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

Chapter 18

Leaf

“Zali, wait,” Esen called out in the distance as I picked my way down a steep path in the rain, heading toward the sea.

Taln Palace loomed above like a giant black crow hunkered on a cluster of treacherous rocks, and behind me, Esen swiftly approached. Unlike me, who slipped and slid every few steps, her fae speed and grace allowed her to cover the difficult terrain with ease.

Plowing onward, I waved my hand over my shoulder in greeting, but didn’t stop, determined to find the fire cave I’d seen from the cliffs when I was with Ruhh at the moat two nights ago.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Esen asked as she leaped off a rock wall to walk beside me.

This morning, the weather was wicked. Steady rain pelted the cliffs and churned the sea into wild, frothy waves that mirrored my agitated mood.

“Exploring. And I absolutely love starting the day getting drenched and whipped by a brutal sea breeze,” I said, grimacing as I swept wet hair off my face. “It’s very refreshing, don’t you think?”

“No, not really.” Esen laughed at the soaked state of me, then threw a ball of fire magic at my chest. It whooshed over me from head to toe, drying my hair and clothes in an instant and lashing them around my body.

“Nice,” I said, straightening my tunic. “But tell me, do I have any hair left on my head to braid tonight?”

“Don’t worry. Perfumed oil, a circlet, and a few ribbons do wonders for partly bald heads.”

I patted my skull, finding my unruly brown mane mostly intact. “Not much point wasting your power to dry me off, Esen. The rain’s not letting up any time soon.”

“Sorry. I got carried away in the moment. Glad to see you’re still alive,” she said. “The whole Fire Court has heard about the Storm King’s feedings. There are wagers you won’t last the week before he drains you dry or fucks your weak body into a pile of broken bones.”

“Charming,” I said, guessing Arrow hoped the entire Sun Realm believed that and would, therefore, leave me alone for one of two possible reasons.

Option one: he had told the truth and was in Taln to help me.

Or two: he wanted the Fire Court to know he was the only fae allowed to toy with me.

The lost girl I had buried deep inside me preferred the first option. She hoped there was a sane explanation for why he’d sold me to Azarn and Bakhur. But the girl I’d become since—the one who killed her own brother after foolishly giving her heart to her fae owner, well… I just couldn’t let myself trust him.

Not yet, anyway.

If it turned out that Azarn was the reason I was trapped in the Fire Kingdom, then Arrow would still need to do a whole lot of groveling to be forgiven for leaving me alone in Mydorian for so long. And, also, for being such a shitty letter writer.

I rubbed the Aldara mark on my neck. It seemed suspiciously convenient for Arrow that the bond that allowed us to converse in our minds only renewed while he drank my blood. He knew the act made me lose my mind and burn for him, which made me all the easier to manipulate.

Self-disgust filled me. How could I fall so effortlessly under his spell again?

I stumbled over a rock and grabbed Esen’s arm to regain balance.

“It strikes me as odd that you claim to be glad I’m alive when you’ve tried to murder me at least once… that I know about. I thought you hated me and only cared about how fast you could gain the approval of whichever king you happened to be colluding with at the time.”

“Perhaps I’ve seen the error of my ways.” She jumped off a slab of rock onto the path below that zigzagged down the side of the cliff, then held her hand out and helped me leap down to join her.

Stopping for a moment, I checked if I could feel tendrils of Melaya’s magic slithering over my skin. Finding nothing that indicated he might be listening in, I continued. “I’m searching for the fire cave hidden in these cliffs,” I said, pondering if it was stupid to trust her with my mission. But if she ratted me out to Azarn, I’d just blame my curious nature. “Ruhh showed me the dust-damned thing the other night, but now it’s disappeared. I can hear its fire sizzling in the rain, so it must be close by, but the paths I’ve tried so far just lead me in circles. Can you help me find it?”

She shot me a narrowed glance, then helped me navigate around a salt bush blocking the path, showing me how to cling to its trunk and swing out over the tumultuous sea far below. I followed her method while trying to erase the image of my body smashed to gory pieces on the rocks.

When we were safely on the path again, she asked, “Why do you wish to visit the cave so badly? There’s a reason why it’s off limits to the likes of you.”

“I’m curious. I only want a quick look inside.”

She laughed. “You might regret your curiosity. It’s dangerous in there, and once you’ve seen something horrible, it can’t be unseen and will haunt you every time you close your eyes.”

I shook my head. Fae were so dramatic. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience, Esen.”

A salty wind whipped my hair over my eyes for the hundredth time today, the rain still pouring and slowing our progress as we wound down the side of the cliff.

About a third of the way down, Esen put her palm out to stop me. “Okay. We’re here.”

Heart hammering, I scanned the black cliffs and a clutch of emerald-green birds roosting in a craggy nook. “I don’t see anything.”

Esen smirked. “Watch closely.” She muttered a spell, and a golden phoenix-shaped sigil appeared in midair. When it dissipated and the smoky haze cleared, the mouth of a large cave was revealed, its interior shielded by a wall of fire.

“Why was I able to see it glowing from the cliff top the other night?”

“Because you were with Ruhh, and she wanted you to see it, which tells me that she’s up to something. Don’t be drawn into the ghost girl’s plots. She’s trouble.”

“I’m always careful around her.” I hiked an eyebrow toward the cave. “Lead the way.”

“You don’t look too worried,” Esen said.

“Perhaps if you told me what’s in there, then I might be.”

