Page 66 of A War of Embers

“You’re part of Lord Rowan’s crew,” he lazily replies. “What do you need? I’m not participating in the Haze this year.”

Alyvia maintains her professional, nonthreatening voice. “We aren’t here regarding the Haze. Is there any way we can come in?”

He narrows his eyes, tightening his hand on the door for a moment before sighing. Shoving open the door, he sweeps his hand for us to enter.

Walking into his home, I blink several times to let my eyes adjust. There’s something glimmering in every crevice. Sparkling chandeliers cover almost the entire ceiling. Reflective glass makes a mural on one wall. The carpet seems to have threads of silver and gold casting light in all directions. This is what I expected a dragon’s domain to look like.

“So what do you want?” He closes the door behind us and crosses his arms tightly.

Before we answer, I narrow my eyes at him from behind my scarf. “Does the scent of the Haze not affect you because you live here?”

Alyvia turns her head to stare at me in surprise. I know this isn’t why we’re here, but I need to ensure he’s not about to let his libido distract him during this interaction.

Gabriel does a slow blink at me. “No. Only those looking to repopulate or get involved with someone are affected by the magic of the Haze. Why?”

My eyes narrow. “That’s a lie.”

He shifts uncomfortably, opening and closing his mouth several times. Defiantly, he snaps, “How would you know?”

When I remain tight lipped, simply glaring at him, he finally cracks.

“The Haze picks who it chooses, not the other way around. I haven’t been deemed worthy enough to repopulate the dragon horde.” The outrage in his voice amuses me. Must hurt to have a magical element claim someone is unworthy of procreating during a prestigious event.

“Right, well, we came to see you because I heard a rumor that dragon fire can kill an immortal,” I state.

The man’s eyes shutter. “It’s a lie. Dragon fire isn’t that powerful.”

I click my tongue, tsking at his response. “Dragon fire is potent and extremely powerful. We need to kill an immortal.”

“You work for Lord Rowan, go ask him,” Gabriel snaps. “Why come to me?”

Annoyance flares in my veins, making them hot as adrenaline begins to seep into my body. “He’s a little busy with the Haze and this is time sensitive.”

“Immortals require a lot of effort to kill. Depending on the souls inside of them, some can be impossible.” He shakes his head. “And I don’t fuck with the immortals living here already.”

“This immortal doesn’t live here,” Alyvia supplies.

“I’m not traveling out of the Wraithlands.”

“We don’t require you to,” I say evenly. Taking a risk, I yank off the scarf so he can see my face. While the air still feels hot, the spicy aroma coming back, my body seems to have settled after my rendezvous with Rowan. “I’m the immortal who wants to die.”

Gabriel’s gaze immediately zeros in on the mark on my cheek. His red eyes widen dramatically. “Is this some kind of test? Is Lord Rowan pissed at me? The answer is no. I was just trying to be neighborly by answering your questions.” He nervously looks around, licking his lips as if Rowan is about to magically appear and rip him a new one.

“You should have left the scarf on,” Alyvia sighs. “Gabriel?” She manages to snag his attention. “Lord Rowan isn’t here. Keres here is a friend of his. One he marked. But she wants to die. Can you help us?”

I swear his eyes are about to come tumbling out of his head. “Are you insane?” he croaks. “Lord Rowan will kill me. Absolutely not.”

“No one is going to kill you.” For fuck’s sake this man is melodramatic. Reaching into my pocket, I hold out the bag of jewels. “We’re prepared to pay you.”

“I don’t want to die.” Gabriel’s desperate plea falls on deaf ears.

Jiggling the bag to gain his attention, I repeat, “We’ll pay you for your time. Rowan isn’t going to kill you. He’s been trying to help me die,” I explain. Although he’s not trying hard enough. “But he’s busy, and this is time sensitive.” As in before Rowan returns and puts a kibosh on Alyvia’s and my plans.

Gabriel barely spares the bag of jewels a glance. “Absolutely not. I don’t know what kind of game–”

“This isn’t a game,” I grind out between my teeth. “I mean to see if dragon fire can kill me.”

“Lord Rowan gave her equal status in his eyes,” Alyvia interjects before Gabriel can respond. “She’s telling you to do something.”

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