Page 61 of Of Nightmares & Fire
“Thank you,” I tell her with a small smile.
“Hey, regardless of all of that. I think it shows who you are to be here right now. Freely choosing to do what you’re doing.” Mavros says, his charm back in place and a sad sort of gleam in his eye. Zinya looks at me pained before nodding and chewing on her lip as though something else is bothering her. “Enough of all this heavy shit. Let's drink. It is a celebration after all. Your birthday too? What better reason to get wasted.” He slings his arm around my shoulders and starts steering me toward the bar.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” I say, laughing a little nervously.
“Psh, all my ideas are better than good; they’re great.” He pulls out a stool and gestures at it. “Sit, princess. Let’s get you fed and fucked up.” He says before he tips his head back with a cackle, slapping the bar to get the attention of the man behind it. “Duscan, let me have your best tonight. This one is with us.” He says, and the man, Duscan, drops his mismatched eyes to me.
“Great divine, how did you manage to attract such a beauty to this rundown village?” Duscan asks as his oddly colored eyes travel every inch of my face and then lower. He appears to be older, close to the same age as the twins, perhaps a little older even, but he looks as though he hasn't always been a barkeep. The scars on his face and arms show that he has seen a battle or two that couldn't be from just some drunk bar fights. He runs a hand through his chestnut hair as a roguish smile lifts the corners of his mouth, then quicklyfalls from his face. A sudden warmness blankets me from behind, and the way Duscan’s eyes jump over my shoulder at the same moment his smile falters, I know who must be standing behind me. He tilts his head respectfully in greeting.
“Duscan.” Kyros’ deep voice vibrates through my body, curling my toes, but I grit my teeth in defiance. I’m upset with him.
“Lord Kyros, I was just admiring the new beauty your brother has just introduced me to. She is something special, isn’t she?” He says, and I feel Kyros get closer to me. His warmth presses against my back as one hand comes out to rest on the outside of my arm. Cole watches where his hand rests and then looks back and forth between me and Kyros.
“More than she realizes.” He says, and I turn my head, finally looking at his hand. I let my eyes follow the corded muscle wrapping the length of his arm until I meet his gaze. The shadows seem to cloud there, and Duscan finally clears his throat, breaking the spell I was entrapped by, gaining my attention once again.
“My apologies, Lord Kyros, I didn’t realize she was spoken for.” He says with his voice low.
“She is not spoken for, but she is right here and can speak for herself!” I bark out, vexation heavy in my tone at once again being talked about as though I am not right in front of them hearing the entire conversation. All my life it has been the same, but I won’t be that demure princess that my father always wanted me to be. The fire in me was stifled as a child, but I am no child anymore. I am a woman, and I feel the ember wanting to blaze. I shrug off Kyros’ touch, and when Duscan places a tankard of ale in front ofMavros, I don’t think twice before snatching it. I bring it to my lips and let the cool liquid fill my mouth. Over and over I gulp down the sweet yet bitter drink. I don’t leave a drop left when I slam the metal cup down by its handle with a loud bang.
Cole’s eyes are wide, but I see the smile she is trying to hide with her lips rolled between her teeth. Mavros isn’t holding back anything. He is gleaming, not looking at me, but at Kyros. Zinya, too, watches the man at my back to see what his response will be.
“As I recall, you were very animated when you said just the opposite. I believe your exact words were,It’s all yours—”Kyros says, bent down so that his breath puffs out at my ear, but loud enough that those around us hear every word. I spin around so quickly that the stool I sit on goes falling to the floor, and everyone takes a step back. I rear back, my body twisting to give my hit power, but before I am able to land the strike across his face, he grips me by the wrist. Holding it between us, he steps in closer. His eyes narrow, then drop to my lips.
“Well, I can see why you are so enamored by her.” A man says, stepping into view. He crosses his arms, looking between Kyros and me with a wide smile. He is tall, nearly as tall as Kyros and Mavros, but where they have stacked muscle, he is lean. His eyes are green, bright, and wild with something I can’t interpret. Kyros stiffens as the man extends his hand out to me. “My name is Rowan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Astraea,” I say, as I jerk my hand from Kyros’ grip, meaning to place it in his, but Kyros lets out a near-animalistic growl, taking my hand back aggressively before he threads our fingers together,dropping them to our sides as he faces the stranger. Rowan smiles with all of his teeth before narrowing his eyes mischievously at Kyros and lifting his arms, palms out, in submission.
