King of Fire and Flames (Courts of the Star Fae Realms #2)

Chapter 13

Leaf

My shoulder blades hit the Ashen Souls’ gates, and without turning, I reached behind me and fumbled for the latch.

In a fake, courtly gesture, Arrow turned a palm up, directing it toward the forest beyond the arena walls. “Please go ahead. I’m sure you recall how much I enjoy chasing you.”

Thunder clapped directly above us, heavy rain beginning to fall as I slipped through the gate and ran for my life.

I stumbled and fell, sliding along the ground on my butt. I heard Arrow behind me, not running, but just calmly stalking me like the predator he was. I knew I couldn’t beat him in hand-to-hand combat. He was nearly twice my size and three times as mean. Even so, I’d make him work for his victory.

I leaped up and darted forward, feigning a thrust toward Arrow’s heart. He parried the blow, his blade scraping the air in front of my cheek.

As he fought, his eyes turned the color of thunderclouds, a dark and violent gray. We shuffled forward and back, circled giant tree trunks, while frustration boiled inside me. He was too damn strong, and all I could do was duck and weave fast, once even skidding between his legs.

Still toying with me, he laughed when I popped up behind him, then laughed harder when I stabbed his arm. His boot grazed my thigh, sending me stumbling backward.

Rain and blood streaked his skin, and Arrow continued to laugh as if he was having the time of his life. Or losing his mind. Mad prick. He hadn’t changed a bit.

But neither had I.

And I wouldn’t stop fighting until he killed me.

I ran up a tree stump and leaped, flying toward him, my dagger aimed at his chest. He pivoted, narrowly evading my blade, and countered with a fierce spin and a strike that sent me reeling. He could’ve killed me then, but he hadn’t.

Why was he holding back?

The answer struck me like a bolt of the Storm King’s lightning. He was a bored desert cat, and I was the scurrying mouse. A bit of fun. He could play this game forever.

I barely blocked his next attack, my dagger quivering under the force of his strength. This close, he could snap me in two without breaking a sweat. With a brief flex of muscle, his body could crush mine. Part of me wished he’d hurry up and do it and put us both out of our misery.

But instead of ending it, he stared and stared as his breath panted out and the depths of his deceit hit me. Arrow had no intention of killing me.

So who was he trying to fool with his act of violence—me or Azarn?

Ferocious screeches echoed in the distance, the sound growing closer. The dragons. Fuck.

I craned my neck and looked up. Two black creatures flew above, their breath scorching the treetops with each pass.

Arrow’s wings appeared, flaring wide above his shoulders like protective armor.

“Is that allowed?” I asked. “Azarn prohibited the use of magic.”

A smirk tilted his lips. “I’m not using magic to fight you. I’m protecting us from the greivon beasts. They don’t obey rules and are likely to swoop you off and decorate their den with your bones.”

“And we can’t have them taking your fun away, can we?”

His eyes darkened further. “That’s one way to put it, Princess.”

“Come on. Ignore them and fight me,” I said, dropping into a crouch and circling around him through the ferns. “Let’s finish this.”

He shook wet hair from his eyes and adopted a defensive stance, studying my every move, but not making any of his own.

Branches and twigs cracked beneath my boots, and growls rumbled from the sky.

“Stop moving,” he commanded, and I obeyed. “There’s a fire hole to your left. Move into the clearing with me. There’s no danger here.”

“Other than from you.”

He breathed a laugh through his nose. “Do you really believe that?”

“Let’s find out, shall we? Stop holding back you winged ass and fight me. Otherwise, Azarn will kill us both.”

“As you wish,” he said, spinning then lunging forward. In four quick movements, he had me pressed against the rough bark of a giant tree trunk, his breath stirring strands of my hair and his blade’s edge kissing my throat.

Despite his labored breathing, I knew he wasn’t tired; far from it.

I fought like a demon against his hold as he maneuvered my free arm behind me, using his weight to keep it trapped. Then he seized my other wrist in an iron grip, preventing me from striking him.

