Chapter 50 And Into the Fire
And Into the Fire
Ronan
Sage slept soundly in the bed, softly snoring, while I turned on the electric kettle in the room and admired the bite mark on my neck in the shiny reflection.
I was never wearing a scarf again.
We were checking out today, our “mate moon” officially over. As soon as I stepped back through the threshold of my house, I was under my dad’s control. An Oniguro, bound to continue the family legacy through pain and flame.
I knew I’d make this choice a thousand times over if it meant rescuing Sage, and now that she was safe, now that she was mine, and I was hers?
I’d make it for eternity.
I poured hot water in a mug, dipping the tea bag to start the steep as I walked quietly across the room to the window, watching the sun rise over the city-state I hated with every fiber of my being.
But somehow, under the warm glow of the morning sun, Ignareth didn’t look as bad as I remembered. I could actually make a life for myself here.
I lost myself in thought, going over my worries over the aftermath of our attack at the Premier’s Mansion—we’d been purposefully avoiding the news—and how to best acclimate my sweet mate into mafia life.
And when a slim pair of arms wrapped around me from behind, I didn’t flinch from the surprise. I leaned back into the warm body that welcomed me, careful not to spill my drink and burn her.
“You okay?” she asked, her voice muffled against my skin.
“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “I just wish we could stay in this bubble for a little while longer.”
“Mm, me too,” she replied.
We rocked back and forth to some melody only we could hear, to the rhythm of our matching heart beats.
In sync.
That was the feeling. I was in sync for the first time in my life. I’d never felt like I fit in before—everyone had always wanted and waited for me to live up to my Magik, my designation, my name. Here in Ignareth and out in the rest of Lundaria, I was never enough of what they thought I should be.
Until now.
Sage saw me. Sage loved the soft bits. The funny bits. The quiet bits. The bits that I’d always tamped down, afraid to show others for fear of rejection.
She embraced them all.
They weren’t bugs to her. They were a feature.
I couldn’t help but wonder if being mates meant that we had been made for each other from the start, or if the gods matched us after they saw our souls, pairing us up once they knew we were perfect together.
Sage gave me one kiss in the middle of my back, between my shoulders, and then shuffled off to the bathroom, closing the door and turning on the shower.
I finished my tea so I could join her, when movement cutting across the sunrise caught my attention. A helicopter, flying low, slow, and deliberate, headed in the direction of my house.
With a heavy sigh, I grabbed my phone from where it was charging on the nightstand, opening the news app for the first time since the car ride here.
It was no surprise that our attack in Noctis was still dominating the front pages.
PREMIER CORVANE CONFIRMED DEAD IN MANSION INFERNO
NOCTIS—Victor Corvane, Premier of Noctis, was killed last week following a private meeting at his home with Premier Asmodiel Hellmora of Ignareth, sparking a cascade of conflicting accounts, political fallout, and unanswered questions across the city-states.
Hellmora’s office maintains that the Ignareth Premier departed the Corvane residence prior to the violent attack, a claim disputed by multiple eyewitnesses who allege his presence at the scene during the incident.
Authorities have confirmed that Victor Corvane’s wife, Accalia Corvane, and their young son, Alaric, were not in the residence at the time of the attack and were unharmed.
The Corvane family has requested privacy as they grieve, while investigations continue into alleged Oniguro family involvement and the unexplained disappearance of Sage Hexwood, Victor’s claimed mate, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Fuck.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t known this would be news, or that we’d be implicated. I mean, we’d done it, after all, and we’d left a lot of witnesses. If anything, my dad was probably happy to put the Oniguro stamp all over this.
But we couldn’t escape the drones or long-lens cameras that would snap pictures of Sage with me from within our compound. Until the truth came out about what Victor did to her, she’d look like a villain.
And I couldn’t let that happen.
I texted Maia.
Tell Hellmora to release the statement.
Maia replied almost instantly. It was six a.m., and I was surprised she was even up.
Done. Looking forward to meeting my new sister.
Sage came out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam, towel wrapped around her head and body drowning in a plush, terry cloth robe.
She looked adorable, and I told her so.
Cheeks blushing, she turned on the coffee maker. “I guess we’d better start packing, huh?”
I ran my hand down my face with a groan. “Yeah, but we gotta talk first.”
