Her Ivory Flame (Norse Flame Duet #1)

Chapter 1

Death searched for her, Death found her, and yet Death himself was not strong enough to take her.

The world thought death succeeded in taking her over a century ago and she had lived that lie every day since.

To her, being dead was better than trying to navigate the world since The Dissension, after her people were annihilated from the world and her home destroyed. They picked a side in a foreign war, and in the end that side betrayed them.

From what she was told, she was the last female to carry the Valkyrie blood, the princess of her people that had been killed in battle. Her blood held the only union between Valkyrie and Fae to history’s recorded knowledge and that made her a very valuable asset to their enemy.

She supposed that would make her Queen of Mydalsa now, if she ever decided to return to society. But to return meant picking a side again, and the only one she would choose would be the same one that betrayed her.

The world seemed at peace for now just the way it was, the spring sun high in the sky as she walked through the crowded streets of the nearby town of Helen on market day.

She had to walk three miles to get there from her private home deep in the forest down the dirt road path lined with trees, but it was worth it for the vendors that came this particular day.

Her shoulder brushed against other townsfolk trying to maneuver around to her favorite vendors along the dirt path.

The kiosks along the walkway were still old worn wood stalls with tattered fabric hanging from half rotten poles to keep the sun off them.

She thought they had some charm to them, the hardship of being one of the forgotten towns near the border of Ambros was very apparent.

The buildings behind the stalls were made of old wood and frayed ropes that had been through a few too many storms to be truly livable, but the people of this town worked with what they had.

Some homes had fabric for roofs, just like the stalls, but most had old splintered wood with straw patching the holes that developed throughout the years.

She had her long white hair braided and shoved in her favorite leather hooded cloak, her simple green dress hugging her slim body; flowing lightly around her legs with each step. She wore her knee-high leather boots, a knife shoved in the side of one just in case any trouble found her.

No one around her would know who she was, the only possible tell of any importance was her hair color and she tried to hide that when she could.

The white hair was connected to a rare fae bloodline on her father’s side, however it seemed there were more and more bastard children appearing around the country mudding up that theory.

This meant she could play it off that way if she needed to, but so far no one asked questions.

She tried not to make friends when she was in town, the less people knew about her the better chance she had to stay hidden from both kings.

One of them she fought with and was betrayed by them, the other one tortured her for months after the war and was still looking for her. Her escape from his stone slab was her way of escaping death, but she knew he would try again if she ever ended up in his line of sight once more.

Living day by day was her way of coping with her trauma, thankful to wake up every morning and not be chained to that slab, making her appreciate the little things in life.

Today, she was soaking up the sun and breathing in the aroma of her favorite spice stall as she made her way closer to it.

Her eyes sought out the dark-haired vendor and watched her bottling up a variety of ground minerals in small glass jars across the counter. As soon as she stopped against the worn wood booth, the female looked up at her with a smile.

“Hello darling,” the female greeted her. “How are you doing today?”

“Good morning, Elias. The sun is out so I can’t complain,” she replied back with a friendly grin.

Elias was one of the few people in the village she would interact with in a friendly manner.

Like most of the villagers here, the Fae female in front of her had tan skin and darker features with no scaled wings in sight.

Wings were another rare feature among the race, usually only adorned to royal blood.

Her people all had wings, beautiful multi-colored feather wings that carried them into battles for centuries. Pure white wings used to adorn her own back when she summoned them before she locked up her magic so tightly she could hardly access any of it now.

“What can I get you today?” Elias asked, her hands setting down the glass bottle she was currently filling.

“Just some red salts, and some mint leaves.” She smiled and watched Elias move to collect the items. “Oh, and some ground vanilla too please.”

“So your usual order then?” Elias chuckled.

She just smiled and set down her empty bottles from her last visit for the vendor to reuse later and waited until she was handed a bag with three new small jars in them.

“Thank you.” She nodded her head and gave the female the three silver coins owed before returning to the crowded walkway.

She had one more place to go before she could start her walk back home. Unfortunately for her, it was on the opposite side of the market and she would have to walk past the Commander's Quarters to get there.

With a heavy sigh, she made sure her hood was pulled down on her face and wound through the sea of people trying to get their weekly goods.

She hadn’t needed to venture to town for a few weeks, her personal garden and her trapping ability were enough to keep her sustained.

Today though was a special day, it came once a year and it was her favorite day to look forward to.

