was happening to me and didn’t do a single thing about it. “You know what? Let me put the details together myself. You took me out of Imirath because you wanted payback after Isira died. Is that correct? You only gave a fuck about me after she died. Then you realized too late that Garrick would never forgive you for taking me out of Imirath, so you pretended you did it out of the goodness of your heart.”
“He won’t kill me if we go back together. You should be by your father’s side when the war begins, not next to some bastard.” He doesn’t even bother denying what I accused him of because he can’t. I was a fool to think he loved me. He used to freak out whenever I left Aestilian. Now, I realize it wasn’t because he wanted to keep me safe, but it was because he wanted to keep me alive until he could barter with my father to return home to his beloved Imirath.
“Insult Cayden one more time, and I’ll cut your tongue from your mouth. As of right now, I’d love to never have to suffer your words again. You’re a damn fool if you think I’ll go back to Imirath with you. You’re also a damn fool if you think, even for a second, that his fury can hold a flame to mine. I may have suffered him, but it’s his turn to suffer me,” I state in a deadly calm tone laced with the promise of blood.
