Page 45 of Caress of Fire
Chapter 15
Marielle sat on the corner of the bed, her ears ringing and her face numb. She blinked again, but no matter how many times she made the world disappear, it was still the same when her eyelids opened.
“Asha?” Just saying her name made this all too real, and Marielle had to pause for a few seconds. “I saw her this morning. She looked normal, happy. How could she have killed herself?”
“She didn’t.” Fedryc stood in front of her, his face set in grim lines. He looked tired for the first time since she had known him. There was an exhaustion about him that made her shiver with fear. Fedryc Haal wasn’t one to get tired, he was an all-powerful Draekon lord. Seeing the signs of fatigue in him made her more afraid than she ever had been. “Henron confirmed that Asha died ofVenemum Arderepoisoning. There’s no way a young girl like that could get her hands on such a rare poison. Whoever killed her left a suicide note coated in it. There was also certainty that I would be the first person to find and read that note. This poisoning attempt was for me; Asha was just an accidental victim.”
“Was it the same person who killed Lord Aymond?”
“Yes.” Fedryc’s eyes gleamed with anger. “Venemum Ardereis the poison of choice of the Knat-Kanassis. They believe it will only harm those of impure blood, like the Delradon and humans, but not the Draekon of pure blood.”
“And does it?” Marielle frowned, remembering the rumor of the year before, about a young Draekon lord whose dragon had been injured by a blade coated with the poison in a faraway kingdom called Darragon.
“Of course not.” Fedryc shook his head. “That’s only more of their propaganda. The Knat-Kanassis used it before, and it pushed Dagmar into a civil war so long and devastating, the planet still bears the scars of it. Millions died, and millions more will if war starts again.”
He turned away and Marielle had the distinct feeling there was something he wasn’t felling her. She bent and reached for his hand, and he looked down at her with guilt on his face.
“What it is?” She spoke softly, knowing he was proud and this was something that hurt, deep inside. “You can tell me. You know everything about me. There is nothing you can say that will make me think less of you.”
He stared at her for a long time, then glanced away at the desert through the long window. She waited, knowing she should give him the time to decide for himself. When he looked back at her, hurt and guilt were etched on his face.
“My family was on the wrong side of that war,” Fedryc whispered, as if he was afraid that if he spoke any louder, she might get up and leave. “My great-grandfather swore an allegiance to them. I found the original papers in my father’s office, in a hidden compartment. Maybe that is why Aymond allowed the humans to live like they do in Aalstad. Maybe my own father was one of them.”
There was such loathing in Fedryc’s voice, such self-hatred, that Marielle’s heart broke. She reached for his cheek, carefully touching his hot skin to turn his face to her.
“Your family’s sins are not your own.” She put as much conviction as she felt into her words and saw Fedryc’s frown soften. “And you are not your father. No one can hold his wrongdoing against you.”
“You are wrong.” Fedryc shook his head. “They can, and they will. But most importantly, this means that my father might have been closer to his killer than we thought.”
“Who?” Marielle sat up straighter. She frowned, because she had no idea who could be close enough to kill Lord Aymond.
“That is the big mystery.” Fedryc clicked his lips in a frustrated sound. “Isobel is the only one who was close enough to Aymond and had the money and power to get her hands onVenemum Ardere.”
Marielle let that sink in for a while. Then she inhaled, but couldn’t shake the feeling they were both missing something. “You think Isobel killed Aymond and started a conspiracy to steal the throne of Aalstad from you?”
“I would have said yes if I hadn’t seen her reaction to Asha’s death.” Fedryc shook his head, and Marielle could almost feel the frustration coming out of his skin. “I don’t think it’s her. I don’t think she has the mind of a killer.”
Marielle agreed. Isobel Haal was haughty and condescending, but she wasn’t a killer. “There is no one else.”
Fedryc took Marielle’s hand in his own and turned her palm up, then traced it with his finger. “I know.” He exhaled forcefully. “There is something I’m missing. Something I just don’t understand.”
Marielle nodded. She couldn’t help him, she knew nothing of the Draekon world, of this castle and its inhabitants. “There was someone else. Someone close to Lord Aymond. Maybe Lord Aymond had a lover or someone else he was close to. Another High Lord, perhaps.” She closed her hand around his. “You will find this person, and then you’ll have your killer.”
“I had Henron collect testimony from all the servants, to see if they have something to say. We’re searching every room as well.” Fedryc pursed his lips in a doubtful expression. “I doubt we’ll find anything there. This won’t be easy.”
“Easy was never part of the equation.”
Fedryc looked at her and the corners of his mouth curved up. Some of the sadness and guilt left his eyes as he looked at her.
“You are a fantastic woman.”
He bent down and pressed his mouth on hers. As soon as his skin came in contact with her, Marielle opened her mouth and slid her tongue out. She wanted his taste on her, needed it.
She moved and placed her hands on Fedryc’s chest, then gently pushed him down onto the mattress. Fedryc sat up as she straddled him, his hands on her relentlessly. They drank each other’s presence, got lost in each other’s touch like it could ward off the dangers around. Like it could lessen the hurt they both harbored.
Then Fedryc pushed her gently away. “There is a safety concern I need to take care of.” He shook his head. “It seems Lord Anion hasn’t taken my rejection as well as he should have. The fool thinks he can twist my arm into surrendering Silva to him.”
Marielle snorted with disgust at the mention of the Draekon man. “That one won’t change his mind,” she warned him. “He won’t back down until he has what he thinks belongs to him.”
