Page 37 of He Who Ignites The Flame
“Ididn’t forget you,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
The flame dousing at her words, I stilled. Calliope had been the only one who had ever cared, and I’d failed her. She didn’t forget? She wasn’t even there, hadn’t known me.
I turned from her, trying not to give into the sickening hope rising in my chest, shoving it back down to the forgotten place where it had slumbered all these decades. “The fucker got me out of the way so he could take my father’s position. Probably used the act he put on during my trial to worm his way into The Council’s favor to do so. He likely wants me dead, to ensure no one discovers the truth.”
A hand landed on my shoulder, and warmth seeped into my skin.
“Don’t think for a moment that he will get away with what he has done,” she said, her voice soft yet laced with a powerful promise. “I failed you in my absence, and while Damien tried to seek insight as to whether youwere truly responsible for their deaths during your trial, his hands were tied by our laws. Atticus had covered his tracks, hidden evidence that could have proven your innocence. Jissena never should have had access to you before the trial, but the moment she convinced you to sign that paper, Damien was bound. She represented you. There was nothing he could do.”
I swallowed back the simmering anger.
“If you can tell me anything at all, it would help me bring them to justice. I understand if it’s too difficult to speak about what happened that night. You don’t have to talk, but anything you can give me... Names, places, any guards you could identify; it could help me in building the case against him.”
“Atticus killed Vesa Lanis,” I said, my stomach turning as I remembered her final moments, her blood as it painted her skin in crimson and seeped into her Elythian leathers, Calliope screaming her name.
“Vesa…” A wrinkle formed between Lucia’s brows. “She was mentioned. Atticus had labeled her a desert?—”
“She wasn’t a deserter,” I bit out, my hands balling into fists. “She loved Calliope, was helping her escape my father and Hestis Galanis.”
“The Kyrios of House Leukos?”
“Calliope was promised to his son Jude. It was never her choice. She had never agreed to anything, and Atticus painted her as an oath breaker, stating she fled her promise. It was all bullshit, every last word. He accused Vesa of using Aethersbane on his guards, but it washisguard who used an Aethersbane-tipped arrow to render her powerless before they slit her throat.” I couldn’t stop the words, the chaos of thoughts spinning out of control like a wildfire as I remembered the day they had brought me before The Council. “One of my guards during the trial was on Atticus’ payroll—the fucker who shot her. When Jissena started lying before The Council and I tried to speak out, he silenced me with hisNousabilities. He knew, and he watched as I?—”
My hands began to shake, anger surging within me, and I drew a deep breath as I felt the flames burn through my control, felt them rage and rise up like a fiery beast ready to burst from its cage, spread its wings, and lay waste to everything in its path.
“Gods, just how deep have his connections reached?” she whispered.
“Pretty fucking deep,” I muttered. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Hestis knew the truth and was in on it as much as Atticus and Jissena.”
Lucia dipped to grab my dagger before brushing dust off the black and silver blade.
“He will pay,” she said. “I swear on all I am that he will pay. They all will.”
I looked down at the blade, the inscriptions inlaid in the metal. The price of their actions was too steep for them to repay with their lives. No, Iwanted them to burn for what they had done. Slowly. “What do you want from me in return?”
She blinked, as if surprised I’d even asked. Then, she smiled, and it was soft, softer than any I’d been gifted in what felt like a lifetime. “Your friendship.”
My brows furrowed, my mind warring with the desire to shut her out and the need to give in. I’d been alone for so long, left with no one I could trust, no one I could rely on.
And for a moment, as she stood there, smiling up at me, I saw Calliope, her radiance—a soul far too pure for this world. Neither this realm nor the realm of our creators deserved to bask in her light.
“I can work with what you’ve given me for now, continue gathering what evidence I can,” she said.
Surely, it couldn’t be that easy. “Who will believe you? Who will believe me?”
“You have not lied to me once,” she said, her eyes softening.
My brows furrowed, but then realization flooded my mind. She was Moira’s reincarnation. A demi-goddess. She could use each and every ability the immortals possessed at a level far stronger than any of us could. She could read my thoughts, feel my emotions.
“Did you?—”
“I have not once read your thoughts, Barrett Stratos,” she assured me. “Though it would have been far easier than dragging it out of you, I refuse to cross that boundary. I can, however, feel if you are being truthful with me.”
Part of me eased at that notion, though I didn’t want to. It made sense, though. Why would she continue to pester me with questions if she’d read my thoughts, my memories? She could very easily have plucked all the answers from my head without my knowledge. “Why would you do all this for me and not want anything in return?”
“Because,” she said, as if it was the silliest question, “you were innocent, and it was terrible what happened.”
Her smile faded, and something darkened her silver eyes. “Every child should be cherished by their parents. They should never be treated as objects for their benefit. And those who do so deserve to burn for it.”