Silas was going to be visiting today, and that meant she was looking to buy the best meat in town.

There was one particular vendor she trusted, and only because she had helped the male years ago when a storm came through.

It had almost killed him but after that, she knew he wouldn’t sell her bad meat like the other vendors tried to do.

Her heart soared at the thought of seeing Silas, her one and only friend, and the only one that knew who she truly was. He had saved her almost a century ago and she would thank him every day until death finally won their battle.

“Allie!” she heard her fake name called from behind her and she groaned with annoyance in recognition of the voice. No one knew her true name except Silas, and she was grateful for it.

She tried to keep walking in hopes he would take the hint but she heard him approach behind her. It was her own fault, she was so lost in thought she didn’t realize she was walking past the Commander’s Quarters just yet.

“Allie!” the male voice sounded again and she felt a hand grab at her shoulder.

She quickly threw her hand up as she turned and knocked his hand away, the feeling of anyone touching made her instantly sick. Her eyes glared up at the short blonde-haired Fae with blue eyes, one of the only other villagers with the light-colored skin like her.

“Thron,” she snapped at him.

“A little icy today, are we?” he chuckled.

“You know I don’t like being touched. What do you want?”

“I haven’t seen you around for a couple of weeks, I wanted to make sure you were ok.” She watched his mouth curve into a cocky smile and his hand resting casually on his sword. He had on his royal attire, one of the two lawkeepers in town and was not afraid to throw his title around.

“I had no reason to come to town.”

“I tried to give you a reason.” He smirked. “Happen to change your mind?”

“No,” she groaned.

“I see.” His smirk faded and he cleared his throat.

“You need something?” she asked quickly, wanting to get out of the awkward situation.

“I would love for you to accept going on a date with me again, but it seems that is still something you are fighting me on for some reason.”

“I’d prefer not to, the first date didn’t go too well and you barely know me as it is,” she growled back and crossed her arms in front of her chest in annoyance.

“Your name is Allie, you live a few miles out of town and you're extremely stubborn but absolutely gorgeous,” he said in a smug tone, his eyes not leaving hers.

“Everyone around here knows that,” she sighed back.

“Well, let me get to know you better.”

“Not interested.”

She glared up at him in warning, his eyes studying her intently before following her scar that ran down the side of her hair line.

“I’ve got plenty of time to change your mind.” He chuckled.

“I really need to go.” She turned to continue her way to the meat stall but only got a few steps away and could hear him faintly shout behind her.

“I won’t give up!” he yelled and she felt her body shake with disgust.

It was bad enough she wasn't attracted to the male at all, but for him to want a second date with her after one afternoon of mediocre conversation was a whole new level of weird.

Avoiding his attention was her goal ever since that dreadful encounter, but he still kept seeking her out much to her displeasure. If it wasn’t for him being an officer of the law, she might have stabbed him by now and hid the body out of pure annoyance.

She could see the vendor she was heading for a few steps away, her eyes falling on the older bald male cutting the meat behind his main counter.

“Victor!” She smiled and saw the male look up from his knife.

“Allie, how are you my dear?” His normal gruff look melted away and a smile was returned to her.

“Going good. I need two of the best venison steaks you have.”

He threw a small cloth over his shoulder after wiping his hands and walked to a wooden box next to him.

“You have that special male coming tonight don't you?” He smirked.

“Same day every year,” she replied.

She watched him grab two large chunks of meat and wrap them in a clean white cloth. Once wrapped he rolled another small patch of burlap around it and handed it to her.

“You are too pretty to rot away in this town my dear, maybe you should think of leaving with this male.” His smile fell and his eyes gave her a pleading look. “If not him, I have my handsome nephew that could be a good fit.”

“It’s not as easy as it seems, but thank you for the offer.” She grabbed the meat from him and tried to hand him the coins he was owed.

“Your money isn’t good here this year. Keep it.” He let a small smile resurface on his face but she could tell he was serious.

“Thank you Victor.” She leaned across the counter and gave him a light kiss on his cheek. “You are too good to me.”

“Only you my lady.” He winked and returned to his cutting table to help the people waiting in line next to her.

She turned and started towards her home, his words fumbling around in her mind. If it was easy, she thought, she would ask Silas to take her back with him and start a new life. She cared for the male, but there was too much of herself that was broken and it wasn’t fair to him right now.

She took a turn off the main path to avoid Thron again and listened to the birds around her as she walked the dirt path towards the woods, towards home.