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

Chapter 16

Leaf

The next day, I sprang out of bed early and enjoyed my newfound freedom by exploring Taln’s rambling market district that wound down a grassy hillside beneath a slate-gray sky, the air thick with cooking smoke and spices.

I spent the morning inspecting wares laid out on market-stall tables, pestering hooded traders from the Ice Realm, blacksmiths, glassblowers, and bakers with questions, feigning interest in their magical trinkets and edible delights—enchanted blades, fire runes, amulets, potions, and health elixirs.

My aim was to learn everything I could about my newly acquired jewelry item, the repulsive mergelyn anklet, and get rid of the dust-damned thing as soon as possible.

Grizzled, long-haired warriors dressed in leathers and not much else wandered through the crowd, some buying weapons and others drinking ale from large tankards on roughly hewn tables set around the town mill.

I perched on a stool nearby, eavesdropping, before finally concluding their conversations about hunting tactics and best bedroom practices to make their partners scream were of little help to me. As soon as I finished my drink, I kept my hood low over my face and slipped past them.

At the very bottom of the market, I found twenty or so cages nestled in the walls of a shallow cave set into the hillside. They were filled with dragon-like creatures about the size of the cats that wandered the palace like royalty wearing bejeweled collars.

The caged dragons’ pathetic mewling tugged at my heartstrings, and despite how badly I longed to set them free, I couldn’t. I knew doing so would only get me confined to my tower again.

Or worse.

When my belly growled, I trekked back up the hill to the food stalls and used the gold feather Esen had given me this morning to buy a bowl of spiced soup and a sticky pastry for lunch. Blending in with the fae, I took a seat on a crowded table in front of a tavern and ate while watching Taln’s famous dragon riders take their second whirl through the sky since the sun had risen.

As I licked the last of the pastry’s honey from my fingers, I spied Raiden bartering with a trader. I slinked through rows of clothing hanging on long rails and watched him purchase a gold pendant with a single tear-shaped ruby, framed by shining black pearls. It was beautiful, the type of jewelry one gave to their beloved. And I smiled to myself, knowing exactly who Raiden had bought it for—Arrow’s golden Sayeeda.

A wave of sadness engulfed me. I missed Ari so much.

I’d give almost anything to have her here with me in this twisted court of lies, and I was certain Raiden felt the same way.

I followed Arrow’s dark-haired guard up and down black-walled streets and alleys until he came across the very person I had hoped to find—the human youth who’d arrived six days ago with the Storm Court retinue.

In the forest, Arrow had mentioned Zaret was here and advised me to seek him out. But could it really be Grendal’s son? It made no sense that a human who’d lived in a gold raiders’ camp would travel with the fae king who had proclaimed so often and so loudly to hate our species.

The males chatted amiably, Raiden laughing as he stroked his jacket pocket, where Ari’s pendant lay safely tucked, before he clapped the boy’s shoulder, and then continued alone up the hill toward the palace.

I wasted no time, ducking around groups of fae and stepping in front of the young man. “Hello,” I said, offering my hand in greeting. “It’s nice to finally meet another human in Taln.”

A gray hue washed over his dark skin. “Princess,” he stuttered, cutting me a deep bow, and ignoring my outstretched hand. In obvious discomfort, he flicked his gaze toward the market stalls, down to the ground, then finally back to my face. “How can I… uh… help you?”

“You could start by shaking my hand and telling me your name.”

Laughter rumbled in his chest as he recovered from his bout of shyness and took my hand. “Arrow warned me you were blunt,” he said drawing me through the crowd and toward one of the smaller fire gardens near the sea.

Fucking Arrow. Why was he the only thing anyone seemed to speak about and, worse, all I could think of? Self-disgust slid through my veins as I remembered the kiss we’d shared last night, the way I’d melted at his touch. In the space of three shakily drawn breaths, the walls around my broken heart had collapsed, and all I’d wanted was for him to call me his Aldara again. His only one.

And tell me that I was his and no other’s.

The loud cawing of gulls woke me from my daydream of soft, seeking lips and molten silver eyes as the birds circled directly above, mocking me with their cruel cries.

The boy cleared his throat. “I’m glad what they say about you is true. Perhaps you’ll forgive me if I speak in the same manner.”

I smiled. “I appreciate straightforwardness,” I admitted as I studied clear gray eyes framed by thick brows and dark hair that curled around the strong bones of his face. “I’m tired of the way fae forever talk around their secrets, rarely getting to the point. Speak boldly. It will be a refreshing change.”

“I am Grendal’s son, Zaret. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Zaret? It really is you, isn’t it? You have your mother’s gray eyes.” My fingers grazed his cheekbone. “Arrow said you were here, and I hoped it was true. But given all that’s happened, it’s hard to trust a word the Storm King says anymore.”

A grin stretched his face, so similar to Grendal’s mischievous smile that I knew without a doubt she was his mother.

“Will you sit with me?” he asked, perching on a flat boulder overlooking a field of fire geysers.

I settled beside him, and then took his hand and squeezed it. “Do you despise me for what happened to your mother, Zaret?”

He frowned. “Not at all. The Sayeeda, Ildri, and Arrow, they all explained what happened the day she died in the tea garden. My mother did a foolish thing in the hopes of saving me from a life of addiction. But in doing so, she betrayed you, her one true friend. The gold trade was the real cause of her death.”

“Yes, and that’s Arrow’s fault. His court treats their servants with such savagery, allowing them to become addicted to serum as a means to control them.”

