Page 94 of Conquering the King of Storms

Harper had explained the meaning of sexual assault to him not long ago, and he had been giving me more space since then. Even apologized for touching me without my permission, though he hadn’t done anything I hadn’t wanted him to. Sure, I fought a little when he was touching me, but that was just my personality.

I fought like hell whenever people made me feel good. Everything decent in my life had always turned to ashes before long; why should I hold out hope that things might change?

It was better to piss people off than to watch them burn and feel that pain.

Which was why I was standing in front of the flames that burned constantly in the center of the fire fae land.

I’d known this was where I’d end up the moment I learned that the elements chose a person based on their personality. None of the others fit. Not when I’d spent my life destroying things and people. The shit around me never lasted, whether I wanted it to or not.

“We’ve been here for three days, Velvet. Are you going to walk into the fire or not?”

That was the question, wasn’t it?

Was I going to take the plunge?

I didn’t mean to destroy things. The destruction just happened. If I walked into the fire and became one of their fae, there was every chance I’d wreak havoc on all of fucking Bluhm.

And… I didn’t hate Bluhm.

“Margo.” Quake stepped in front of me.

His massive body blocked my view of the flames.

“What are you afraid of?” he asked me, his eyes lingering on the space where my head was even though I knew he couldn’t see.

He liked my fire, liked the way my skin felt on his. He’d made sure I knew that time and time again. He was cheerful, and always had a fucking funny joke that I refused to laugh with him about. He was justgood.

And I wasn’t.

But he hadn’t reallysmiledsince Harper talked to him about my past, and I kind of wanted to punch her for that.

I knew Quake well enough to know that he wouldn’t give up if I didn’t tell him something true or at least believable. We had been camped out in front of the fire, sweating our asses off, for three days already. And since we were all sticking together, no one could transport away until I’d become a fae like the rest of them.

Waking up human in a magical world had been rough, but being the last human? Rougher.

“Look at this place. Everything is charred, and covered in ash,” I finally said to him, tossing a hand toward one of the many mountains surrounding us. All of them were covered in blackened trees, the stones and dirt completely scorched.

He frowned. “We’ll heal the mountains. It’ll take time, but it’s not a big deal. What’s the real problem?”

“You,” I snapped at him, stepping past him.

If I kept talking to him, I’d open up too fucking much.

And all I would do was burn him to the fucking ground.

Though I made it a few steps closer to the fire, I didn’t walk into it.

Not yet.

I just… needed time.

Or maybe I just needed to stay human.

That was ridiculous; the kings transported everywhere, and if I stayed human, I couldn’t transport, which meant hiking. So fucking much hiking. That would be absolutely miserable.

But it would be one less massive problem to deal with, and I had more than enough of those.

“I’m fireproof,” he told me, stepping right back up beside me.

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