Chapter 15 #4
Exhilaration.
We stopped by a lake, each ripple catching the moonlight and hurling it back like scattered diamonds across water. The waves lapped hypnotically against moss-covered stones.
There was nothing else around us—just the endless stretch of soft green grass, tall trees standing like silent guardians, and clusters of wildflowers pulsing with an ethereal glow.
Their petals shifted in the warm breeze.
Midnight blues bleeding into deep crimson.
Bursts of golden yellow melting into burning orange.
Fireflies wove through the air above the water in lazy spirals, their bodies winking out, only to blaze back to life again seconds later. They drifted and spun, some coming close enough that I could almost reach out and catch one.
Dalkhan and I collapsed onto the grass together.
I stretched my legs out and leaned on my elbows, my head falling back until my hair fanned across the ground in dark waves.
The air wrapped around me, thick with the intoxicating perfume of night-blooming flowers and the clean, mineral scent of fresh water.
When I finally looked down, Dalkhan was watching—his eyes dark and intense, like I was the only thing that existed in his world.
“You’re staring.”
“I am,” he replied, inching closer until his leg brushed against mine.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head, but heat crept up my neck.
My smile died as Iznia flashed through my mind. Her rage. Her claws aimed at me.
Dalkhan’s expression dimmed. He reached out to brush a strand of hair from my cheek, his fingers lingering against my skin.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just…” I sat up straighter, crossing my legs as I picked at the grass between my fingers. “What happened with Iznia… How many more women should I expect to come after me like that? And how many times are you or Azmik going to have to—”
His voice cut through my rambling. “It won’t happen again. I made sure of that.”
“But… why?”
“Because I can.”
That wasn’t the ‘why′ I was hunting for, but something in his eyes—cold and utterly final—made me swallow any follow-up questions.
Maybe ignorance was safer. His attention, his protection, it was already a weight I could barely carry without drowning.
I needed to think of something else before this impossible burden crushed what remained of my composure.
“It was so strange today, watching Belshin fight like that,” I blurted out, scrambling to change the subject. Too bright. Too eager. “Seeing him actually wield his powers was so… mesmerising.”
“Mesmerising?” He cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing. “Choose a better word, I don’t like you referring to another male as mesmerising.”
I lifted my chin in defiance. “Jealous?”
“Completely,” he admitted it without shame. His hand slid from my chin to the back of my neck, fingers tangling in the loose strands of my hair. “If you’re going to be mesmerised, I prefer it be by me.”
I smiled, the expression wild and reckless as I swept my hand out in bold challenge.
“Then mesmerise me.”
His spine straightened, his gaze sharpening with intent.
“What do you want to see?”
Excitement coursed through my veins, my hands shaking where they rested on my knees.
I could’ve asked for anything, but my thoughts drifted back to what Kaseer had told me back at the markets.
“I heard…” I began, then stopped, my courage failing.
I took a breath and tried again. “You can create beings of flame… or something along those lines.”
“Someone told you… or you asked?”
My heart hammered. “Does it matter?”
“It matters to me.”
“I asked,” I admitted in a rush.
He smiled—slow and devastating. The kind that could bring kingdoms to their knees.
My entire body melted, bones turning to liquid as his face transformed into something beyond beautiful.
“Why are you smiling?” I asked, breathless
He ignored me, fighting to force his features back into careful indifference. The battle was already lost, as that smile lingered in his eyes—in the relaxed set of his shoulders.
“I’ll show you—”
“Nothing scary!” I interrupted, hands flying up. “Or big.”
He shook his head, a soft chuckle rumbling in his chest as he sat up. Anticipation wound tight in my stomach. I leaned forward, weight shifting onto my knees as I drank in every expression that crossed his face.
He reached his hand toward the starry sky, fingers spread wide.
A flicker of light pulsed to life in the centre of his palm.
He wasn’t even looking at his creation. His gaze was locked on me, drinking in every flutter of my eyelashes and the unconscious way I leaned closer to him.
The spark in his palm flared brighter, lifting from his skin and swirling through the air like a spirit taking its first breath. Light twisted and danced until it formed a shape.
My eyes widened as it solidified, becoming more defined.
A woman, crafted entirely of living flame.
She was no bigger than my hand. Hair of pure fire fell down her tiny body in waves that changed from gold to amber to deep orange, never the same shade for more than a heartbeat. Her delicate hands stretched out from a body that was perfectly rendered.