“Much has changed in Coridon since you left. Servants no longer wear serum bracelets. And as long as they vow not to join the raiders, they are free to leave the city if they don’t wish to work in the palace or the mines, where the pay is best. But most stay, glad to be employed and live comfortably.”

For a moment, I said nothing as I watched a geyser erupt, spraying sparks across a field of grass. A fae appeared with a bucket and ran around putting out spot fires.

“You’re telling me Arrow found you, befriended you, and abolished the Light Realm’s slave trade in a matter of weeks? You can’t expect me to believe that.”

“Yes, Zali, he did. And I must tell you it was all for—”

I elbowed his ribs, cutting him off as the light breeze carried a raspy voice up the hill. “What have we here?” the voice mocked. “A human uprising in the Court of Fire and Flames?”

I looked over my shoulder and found Prince Bakhur and his pompous, shit-eating grin stalking toward us.

Releasing Zaret’s hand, I wiped mine on my thigh and forced a smile. “Join us, Bakhur. We were just discussing what an asshole King Arrowyn is.”

“My favorite topic.” Bakhur turned to Zaret and snarled. “Leave, human. Do it fast if you know what’s good for you.”

Zaret rose without haste, strolling away as if he hadn’t a care in the world. His casual arrogance reminded me of the Storm King, an obvious role model Zaret had been paying close attention to.

Flicking his cloak up, Bakhur sat beside me. “Father wouldn’t like to hear of you fraternizing with the human.”

“Why not? I’m human, too. I find it comforting to speak with my own kind.”

“King Azarn doesn’t care much for your comfort.”

Nor did his son, I guessed.

Bakhur nodded at my mergelyn anklet. “I’ve heard many rumors about that device. A persistent one being that it allows Melaya to hear snippets of your conversations. Apparently, it’s sporadic and unreliable, but if you gather with the human boy or members of the Storm Court again, your words may very well get back to us.”

“You surprise me, Bakhur, admitting the Fire Court is afraid of a harmless conversation between friends.”

“Nothing you do is harmless, Zali.”

Unease surged through me. Could Melaya really spy on me through the mergelyn anklet? From now on, I needed to take the utmost care of what I said and to whom.

Planting my boots on the rock and hugging my knees to my chest, I released a heavy sigh. “Anyway, I’m tired of hearing Melaya this and Melaya that . No one speaks about his brother, Nukala, and yet your father seems very fond of him. What’s his story?”

At the mention of Nukala, the Fire Prince’s skin blanched white. “Nukala isn’t spoken of because he’s a bore. A useless, powerless fire mage.”

“But, fortunately, a pretty one,” I said, forcing a smile and wondering if Bakhur was telling the truth. Why would the king fawn over a weak, impotent mage? Unless the king was infatuated and besotted with Nukala, it didn’t make sense.

As I got to my feet, Bakhur gripped my wrist, holding me in place. “Skip dinner in the hall tonight and attend my private bacchanal instead. You won’t regret it, Zali. I can tell you tales about the Storm King that will take your breath away. You will consider me a mouse compared to the fae who caused the death of countless females over decades.”

Arrow had only worn his crown for the past two years, so I was reasonably sure Bakhur had confused stories of King Darian for tales about his son.

“I’ll think about it,” I replied, then bid Bakhur goodbye and hurried off to find Zaret.

He knew things about Arrow that I didn’t. Perhaps even how I came to be at the Fire Court. I needed to coax every detail from Grendal’s son before I went mad wondering if the Storm King was a villain or, shock-horror, actually my savior .

Despite a thorough search of the town’s three taverns, trading shops, and the common areas of the palace, I had no luck. The Storm Court party was nowhere to be found. However, the afternoon wasn’t an entire waste, because I took the opportunity to test the limits of the mergelyn anklet.

It didn’t take long to work out that if I tried to walk or run past Melaya’s magical boundaries, I passed out cold. Even when I ventured waist deep in the churning sea below the cliffs, my mind went blank and I regained consciousness on the black-sand beach, as if an invisible forcefield had ejected me.

The same thing happened at the bottom of the fire geyser field, at the edge of the forest, and again when I scaled a section of the city wall, climbing the thick, overgrown vines like a ladder. I woke up on a table of chicken fillets, a winged butcher scowling down at me with his sharp talons flexed.

In need of a bath, I retreated to my room and tried to set aside feelings of despair. I’d discovered that escape from the Fire Court was nigh on impossible, so I attempted to distract myself from my hopeless situation by rifling through memories of home. I remembered precious times spent with my parents, my brother Van, but not Quin—the twin who had broken my heart and increased my trust issues tenfold.

And never Arrow. I did my best to pretend he hadn’t been to Mydorian and helped me win back the crown from the usurper who’d held my birthright hostage.

I chased all images of the Storm King from my mind, replacing them with scenes of playing boardgames with Father or hunting with Mother, because if I let them in, I would need to ask myself a very difficult question.

Why would Arrowyn Ramiel do so much to help me only to later hand me over to another realm?

I quashed the thought before it took root in my mind, reminding myself that all fae were liars. They hated my species. And the Storm King was likely playing a long game to destroy me.

Why?

Because through me, he could control Mydorian and make a fortune from a legitimate gold trade in the Earth Realm, increasing his wealth and ultimate power in the other realms.

In my experience, greed trumped love nearly every single time.

And to believe it, all I had to do was convince myself Zaret had fabricated the changes made in Coridon since I was last there.

That would be easy.

If nothing else, I was skilled at sticking to my delusions if I thought they might protect me from future heartbreak.