Unhinged fury burned through my blood as I scraped his lower leg with my boot. He held tight, forcing my surrender, but I bucked against him until he trapped my boot tips under his, immobilizing me.

No, he definitely wasn’t tired. The hardness that dug into my body told me exactly how much he enjoyed this. Power and control made him hot, just like it always had.

“I hate you,” I said, watching rain slide down his cheeks like tears.

“I know.”

Wind from the dragons’ wing beats tangled our hair together. Strands of dark gold and dirt brown, the sight making me sick to my stomach.

The Storm King had won again, holding me captive, trapped, just the way he liked me. It was a pity I’d spent a delusional period of time in Coridon believing he actually cared about me.

Well, I was done worshiping the Light Realm’s false god. Sick of being at this male’s mercy. All I wanted was for it to be over. Forever.

“Kill me.” Squeezing my eyes shut, I jerked against him. “ Do it, Arrow . I never want to see your smug face again, and if that’s the only way to achieve it, then so be it. I’d rather be dead than at your mercy for one second longer.”

“Open your eyes.”

I shook my head.

“I never took you for a coward, my Aldara. Look. At. Me.”

Drawing in a painful breath, I cracked my lids and found myself drowning in swirling pools of molten silver.

“You of all people should know things are never how they first seem, Leaf.”

“Usually, it’s much worse. Hurry up and kill me, then I won’t have to watch you and Azarn turn the Five Realms to shit. Give Ari my love.”

My mind raced with desperate schemes. If he believed I’d given up, and if I could distract him somehow, maybe I could get enough space between us to break away and plunge my blade into his neck.

I clenched the knife hilt, and his fist tightened around my wrist. Why hadn’t he disarmed me? Struggling against his grip, I bucked again, and he hissed out a curse.

“Stop it. I’m not going to kill you.”

“And I’m not a fool. You heard Azarn. You have no choice.”

“You are a fool,” he replied, his voice low and urgent. “You’re the fool who once cared for the fae who enslaved you, believed in his redemption, then with little proof, had the gall to think he betrayed you. Do you deny it?”

“Of course not. It’s the truth. You never tortured me physically, never cut me or bruised my flesh on purpose, only attacked my dignity and pride. This made me believe you weren’t a monster. But I was wrong. I hated you once, and I despise you even more now.”

“Liar.” He sheathed his knife at his hip and wrapped his fingers around my throat. “You loved me.”

“Can a prisoner truly love their jailer?” I asked, my pathetic tears blurring his features. “Can an absence of cruelty be mistaken for care? Yes, I was once stupid enough to believe that. But the day Esen and Melaya arrested me in the desert, all those foolish assumptions shattered my heart. How I wish you’d left me in the gilt market cage to rot.”

“Believe me, if I’d had the slightest inkling of the pain that you’d cause me, I fucking well would have.”

Silence hummed through the trees, broken only by the sound of our ragged breaths and the dragons’ soft rumbles to the east.

I sighed. “Arrow, this is ridiculous. We can’t stand here all day. Do something. Please .”

He nodded, brows drawing together in an agonized frown. “Damn it, Leaf. I’m sorry, but I need to make it stronger. Don’t know how long it’ll last, but—”

“What? Make what stronger?”

Realization dawned as his gaze slid over my throat, but before I could react, his warm lips pressed against my skin, and he bit me without warning.

No, no, no , I thought as my head fell back against the tree, my eyes rolling with intense, mind-numbing pleasure.

As his fangs slid deeper into my flesh, heat and desire flooded my veins, and I asked myself, was it my longing or his that I felt flowing through me? An intoxicating poison. Destroying me.

“The Aldara bond,” he murmured, his words slurring against my neck. “Must be strong to speak to you.”

What in the hell realms was he talking about?

It made no sense, but as a deep groan rumbled in his chest, a spark ignited inside me. Clarity. This was it. My one and only chance to gain the upper hand. To kill Arrowyn Ramiel, my torturer. My beloved.

I allowed a moan to escape my lips and writhed, pressing my hips against his, teasing, as if begging for more.

“Leaf,” he whispered, taking my lips with horrifying tenderness.