“Yeah,” she replied with a resigned sigh. She saddled up in front of me, grabbing me by my horns to pull my face close to hers.
I loved it when she did that.
“I know you want to protect me, but I’m stronger than I look. Especially when I have you by my side. So don’t be afraid to lay it all on me, okay?”
I dug my nose into the crook of her neck, pulling her into me so hard, I might just have absorbed her into my body. Then we could just be one and I’d never have to worry about her ever being taken from me again.
Crazy, I knew. But this mate bond was really something else, and I thanked Ravaric and Hecara every day for making me hers.
“I just don’t want people to get the wrong idea about what happened. All of Lundaria is going to paint me as the bad guy no matter what—I’m an Oniguro, I’m used to it. But you’re innocent, and I know I’ll snap if anyone insinuates otherwise.”
She gave a small chuckle. “People can call me what they want. As long as we know the truth, that’s all that matters.”
The sentiment was sweet, but she’d never had trash thrown at her before while just walking down the street.
“Well, soon Lundaria will know enough of it that we should be okay. Hellmora’s going to frame the attack as a rescue mission.
No details, just saying that Victor lied about the mate bond and was holding you against your will.
I’ll probably give a statement too, since pictures of the two of us are eventually going to show up, and it’s better to get ahead of the news before people’s opinions are formed. ”
The coffee machine sputtered, signaling it was done, and Sage kissed me on the cheek before leaving my embrace, going to fix her cup. “Look at you, Mr. Media Savvy Demon. Got your talking points all lined up, don’t you?”
I snorted, going to her side and adding more hot water from the kettle into my teacup. “I better, otherwise I’m just going to ramble on about how much I love you.”
She stilled beside me, and I started to panic.
“Shit, was that too soon? I’m sorry, you don’t have to say it back.”
She shook her head, the towel slipping slightly and allowing a few wet, curly pieces of her hair to escape. Then she looked at me, her green eyes glistening. “Not at all. I love you, too.”
I put down my tea and picked her up, her legs straddling my waist as I kissed her and took her back to the bed.
We still had several hours before we needed to leave, and I wanted—no, needed—to spend most of them inside her.
* * *
Once everything was haphazardly tossed into suitcases and bags, we took the private elevator down to the underground garage, safe from any reporters who might be staking out the hotel.
The grunt who’d driven us here was waiting with an armored SUV, the windows blacked out. Anyone with half a brain would know immediately who was inside, but at least they couldn’t get any pictures to confirm it.
“Hi, Kurai,” Sage said with a smile. “Thanks for picking us up.”
Kurai coughed nervously, his cheeks turning pink, and I stifled a laugh.
Yeah, Sage was definitely going to shake things up at the compound. Poor kid had probably never been thanked for anything since he was initiated in. Or been called by his name. They were all just nameless grunts until they’d put in a few years.
Kurai took care of all the luggage while we slipped into the backseat. “Any last words of wisdom before I meet your family?”
I hadn’t had a smoke all week, and normally by now I’d be lighting a roll. But for some reason my fingers didn’t twitch like they usually did when it had been so long without some vaporleaf.
Besides, the windows needed to stay closed for privacy, and there was no way I was subjecting Sage to the smoke.
“Yeah,” I replied, taking her hand in mine. “Don’t trust any of them.”
The trunk slammed shut and Kurai came back to the front, the engine starting with a quiet purr. “Any music, sir? Ms. Hexwood?”
I looked at Sage, raising my eyebrows. The radio was all hers.
“Um, can we listen to Sirena Murphy?” she asked.
Oh, Sage was going to flip out when she heard what Maia had planned.
The sugary pop music filled the car, and Sage bopped her head, lip syncing along.
So adorable.
There were a few reporters camped outside the hotel, far from the entrance.
The media had learned to not be too bold when it came to the crime families of Ignareth.
Many investigative journalists had tried to break some kind of scoop on our inner workings and illicit activities over the years, only to have mysteriously gone missing once their covers were blown.
But the death of a Premier was worth sending out a few of the more seasoned reporters, the ones who knew how to get close enough without putting themselves in danger.
Still too many and too close for my comfort, though.
Sage looked out the window, turning away from me, leaving me to guess at the expression on her face. Was she worried? Scared?
“Runic for your thoughts?” I asked.
She released a heavy sigh. “I was just thinking about Ember.”