Page 100 of Kiss of Fire

“But if they aren’t persuaded you are Aelah’s daughter, they could force you back to the human world. And I… I do not want that.”

She put a hand on his face.

“Trust me?”

“More than life itself.”

“Then prepare to have your socks blown off.”

He glanced at his feet, bare as usual.

“I do not…”

“Figure of speech, smoke boy. It means I’ve got this.”

She spoke with a bravado she wasn’t feeling, but she knew she had no choice. She couldn’t let Shade start a diplomatic war with the very people whose help he needed.

The woman she recognised as Kaemari appeared.

“Let us see what the girl can do before issuing threats, gentlemen,” she said soothingly. “Shall we all be seated?”

She led the older Vulcani to a chair. Glowering, Shade took the seat to the right of him.

The crowd hushed once again. Raya backed up to give herself room. She had a wide space around her; all the tables and chairs had been cleared away, presumably so she didn’t accidentally set them on fire.

Nervously, she glanced around the faces watching her. In a far corner, she caught a familiar smile. Tor.

He winked at her, his grin extending ear to ear. A weight lifted off her chest.

Her eyes sought Shade and she found his blue gaze pinned intently on her. Concentrate on Shade, she told herself.

“When I first came to Nush’aldaam,” she started, her voice a little shaky, “I was struck by its beauty. First there was the forest where I met the Vulcani and made a dear friend.”

She waved her hands and with a roar, the cavernous hall was filled with fiery trees. The Vulcani gasped as they saw every leaf, every branch picked out in lines of orange fire, right down to the texture of the bark.

Raya was careful to control the heat, making sure the power of the flames was contained. When she collapsed the trees, there wasn’t a single scorch mark on the ceiling. She glanced at Tor. He knew the fire-forest had been for him. He put his hand over his heart and bowed in her direction.

“Then there was the night-garden, a visual splendour of colour and light.”

She moved her hands in a complicated pattern and suddenly the hall was full of flowers. They were a sparkling rainbow of different colours; orange, red, blue, purple, pink. She controlled each element to make it exactly as she wanted. She floated them among the Vulcani, letting them see her creations up close. Loris inspected a bloom, his face showing no emotion.

Her confidence grew. She added birds and butterflies, making them fly around the room. A rose grew in the centre of the floor and the petals dropped off one by one. Each flame-creation burned at several hundred degrees but none of the spectators would have known it. She frowned in concentration as she cocooned the heat away from the audience.

She chanced a look at Shade and her pulse kicked up a notch. He was watching intently, his expression a mixture of respect and pride. Her heart swelled.

Without thinking she collapsed the flowers and created fireworks. They exploded over her head in a brilliant display, even more spectacular than the Melae. A couple of the Vulcani clapped spontaneously.

“And finally I want to acknowledge the man who brought you all here today. The man you should support as emperor.”

There was no sign of any nervousness now. With a flourish, she made her final creation. It wasn’t one she’d practiced. She hadn’t even known she was going to do it. But it felt right.

Flames rippled up her arms and she clapped her hands together, then threw them wide dramatically. Fire leapt from her fingers. And suddenly a burning figure was flying in the air, larger than life and with a wingspan stretching from wall to wall.

The face and body were unmistakeable. It was Lord Shadeed, picked out in flame. The fiery figure hovered gracefully and beat its burning wings in front of the stunned audience.

With a rush, Raya realised she’d just laid her soul bare for everyone to see. No-one looking at her creation could fail to notice how carefully she’d picked out his likeness. Every muscle, every sinew was exact down to the smallest detail.

His mouth was curved in an enigmatic smile. His nose, his jawline, all were perfect. She even had twin blue coronas burning as his eyes.

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