Page 67 of Of Nightmares & Fire
“Unhand him!” I demand. Kyros eyes me for a moment longer before he drops his hold on Mavros and pushes him away. Mavros rolls onto his back, flat on the floor.
“Thanks, Princess.” He smiles, letting his head flop to the side, and grins wide at his brother, his white teeth coated with the red gleam of blood. “Fuck you.” Mavros says to him, and Kyros just shakes his head. His eyes are still dark and lingering on me. On my neck. It’s my turn to shake my head.
“The more time I spend with you, the more I see that you are bothridiculous. You know that?” I say as I spin on my heel andpick up the boots from the end of the bed. “Viltarin, can you take me somewhere to wash up? And will someone find me something else to wear?” A deep growl emanates from Kyros. I look down at him in a sidelong look. Shaking my head, I step over the brothers where they still remain on the ground. Kyros’ hand whips out and wraps around my wrist.
“Wait.” He says, and I look down at where his hand holds me in place, then up to meet his eyes. “I need to speak with you. Let me help you clean up, and we can talk. Please.” He pleads. Mavros pulls himself up to stand, then plops down on the edge of the bed with a scoff.
“I’d go with him if I were you. It seems you have a lot tolearn.” Mavros says condescendingly, and Kyros gives his brother a dirty look before releasing my wrist and rising to his full height.
“Come with me or don’t. It’s up to you.” Kyros grunts, looking at his brother again with indignation. “The sun will be rising soon, and with it so does the city. We will be leaving here after the celebrations end. You should be ready, and make sure that the rest of those traveling with us are ready too.” Kyros growls at his brother, but the order was as much for him as it was for Viltarin, who gives a nodding bow as he storms past him. Kyros looks over his shoulder once he passes Colette. “I’m sorry that you had to witness that.” Who he says it to is unclear, but the way he looks between the two of us, it seems his apology is to both Cole and me.
He disappears from my vision, and all three of them, left behind, look at me. Waiting for my decision. I roll my eyes and huff out my breath, looking around the room.
“If we are going to be here two more nights, I think we are going to need a new place to sleep.” I say, and Mavros lets out a deep-bellied laugh as I step over the door now lying on the ground. Colette rolls her lips together to hide her smile. “You both are ridiculous.” I say again, this time to Mavros and Colette. I stomp down the stairs in the same direction Kyros left.
Chapter forty-six
Kyros
Ilookdownatmy hands as I flex them out in front of me and squeeze them into tight fists, trying to release the tension still in my arms. After the fight with Mavros, I stormed off, pushing my sleeves up and away from my overheated skin. The shadows that live there twist and curl around, seething on the surface. They have always been harder to still when my emotions are high, and seeing Astraea bleeding and bruised has them just as agitated as I feel. Mavros didn’t make anything better. Threatening me, using our magick against me? He doesn’t understand, but I haven’t allowed him to, and I know that is my owndoing.
I get to the border of town and take a quick glance over my shoulder. Astraea isn’t far behind me; I felt her presence as soon as she started following. She stomps after me with her arms crossed and anger radiating from her in rippling waves. As furious as I was to walk into that room and see her bleeding and bruised, the vision of her walking toward me coated in blood and provoked causes my pulse to tick up for a whole other reason.
Two days until the Shula Morana. Four until we are back in Diemos, and a whole new challenge awaits. It’s kind of ironic that this could be the last Shula Morana, and the princess of the cruel king—my Shula—is here planning to celebrate the day too. Not only that, but the day of her birth and the day that her father was supposed to be sealing her fate with a chosen suitor.How the winds have changed.
My boots crunch through the fallen leaves and twigs left over by the last fall as I reach the woodline. I glance back at where Astraea is still following; I can’t help but smirk at the look on her face. I pick up my pace as soon as I pass the first tree, using my shadows and the darkness of the early morning to conceal me between their trunks. Once she is in the woods, too, I find a large tree and prop myself against its rough bark. The sun starts to cast a glow on the sky, but here, under the cover of the thick boughs above us, it’s very much still dark. Add my shadows, and it’s nearly dark as pitch the closer she gets to me.
I watch her like I have many of my targets, silently waiting as she gets closer. Her arms have dropped from where she crossed them over her chest, and the anger that she once had painted onto herface is turned to something else. Something unexpected. My brows drop, and I tilt my head as I watch her. I thought I would see fear of where I am leading her, of the darkness beneath the trees, or even of the potential of danger from creatures of the night. Especially after the nightmare she just had. Instead, she is the picture of wonder. Her eyes are brighter than the moon itself. The ground beneath my feet seems to come alive, trembling and threatening to crumble and swallow me whole. A warm sensation pulses through me as she continues to walk toward me. Curious, I urge my dark magick to cloud the space between us, ensuring that she can't see where I watch her. The same pulsing magick I felt at the Dead Sea fills my veins and vibrates from the sand in my pocket and the blade at my hip.
Using my shadows, I push them to unwind from my arm; they slither around my wrist and my fingers and trail through the deadwood of the forest floor. The wind blows a gust of warm air through the trees, causing a whistle to echo through the branches. Astraea stills at the sound. Does fear fail to evade you now, Shula?My lip quirks up at the corner. She pulls her hair over one shoulder, listening to the whispering darkness. Where she has stopped has created the perfect opportunity for my attack. The shadows crawl through the air behind her, tickling the skin on the back of her neck. When she shutters, my smirk turns to a full grin, because of course, yet again, it is not fear that is on her face. She closes her eyes and tilts her head, urging the dark tendrils to explore. Every part that they come into contact with on her skin sends shockwaves of craving to twist around my spine.