The shock of his kiss nearly undid me, and I fought with every fiber of my being to stay in control. To not succumb to the wretched part of me that wanted nothing more than to dissolve in his arms. Wanted to believe he was still mine. My sanctuary. And that we belonged together forever.

The soft, wet warmth of his mouth was a fatal drug, melting my bones and any remaining strength I possessed. His sighs, the graze of his teeth—pure torture and unbearable. Memories of every time he’d touched me flooded over me. The thrill, the fear, the complete and utter bliss of being his.

Of surrendering.

Oh, merciless gods, I never thought I would feel this again, his heat, his muscles coiling tighter beneath my fingers. I wanted more. I wanted everything .

Mydor blood will never fail . Don’t give in to him. Don’t… give… in .

The dragons called to each other in bubbly chirps and low growls, growing closer. One roared and shot a line of fire nearby, setting three trees alight.

Arrow’s wings lifted, enfolding me in a warm blanket of iridescent feathers.

Another roar sounded as heat from the dragon’s breath blasted above our heads. Arrow swore and glanced up, stepping backward, distracted.

Perfect.

Snarling, I gritted my teeth and sliced my blade across his neck, not deep enough to do real damage. Then with all my might, I stabbed his chest, just a little to the right of his heart, missing my mark. I twisted the blade as his eyes widened in shock.

Stumbling backward, he hit a tree, and then slid down its trunk to the ground.

I crouched beside him, my palm pressing the golden skin around the knife, prepared to leap away should he try to strangle me with the last of his strength.

“Is it really that easy to kill you, Storm King?” I asked, unwanted tears pooling in my eyes, threatening to spill over.

“Kill me? No.” He cast a brief look at the blade sticking out of his chest and laughed. “You’ve wanted to see me like this for some time, Leaf. Tell me, does it feel good?”

Yes , I thought. Yes, it fucking did .

As the dragons emitted piercing screeches, turned, and flew toward the arena, relief surged through me, grateful I wouldn’t be their dinner. I was alive and hoped to stay that way, at least for the foreseeable future. Dust knew how Azarn would react to my victory.

“My vicious, most-intoxicating murderess, please… Please don’t leave me.” He coughed and reached a shaking hand toward my cheek, stroking damp hair away. “You must realize I never stopped loving you.”

I laughed. “Never stopped? According to your own words, you never started. You told me you cared, insisted many times I was yours and that I belonged to you. But you never once said you loved me.”

“Did I not? Well, I thought it more times than was good for me. A constant refrain, my thoughts of love for you drove me to the edge of insanity.”

“Interesting how you say such things only as I’m about to twist my blade deeper into your heart.”

“Technically, it’s my blade. And you missed my heart, little Leaf. Your lack of faith in me is the fatal strike. If anything kills me, it will be that and that alone.”

I reached for the knife hilt, and his bloodied fingers wrapped around my wrist. “Listen. They’re coming.”

Arrow tipped his head back against the wet earth and watched the approach of five fire mages, Melaya leading them, his twin prancing behind as if he was on his way to a midsummer picnic.

“Remember what I vowed to you back in Mydorian,” Arrow said, his voice barely audible. “What I promised you… I will always protect you. Always come for you. Trust that… if nothing else. While you’ve been trying to kill me, I’ve had no choice but to play the part of your enemy to save you. In the palace… what I say is monitored. Find Zaret. He can explain.”

Grendal’s son was here? That must have been the young human who arrived in Taln with Arrow and Raiden.

The mages appeared a few feet in front of me, and with a tiny flick of his fingers, Melaya released a burst of magic that sent me flying across the forest floor. Chanting, they enfolded Arrow in chains of fire, and then dragged him away, his silver eyes fixed on me until he disappeared through the gate.

Silver eyes that lied.

Arrow only pretended to be my savior to save his life, but I knew better than to believe his stories. I’d learned my lesson. He was a betrayer. A total asshole.

And I’d come very close to killing him, which meant that I’d won the final event.

A cold shiver rolled down my spine.

I had survived.

But what would the Fire King do with me now?