Page 66 of Kiss of Fire

“It’s only temporary. You are just a means to an end. He’ll be back with me as soon as he wins the throne.”

Raya rolled her eyes.

“Yeah. I’ve no doubt. Tell him I’m busy.”

She walked back into the forge.

Twenty Four

She spent the next few hours lighting and extinguishing her flames. It didn’t always happen straight away. It was like trying to wiggle your nose or move each toe separately. But by the end of the hour, she could at least produce fire on command.

Fireballs, however, were another matter.

The largest projectile she could manage was still woefully small. Barely bigger than a golf ball. And no matter how hard she threw it, it moved with all the urgency of a half-dead sloth.

“I mean, seriously, I canwalkfaster than this,” she complained as she overtook her latest creation. It bobbed haphazardly towards the far wall and dispersed even before it hit anything. “For fuck’s sake.”

She gave up.

The sun was low by the time she made her way back to the castle. She climbed the stairs to her chambers, feeling inexplicably exhausted. She steeled herself for Shade’s wrath, knowing he would be furious she hadn’t come running when he’d called.

But when she knocked on his door, he didn’t answer. Breathing a sigh of relief, she made her way to her own rooms.

The first thing she did was head to the bathroom and turn on all the taps. Hot water gushed into the bath and steam drifted out through the gaping hole in the wall.

She looked out as the bath filled, making sure she wasn’t too close to the edge. The view was breath-taking. The sky was impossibly blue and she could just about see the tip of the mountains where the Vetali lived.

She glanced at the sheer drop below her. She knew there was a river at the bottom of the gorge, but it was too far down to see.

She undressed and stepped into the bath with a sigh of contentment. Grabbing one bottle after another, she poured ointments and lotions into the water until bubbles filled the entire surface and a dozen different perfumes permeated the air.

She sank below the surface, washing the grime from her skin and hair. A thought struck her while she was underwater. She held her hand up to her face and concentrated. Flames blossomed on her hand like pink magnolia, unaffected by the water.

She laughed in delight, inhaled a nose full of water, and surfaced coughing and spluttering.

Shade was standing in the window.

“Oh. Hey.”

Self-consciously she looked down at herself and was relieved to see her breasts were covered in foam.

“Where. Have. You. Been.”

Shade’s voice was dangerously quiet but Raya didn’t immediately recognise the threat.

“I’ve been practicing my power like you asked. Look.”

She let flames ripple along her fingers and up her forearm. Concentrating, she made them turn blue, then back to orange.

“What do you think? I mean, I know it’s not brilliant, but it’s a start. I think if I…” her voice trailed off as she noticed his eyes had darkened to an indigo tone she hadn’t seen before. She let her flames go out. “What’s wrong?”

“You have been with the Sylvan. Against my express wishes.”

“He was helping me, that’s all.” Her mouth went dry as she saw anger rolling off him in great black waves. “He realised why I couldn’t access my power and helped me overcome it. He’s the reason I can make fire now.”

His unblinking stare was so intense, she felt an irrational impulse to get up and run. He stalked towards her, stopping briefly as he came to the water’s edge. She looked away hurriedly as he unclothed himself, his trousers and tunic melting with a thought. Her heart started hammering as he stepped down into the bath.

“I told you to stay away from him,” he growled. “Did I not make myself clear?”

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