Page 65 of A Chill in the Flame
“What happened in there?” Dwyn demanded, eyes shooting between the new vageth and the enormous serpent.
Ophir was flanked by her pitch-black creations. The snake’s mouth widened, allowing venom to glisten from its fangs. Its tail wriggled as it coiled itself to strike. Her demons of night were tightly knit to her emotions, tensed with her anger as they stared at her target.
“For you!” Dwyn said honestly, eyes earnest, face pleading.
“What about me?”
Dwyn flinched against her next words, holding her hand up defensively. “I didn’t lie to you, Firi.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“I didn’t lie to you!” she cried back, taking a half step away from the princess. It was clear from the flit of her eyes that she was searching for an exit strategy—a source of water. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not like them. I want to help you, not hurt you. Since the beginning I’ve been helping you!”
Ophir was unmoved.
“I did this for you,” Dwyn practically cried. “Idid this! Your vageth? Your snake? I helped you find them. Why would I do that for you if I intended you harm?”
The new vageth dragged a single paw on the ground in front of it, flexing its talons and dragging them across the ground.
When Ophir looked unmoved, she changed tactics. “You said you didn’t care. You said as long as I wished you no harm, you didn’t care why I’d come.”
“I care now.”
Dwyn looked at her counterpart. “What about him?”
“I’d also like to hear Dwyn explain herself,” Tyr said.
Bitterness rolled over Ophir’s tongue. “Tyr followed you here from Sulgrave. He said it himself, and you’ve never denied it. We both know why he’s here—you. Why areyouhere, Dwyn.”
“What did Guryon—”
“This isn’t about Guryon. This is about you.”
Dwyn threw up her hands in exasperation. “For goddess’s sake, Firi—”
“That’s exactly right.”
Dwyn went rigid.
Ophir met her gaze with a challenging stare until she was certain Dwyn had hinged on the same word. “A god?” Ophir snarled. “You think I can make you a god? That’s what they wanted from Caris, isn’t it? It sure as fuck doesn’t seem like you’ll get what you want while my heart’s still beating.”
“You wanted to die,” Dwyn said, tears in her eyes. “If Iwanted your dead heart, I could have let that happen. I’ve helped you every step of the way. Why would I do that?”
Ophir’s lips remained pulled back in a snarl. “It appears that whatever they did with Caris didn’t work. Maybe I have to unlock my powers before you can steal them from me? I don’t know your game, Dwyn. You want to be the All Mother? I’d say ‘over my dead body’, but honestly, I’d like to see you try. Sedit?”
The hound snapped, drool pooling on the floor beneath its maw.
Dwyn shrieked. She brought her hands in front of herself defensively, practically wringing her fingers together. Her voice rose with ever-increasing panic as the shrill worry of bells tinkled in her typically musical voice. “I swear to you, that’s not what this is. Will you please trust me? Please believe when I swear an oath that I will never hurt you? I’ll cut my wrists here and now and swear my fealty, Firi. I only want what’s best for you. Will you believe me when I say I want to help you uncover your power, to stay close to you, to protect you?”
Ophir lowered her fist slowly. She stared at Dwyn for a long time before her hand dropped fully to her side. She relaxed her shoulder. “No, I can’t.”
“Can you call off your snake? Your hounds?”
She looked to Dwyn, then to her monsters, then to the house behind her. “Come, Sedit,” she said. She flicked her hand, dismissing the new demons to the forest with her other discarded creations. Ophir began to walk back to the house but raised her hand. “Tyr can come. You can decide whether or not you want to be honest with me before you dare to knock on this door. And then I’ll decide whether or not I believe you.”
Ophir was nearly to the front door before Dwyn cried, “Tyr is here for the same reason I am! The only difference is you know me—you know I care about you! We’ve shared everything, Firi! We’ve shared a bed! We’ve shared a life! I’ve been at your side for months! I save you from your nightmares!I’ve held you through your sleep! I pulled you from the waves! I helped you when no one else could!”
“You were no friend to me, Dwyn. You wanted borrowed power? Sure, fine. You want to dabble in forbidden blood magic? I supported you. Who doesn’t love a little anarchy? But that’s not why you’re here, is it? And it’s certainly not why you choseme.”
