Fireball #3
“That will be all, Aerie,” he said.
“Play nice, you two,” she said before pulling the door shut and leaving me in a small dining room, alone, with Drayce.
It was set up like a small house, with a combined kitchen, dining room, and living room at the front and a dark hallway at the back.
“How are you settling in?” he asked from his seat at the table, a map stretched out in front of him.
“Alright, I suppose. I only woke up a bit ago.”
“How do you feel, physically?”
I thought for a moment. “Fine, actually. I thought I’d be stiff and sore at least, but nothing.”
“I assume your innate healing abilities have kicked in. Your senses, do they seem…normal?”
Fae healed quickly, yet my scars remained. I’d felt them this morning. This was disappointing…
I contemplated Drayce’s question, looking around, taking everything in. “No, now that you mention it, everything seems amplified—sights, sounds, smells.” I didn’t want to tell him about my weird vision, not yet.
“Fae senses. You’ll eventually become stronger, too, with some training. And some food.” His eyes trailed to where my ribcage was visible through the skin-tight shirt. The gaze brought heat to my cheeks.
He lifted a corner of the map on the table, pulled out a paper from underneath, and handed it to me. “This is your schedule for now until you find your order and are strong enough to join the regular training sessions.”
“So we’re not gonna talk about last night?”
He looked surprised, only for the briefest moment, before he leaned back in his chair and crossed an ankle over one knee. “I assume you no longer want to kill me since I’m still breathing, so what else would you like to talk about?”
For a moment I was lost for words. I almost felt bad, but then I remembered the cuffs and involuntarily rubbed my wrists with a deep breath.
“For now, I don’t. Let’s be clear.” He gave me a half-smile.
“I exploded in fire and shadows…I assume, based on everyone’s reactions this time and last time, that’s not normal? ”
He contemplated me for a moment, scratching the stubble on his chin.
He was really not concerned at all that I had wanted him dead, that I was still angry at him.
He looked…at ease. “No, it’s not,” he admitted.
“But we’ll figure your abilities out. You’re with the Arcanum order starting tomorrow, and Leader Sevrin can help there,” he said, “and answer all your magic-related questions,” he added as I opened my mouth to ask a magic-related question.
I frowned slightly, feeling dismissed. The golden glow was still there, hovering around his heart and lightly pulsing, distracting me.
“Look, Naci, I know you have a lot of questions. At this moment, I can’t answer them all. So how about this: take your first week here and learn all you can, then you can join me for dinner, and I promise to answer questions you still have.”
I did not trust him, but the way he looked at me, though, was as if he were begging me with his eyes to say yes to dinner.
More than anything, I needed answers. Information. “I’m still furious with you, ya know? You lied to me. You kept me cuffed. It kept me from being able to speak to Noxie. And it hurt. And I don’t trust you.” I rubbed my wrists again.
“I also saved your life.”
We stared each other down, my heart rate easing. I sighed. “Fine. Dinner.”
He smiled but quickly hid it with a nod. “Dismissed then, soldier.”
I put my hands on my hips. “I don’t like being dismissed. Just a friendly ‘catch ya later’ or something would suffice.”
“You speak…oddly,” he said, his look quizzical.
“Well, I was raised as a dirt-floor poor mortal in an abusive home with an evil half sister. I suppose, to you, I probably do.”
I didn’t even mean to say it so casually, but my revelation had a profound effect on Drayce. His jaw tightened so much I was surprised he didn’t crack a tooth.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that.”
“Never apologize for what has made you who you are,” he said, clenching and unclenching his fist, all air of control gone.
“Well, I don’t even know who I am anymore. Let’s hope I figure it out over the next week, so I’m not asking you over dinner.” I gave him a small smile, and he relaxed some.
He took a beat to compose himself and smiled back. “Yes, let’s hope. I’ve given Aerie the rest of the day off from her normal duties to get you acquainted. Tomorrow morning, you become a rebel.”
Gods, I liked the sound of that. The shit-eating grin stayed plastered on my face long after I walked out of Drayce’s little house and rejoined Aerie.
“Looks like that went well,” she said when she spied my smile.
“Just excited to be in the rebellion. I feel like I have a purpose now. Like I can actually accomplish something.” Like I can actually avenge Nella’s death one day soon, I thought to myself.
“And what do you hope to accomplish?”
“Kill the king of Ashenholt. Plus a few others.”
She snorted a laugh, not a derisive one, but one of amusement. “Me too, fireball, me too.”
And secretly, I loved that she called me fireball. It felt…dangerous.