She laughed, tucking wet hair behind her pointed ear. “After you,” she said as she swept her hand out in a graceful arc, as if guiding me into a lavish ball.

Taking a long breath, I walked through the wall of fire. Although the sound of the flames crackled ferociously at my ears, they felt like a silken veil brushing my limbs as I entered the cave.

For a moment, I stood blinking in total darkness. Then Esen waved a hand, her magic igniting torches that cast orange light throughout a small cave, its walls charred from fires that looked like they’d burned for centuries so thick was the scarring.

As Esen strode toward the rear wall, a passage became visible. “Come on. We don’t want to be here any longer than necessary. If we’re found… it wouldn’t go well for either of us, and we don’t want that. Understand?”

“Yes,” I said, my heart rate accelerating and a wave of dizziness engulfing me. This could be a trap. Esen might lock me in here forever or slit my throat or even…

Relax , I told myself. Death is but another journey . Be brave. Mydorian blood will never fail.

And if mine did, then surely the Zareen would agree to work with a male of my line in my stead. My brother Van was strong-willed, good-hearted, and I knew he’d make a wonderful ruler if needed.

I followed Esen through a rocky tunnel that opened into a vast cavern somewhere in the heart of the cliff. It was lit by a pyre of green flames burning inside a small pit in the middle of the limestone floor.

Veins of magic pulsed along intricate fire symbols etched into the walls. Dark Unseelie magic. The kind my parents had taught me to stay away from.

My gaze tracked upward, my breath rushing out of me when I saw what—or rather who —dangled above the fire pit.

Orion.

His limbs were tied to poles of Xanthanian metal, black and glittering like stars in a clear sky and shaped into a large inverted triangle. A lattice of enchanted flames made a circle of bars around him, forming a prison of dancing fire. Shadows flickered over his body, distorting his slackened face into a mask of horror. His white tusks and bushy beard had been cut off, his gray skin yellowing like sun-bleached paper.

The suffering the orc endured was sickeningly apparent. I swallowed bile, my entire body shaking. I wanted to run from the cave and scrub its memory from my brain. At the same time, I wanted to stand here forever, so Orion’s sacrifice would be carved into my heart for all time.

With every fiber of my being, I prayed he wouldn’t become a martyr for those who sought peace in the Five Realms. Orion deserved to live. To thrive. I just had to figure out how to get him down from there.

Hot embers floated through the shimmering, sour-smelling air, and no matter how many deep breaths I took, I couldn’t seem to draw enough oxygen in.

“They’re burning him alive,” I finally rasped.

“Not quite. Orc, wake up,” commanded Esen, her expression full of pity, despite her harsh words.

A moan rumbled from Orion’s chest, then he slowly raised his head, his single, red-rimmed amber eye fixing on me. Another moan split his lips—the sight of me adding to his anguish.

“Leaf,” he croaked. “Go… Please. I beg you.”

Bathed in the glow of shifting green and black patterns, he looked like an ancient fire god sentenced to burn forever in the hell realms, his agony a lesson for any fae who longed to revolt against Azarn.

Wiping tears from my cheeks, I stepped closer. Orion didn’t scream or sob, but the sweat dripping from his skin told the tale of his pain.

“Get him down,” I said, lunging at Esen and wrapping my hands around her throat. “Right now. Or I’ll kill you.”

“Impossible,” she said mildly, allowing me to back her against the wall. “You’re human and no match for my fire magic. One snap of my fingers and you’d be dead, unable to help the orc. I suggest you calm yourself, Zali. Your temper has only ever increased your troubles.”

“You sound like Arrow again,” I said, the words rushing out before my brain caught up to my mouth. I released Esen and turned back to the orc. “Can you speak, Orion? Give me your knife Esen. Please, let’s cut him down.”

As I began to step over the first line of flames, Orion groaned. Esen grabbed my arm and dragged me backward. “Idiot. Those flames will kill anyone who breaches them.”

Frustration surged inside me. “Then how in the dust will we get him down?”

“We can’t. You need a member of Azarn’s family or Melaya to break the spell and dissolve the prison of flames. There’s nothing you can do for him. The Sentura Pyre is a torture meant to endure forever. The flames themselves sustain the barest semblance of life, no water or food required, so that the victim will experience pain for as long as possible.”

“That’s vile.” I raised my palms in a plea of guilt. “Orion, I’m so sorry. This is my fault. Tell me how to help. I’ll find a way to free you, no matter the cost. I promise.”

He shook his head, emitting a dry moan through cracked lips.

“Your family… can I help them? You once mentioned your mother who lived under a mountain. Please, Orion, tell me how to find her.”

Drops of sweat sizzled in the flames as his chin slumped onto his chest.

Esen walked toward the exit. “Come, Zali. You’ve got what you wanted. Now you know what’s inside the fire cave.”

“I’ll be back,” I told Orion, swallowing sobs, my head aching with impotent fury. “Don’t doubt it.”

As we neared the passage that would lead us out of this dust-forsaken place, Orion coughed, then cleared his throat. “Leaf… Only fire fae can… open this…” His words trailed off, his eyes rolling back in his head.

“Only fire fae can open what?” I asked.

“ This cave ,” he hissed.

Esen grabbed my arm, dragging me into the passage, Orion’s eerie whisper echoing behind us.

What did he mean by only fire fae could open the cave?

Only fire fae could open the —

“ Esen ,” I barked out as the truth sank in. “What in the fire-fucked dust have you done? You’re one of them now?”