Page 47 of Fire & Ice

I seek the truth in the flames, the answers to my questions swirling in the fiery tongues licking at my skin. But tonight, the fire remains silent, refusing to reveal what path I must take.

Am I being foolish in trusting Charlie? Or am I turning my back on my destiny by pushing him away? The fire will not say, leaving me to grapple with my uncertainty alone under the light of the waxing moon.

All too soon, the fire dies away, and I am left standing on the balcony, no closer to the answers I seek. But I know what I must do now, as clearly as if the flames had whispered in my ear.

Tempest

I collapse into bed, exhaustion seeping into my bones after hours spent surrounded by flame. But even as my eyes drift closed, images of icy blue eyes flash behind my eyelids, startling me awake with a gasp.

Beau.

Why does he haunt me so, this prince who exists only in my dreams? As much as I try to push him aside during my night waking hours, during the day he comes to me unbidden. His cool touch, his whispered words, the way he looks at me as though I am his full moon after a long day.

"Tempest." My name on his lips is a caress, drawing me under like the tides. "You are mine, as I have always been yours."

I try to resist him, to cling to the fading memory of Charlie's embrace. But it is no use. Beau fills my senses, wrapping me in the chill of his gift as surely as I am wrapped in the warmth of my own fire.

"This is not real," I whisper, even as I melt into his arms. "You are just a dream."

"Am I?" His lips brush the shell of my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. "Or are you finally remembering what is real?"

I wake with tears on my cheeks and an ache in my chest that has nothing to do with the magic flowing through my veins. The fire within answers with a flare of longing, reflecting the tumult of emotions churning inside me.

Chapter 45

Beau

I ache for Tempest. An emptiness gnaws at my chest, ravaging my soul with each breath.

My eyes flutter open but darkness remains. The blackness is as vast and endless as the chasm within me. I grasp at the last fading threads of Tempest in my mind, clinging to the memory of her scent, her touch, the melody of her laughter.

Each moment we were apart—was agony. I crave her with a madness that threatens to consume me. My body burns, feverish in my desperation for her. I would tear the world asunder to find my way back to her side.

The loneliness festers, sharpening my longing into something feral and vicious. I snarl, flinging a blast of ice across the room. Frost crystallizes along the stone walls, shards glittering in the low light of the braziers. But no chill can quench the inferno raging through my veins.

I slam a fist into the wall, ice cracking around the impact. Pain slithers up my arm, but I welcome it. Anything to distract me from this torment.

"Tempest," I rasp, her name the only coherent thought in the deepest recess of my mind. I cling to it like a lifeline, repeating it over and over through gritted teeth.

She is my salvation, my damnation. I would barter my soul for one more moment in her embrace. One more taste of those full, flushed lips. One more glimpse of those fiery eyes gazing up at me with lust and love entwined.

I growl in anguish, the sound reverberating off stone walls. My heart is shattering, fracturing into a million shards of ice with each second we remain apart.

Beau

I've been summoned, and when I storm into the throne room, my father's eyes are hooded with concern. The chamber is dark and heavy with secrets. I inhale the scent of leather, old parchment, and something metallic—the smell of power itself.

Marcus approaches, eyes glowing in the shadows. "Your Highness, we have discovered the truth about Charlie Snowden."

My pulse quickens. "Go on."

"He is of royal blood, a prince in his own right. His family has ruled the Northern Kingdom for centuries since the Fracture."

I stare at Marcus, stunned into silence. Charlie, a prince? It seems impossible. Yet it explains much—his charm, his ambition, his hunger for control.

Marcus's voice drops low. "There is more. At the academy, Charlie became enchanted with Tempest. He desires her as his queen, to rule by his side."

Deakon steps forward, pale and trembling. Once under Sara's thrall, now freed from her insidious influence, what secrets might he reveal?

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