Her head lifted toward Dalkhan, tilting from side to side in a gesture that was achingly human.
Golden light spilled from her like sunshine, painting both our faces in warm amber.
“Wha—” The words died in my mouth, choked off by wonder and something deeper. I reached out a trembling hand and ran the tip of my index finger along the tiny woman’s arm.
She didn’t burn—instead, warmth raced up my finger and spread through my entire hand like the most exquisite caress. Soothing tingles cascaded up my arm, reaching straight into my chest to wrap around my heart.
She spun with fluid grace to face me, one miniature hand lifted in greeting.
“She’s beautiful,” I whispered. “Who is she?”
His eyes never left mine. “It’s you, little flame.”
Emotion swelled so fast and fierce it threatened to drown me.
“Dalkhan—”
“Mesmerised?”
He cocked his head to the side, and the tiny flame version of me curled into his palm like she was coming home. Like his hands were the only place in the world where she belonged. She pressed her small face against his thumb, her fiery hair spilling through his fingers.
I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think past the roar of blood in my ears. I was beyond mesmerised—I was completely ruined.
I surged forward, crashing my lips against his.
He groaned against my mouth, his tongue sweeping in to claim mine. Butterflies with wings of fire ignited in my stomach. His free hand cradled the back of my head, holding me exactly where he wanted me as he kissed me like he was drowning, and I was oxygen.
He pulled back just enough to press his lips to the tip of my nose, his exhale harsh and ragged against my skin. “I need to leave.”
“What?” Confusion and loss warred in my chest. My eyes drifted back to the tiny woman in his palm who had slowly begun to dissolve.
Her perfect form broke apart into sparks that danced away on the wind like the fireflies we’d watched earlier, each one a glowing memory dissolving into the night.
“I’m—”
“Needed.” I finished for him.
I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay with him. Wrapped in moonlight and magic, pretending the rest of the world didn’t exist.
He stood and reached down, his hand swallowing mine as he pulled me to my feet. “Believe me little flame.” He drew me against his chest. “There’s no place I’d rather be than here with you.”
Before I could blink, the world lurched sideways. Shadows consumed us, swallowing all light and sound. I squeezed my eyes shut, my stomach dropping into freefall, and when I opened them again, we were standing outside my door in the suffocating corridors of his palace.
“Tomorrow.” His thumb traced the line of my jaw one last time before he vanished in a rush of smoke and flame.
I pushed open my door on unsteady legs and stumbled inside but froze mid-step.
Gone was the jagged wall that made me feel trapped, and in its place stood an open balcony carved from ancient stone. Intricate patterns were woven into the pillars, allowing the moon’s silver light to pour in.
I nearly tripped over my own feet in my rush to reach it, my hands gripping the railing as I peered over the edge.
I don’t know how long I stood there, drinking in the vast expanse of his realm, before exhaustion finally dragged at my limbs. I made my way back inside, not bothering to change or bathe. I was too drained to do anything but collapse onto my bed.
The last thing I thought of before sleep claimed me was Dalkhan’s smile, and the way the tiny flame woman had curled into his palm like she was coming home.
Like I was coming home.
“STOP! PLEASE! DALKHAN!”
The sharp crack of Theo’s palm striking my cheek ripped through darkness like lightning splitting stone. My body convulsed, muscles seizing as the invisible chains around my limbs shattered.
My eyes snapped open—wild, unseeing—pupils dilated in terror as the last tendrils of hell released their grip.
Theo loomed above me, sweat beading across his forehead. His hand shook as it hovered over my face, fingers splayed like he was afraid I might break at his touch.
I lay frozen—a statue carved from fear. The flames still licked at my skin, a phantom fire that refused to die.
Theo’s fingers pressed gently against my cheek, thumb brushing away tears I didn’t know had fallen.
“Elira, please look at me.” His voice cracked. “You’re scaring the shit out of me.”
I forced my eyes to track toward his face, the simple movement like dragging weights through water. A sob tore from somewhere deep inside me.
My body unlocked all at once, and I jerked upward so violently that Theo lurched backward, nearly tumbling off the bed.
I slammed my hand against my chest as I fought to breathe. Each inhale was a battle. Each exhale a small victory against the clinging suffocation.