“Very well, my friend.” He winks at me, much like Mavros has in the past, and Kyros’ hand tightens around mine.
“I need another drink,” I mutter under my breath, yanking my hand free from the possessive ass at my side.What the hell is happening?Colette looks at me with her brows raised as she straightens the stool I knocked over. I shake my head. I don’t even know what to tell her at this point.
“Seems like it.” She says, offering me hers. I take it. Though it’s not ale. The liquid in the tin cup stings my nose as I lift it to smell. The noxious liquid makes my eyes water, and I squeeze them shut, shaking my head before knocking it back with one large gulp.
“Well, shit. I guess you are ready to get fucked up after all.” Mavros laughs as I cough from my burning throat. Kyros takes the tin from my hand, and I look up at him. He keeps my gaze as he reaches behind me, placing the tin on the bar.
“Another, Duscan.” I can’t help but swallow hard as his chest brushes mine. He tilts his head so his lips brush the shell of my ear. “You want to let loose tonight, Shula? Fine, but I made a promise to you, and I keep them. Fight it, if that’s what you think you have to do, but we both know it's not what you want.” I place my hand on his chest; heat radiates from him and through the connection of our bodies. As his breath blows out over my ear, that heat surges and instantly pools at my core. I placed my hand here to push him away, but even as I think about it, my fingers curl in the fabric ofhis tunic, and I pull him closer. His black eyes ensnare me, and he looks as trapped as I feel, but then I remember. I remember how he is still keeping secrets and has yet to tell me what the man from the desert was talking about. I let him go.
“Kindly, fuck off,LordKyros.” I sneer as I pick up the tin cup that was just refilled and saunter off, hooking my other arm in Zinya’s. She scoffs a laugh as a smile as wide as her eyes takes over her face, and she looks at Kyros and strides away with me. Mavros is right; it’s time I let loose. I've spent a lifetime under tyranny, and I’m finally free. The people who I’m surrounded with now have suffered, and though they don’t know it, I have hurt just as much as they have from the touch my father has placed on this kingdom. I was a prisoner, stuck in an hourglass, but the sands have run out, and I can finally break free.
Chapter forty-three
Kyros
Myshadowscoilaroundmy arms like anxious snakes as I watch her interact with my people. People she didn’t know only hours ago, but who have accepted her as she has them. I take comfort in the dark corner; even though my open display of magick would be welcomed here in this village, it is a habit to keep it hidden. Right now, though, I’m watching Astraea and thinking of everything that lies ahead of us and the way that the Tsalalerian steel at my hip makes my magick charge and writhe beneath the surface and all around my skin. My anxious energy needssomewhere to go.
“Are you going to be brooding and hiding all night?” Mavros says as he sits at the table with me. He eyes the shadows we share and how they dance along my exposed forearms, where I’ve pushed the sleeves of my tunic up.
“I’m not hiding.” I scoff, taking another drink of ale. It’s warm, and I look into the tankard and suck my teeth before setting it back in front of me.
“Glad you can admit you are brooding, though…You want to tell me what has our magick so fucking wild tonight?” He asks, and I finally look at him. I haven’t had a chance to bring him up to speed with everything that has happened yet, but I assumed Zinya has told him something. His eyes drop to my belt and the sword that hangs from it. Instead of answering with words, I slide the bag of sand across the table. When he opens it and looks inside, his expression appears confused for a split second.
“Does this mean what I think it does?” He implores, his eyes lifting to the same woman I have been watching all night. She has no clue. No idea whatsoever that she has the power to change everything, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why.
“Yes,” I finally answer when he turns his head to face me. I keep my eyes on her, and as she dances in the center of the crowded room, I see only her. Just like in the palace before I had any idea.
“Fuck. What do you think that means for Queen Phaedra?” Mavros asks, and the muscle in my jaw feathers. I’ve been asking myself that same question since I realized for sure that it is she who holds the key to restore magick to the kingdom. The relic we thought we were searching for isn't what we expected. I don'tknow what it means for Queen Phaedra, and it's why I wish we had more time. I think we have even less than we thought, too.
“For now, the plan doesn’t change.” I say.