“I know it’s you,” she says breathlessly, and I narrow my eyes on her. I can see the pulse in her neck hammering with how close she is now, and I wonder if she is finally scared. I let my shadows slowly curl loosely around her delicate neck, and she takes in a deep shuddering breath, closing her eyes again. I say nothing as I push from the tree and slowly walk around her. My nostrils flare. I’m pissed at Mavros, worried about Queen Phaedra, and troubled by the nightmares that seem to only be getting worse. The kingdom that is plagued with misery at the hands of a monster of a king. The more I think about how much this mission has gone to shit, the more my anger roils in me. The one thing that has been at the center of everything that has gone wrong stands here vulnerable, right in front of me. She provokes me, calls me out, and demands my every attention. I am powerless to the vital force that she wields against me without having a clue.
She stiffens as I inch closer behind her. I let my fingers hover just above her shoulders and down her arms and lean in close, letting my breath trail a line over the exposed flesh on her neck. The way she shivers seems to bleed right into me, and I feel the gooseflesh peppering my skin.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” I whisper into the shell of her ear. Her breath hitches as I complete the circle, slowly walking around her. I replace the shadows wrapping her throat with my hand, feeling the thunderous adrenaline coursing in the high speed of her pulse causes my breaths to come quicker—deeper.
“Not everything is about you.” She responds with attitude, and I tighten my grip on her neck, still gentle enough not to restrict her breathing, but enough pressure to cause her already rampant heart to pound harder. I let the shadows blow away like mist, and her eyes snap to mine, just inches from her. My gaze falls to the way her lips part as she sucks in another breath. After everything—the king, the pirates, a manticore, and now Queen Phaedra—she continues to make the wall I have built containing everything vulnerable in me crumble.
“No, Shula, not since you.” Her body leans into mine; I can see the way her eyes heavily linger on my lips. I want nothing else but to kiss her. Give her what she so clearly wants. Claim her mouth and pull her flush to me. Rip the bloodied clothing from her body and claim every inch of her skin with my mouth, but instead my eyes find a stray hair that is stuck to her face, and my other hand comes up, fingers brushing it away and tucking it behind her ear. “Since you—the world seems to have slowed. You threaten everything I know and everything I don’t, but still I find myself ensnared.” She swallows, and I lean in, hovering my lips above her. I look into her eyes. “Burning.”
“What happens if we are both consumed by the fire?” She asks in a whisper.
“We burn the world—” I press my lips to hers in a chaste kiss, “together.” I whisper the word into her lips. She tangles her hands into my tunic and tries to pull me closer, but I hold fast where I am. As much as I want to let go and let her in fully, there is still so much between us. I cup her face with my hand and smile softly. “Maybeyou would like to clean up before we start.” She looks down, as though she is only just now remembering that she is coated in her own blood. “I was hoping to train you to wield the weapons you carry. I want you to be more prepared than you are in case we run into any issues on the way to Diemos. Are you too hurt?” I ask, letting my fingers loosen around her neck and trail down the column of her throat. The marks are nearly gone from the balm that Mavros applied to her. One of the three that Kaeleith gave me. She swallows, and my gaze lifts to hers.
“No, I’m ok.” She steps back, and my brows drop as the urge to pull her back overwhelms me. I felt my wall crumbling before, and I felt hers coming down with it, but every step she takes away from me, creating space between us… I feel the foundations trying to rebuild. A lifetime of protections coming to brace everything that has broken.
“You’re sure?” I ask, and she smiles. There is sadness that doesn’t reach her eyes, and I feel the dip of my brows deepen. She bites her bottom lip, and something like determination flashes in her eyes before she gives a curt nod.
“I like the idea of getting some lessons to protect myself. When can we start?” She crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t need to clean up just to get sweaty again. I’ve seen the way you guys train.” The corner of my mouth quirks up at the snap of attitude even after just facing a nightmare. Every time I am around her, she proves she is not what I thought she would be. I put my hand out, palm up.
“Let’s go.” I say, and she looks at my hand.
“Where are we going?” She looks around the dense wood and the purple and pink glow of the rising sun just beyond the border, trepidation building in her blue eyes.
“To train.” I say, and whether it be the smirk I can’t seem to remove from my face or the flash of mischief in my eyes that sets her on guard, she takes a step back. But she is far too close, and I am far too fast. With one lunge I am wrapping my arm around her low back and pulling her flush with me. She lets out a gasp, while I simultaneously whip out a lasso of magick that snaps and crackles like burning wood. The glittering sand catches aflame as soon as I’m ready to transport us. As quickly as I took the step forward, I let my body fall backward into the rendered portal and through space and time with her held tight in my arms. Astraea screeches like a bird of prey, and as she seals her eyes closed tight, I grin and whisper in her ear. “Hold your breath, Shula.”
When I learned to use my magick to rend portals, Mavros was furious that he couldn’t. We were young. Somewhere around thirteen. I had a temper around that age. My adolescent years were hard for me. Coming of age to be a man, but not quite there yet. I was angry about my parents, the kingdom, and what had become of my life.
