45. Chapter 45
Purples, pinks, and oranges painted the evening sky, signaling the start of the day for the Fire Court citizens.
Beautiful as it was, Yareli busied herself with packing.
Although she’d hoped it would distract her, she had finished as soon as she had begun.
She brought only the bare necessities. A deep sigh escaped her.
Remembering her family, herself, was difficult.
Her shame, mistakes, and pain had returned.
Everything made sense now. The job at the cafe paid her rent despite the warning bells in her head about signing a contract in blood.
It had been stupid, but so was the concept of rent.
No, it had been inevitable; if she traveled back in the past, she would sign again.
The money had been too good to pass up. Perhaps she would even negotiate a higher wage, citing the danger associated with a human working in a magical cafe.
Her brother worked at the mechanic shop; his dreams of pursuing a business major were all but sidelined to help make ends meet at home.
And Yareli… She studied a useless major with no promising job waiting for her at the end of it.
She threw her bag hard, and it bounced off her pillows, spilling the contents onto her bed.
Yareli had been playing a silly game in Izmari—role-playing a life that wasn’t hers.
Coveting power, but to what end? Her extra lieutenant jacket lay unspooled on her bed, and she snorted.
Lieutenant Ines had always been a lie for her protection.
The power that called to her now wouldn’t pay the bills at home.
She needed to return, change her major, and pivot the trajectory of her life.
She stuffed her lieutenant jacket into her bag, placing the wooden wolf and bear, Leo’s gifts, on it.
It gave her pause. It hadn’t all been a lie.
The truth pained her, but finding her life force, winning the festival, and existing without the weight of her family and her self-imposed expectations had been liberating.
If she continued with that train of thought, she knew the answer to the devil’s call.
She would claim the power, and after ending Tuom’s life, she would raze the Watchers to the ground.
She would take care of the threat against her world, her family.
Then, she’d return home to face the demons she left behind. Easier said than done. She had resolved to stop running away, but her feet tapped in restless anxiety, their desire clear.
A light knock rescued her. The same circular thoughts she’d had since waking up yesterday kept crossing her mind, but her decision had changed every time.
Sometimes she was tired of danger and the unknown, and all she wanted was to return to the familiar, to home.
Other times, her rage refused to be ignored; rotten things deserved to be erased from the world.
And on and on it went. She threw her head back in frustration; her indecisiveness, which had been alleviated by her amnesia, had returned in full force.
Leo entered the room; he wore casual clothing, not his typical Keeper uniform, which really only consisted of an embroidered jacket bearing his rank.
“Hey, you,” he said. “I heard you were moping in your room.”
Yareli rolled her eyes, smiling. “I’m not moping.”
He didn’t need to raise an eyebrow to tell her he didn’t believe her. He stretched his arms, pulling them backward, and she eyed the way the V-cut on his shirt stretched across his chest. She imagined tracing it with her fingers, maybe slipping them underneath and trailing them over his skin.
“Stop distracting me,” she muttered, returning to her bag, but to her dismay, she had once again finished packing.
Leo jumped on the opportunity, stalking closer until he was almost pressed against her. “What’s that? Distracting you?”
Acutely aware of his body heat, she caught the smell of firewood, which reminded her of a cozy winter day. She cleared her throat and fumbled with the latches on her bag.
“Yes, distracting me.”
He leaned forward, his face next to hers. “How am I distracting you?”
His breath skimmed her skin, raising goose bumps.
If there were ever a moment to lose herself in bedsheets, it was now, but her worries held her tongue.
With her victory, they had secured the Fire Court’s alliance.
Bri had checked in with them yesterday; thus, their next objective was stealing a vial of Tuom’s blood.
The end of her journey in Izmari neared, a relief and a regret.
What could she become if she claimed the power Weni spoke of?
“Leo, is there something you need?” she asked.
He pulled away, grinned, and said, “Actually, yes. Do you want to take a stroll around Andhar?”
“We can go?” Both Augrys and Allyah had prohibited it during the festival, citing the precarious nature of her participation and identity.
“I asked for permission from our grumpy general.”
Yareli stared at him, his blank face revealing nothing. Then, his eyes scrunched up in mirth, and they laughed together. He hadn’t asked, and Augrys probably wouldn’t approve, but she said yes. If she stayed in her room any longer, she might lose her head to her stress.
“Change into something more casual,” Leo said.
Outside of her uniforms, she hadn’t brought extra outfits, surviving off whatever she found in the dresser.
Dirty clothes had a way of disappearing, replaced by a clean set.
She had to admit that Allyah was a great host—absent, which she preferred, but detail-oriented—having provided the garments for her convenience.
She changed in the bathroom into a simple black tunic and a pair of pants.
When she walked out, Leo was leaning on his elbows on her bed, smirking, and she regretted not kissing him earlier.
She loved the way his gray eyes followed her, like she was the flame to his ember. So much for starting over as friends.
“Let’s go?” she asked, blushing.
He hopped to his feet and pulled her along, almost running outside.
Her surroundings flashed by—she hadn’t left her room outside of going to and from the arena—but he moved them too quickly for her to take it in, and she soon lost track of the turns and staircases they took.
They burst through a set of doors, arriving at a quiet cobblestone street.
Fae were already out, ambling to their destinations as the city awoke with the dark.
A few turned to look at them, and she instinctively made herself small, placing herself slightly behind Leo.
He glanced at her, then tugged her forward.
“Don’t hide. You’ve earned their respect,” he said. “Besides, what does it matter if they see you?”
She bit her lip, having no answer for him.
The anxiety had been sudden, as if it were a drop in her blood pressure.
With his encouragement, she set her shoulders back, raised her head, and walked alongside him.
He squeezed her hand and pulled her closer, knocking her into his side.
His warmth lulled her into a sense of security, and she found herself leaning into him without embarrassment.
They left the residential area, entering a market street where vendors opened shop, and although the sun had fully set, the streets were well illuminated by the lampposts.
“Are any other courts nocturnal?” she asked.
“No, the Fire Court alone prefers the dark.”
“So, it’s the dark they like, not the moon?”
“Curiously, they follow the dark and not the night. Rising earlier during the winter months but later during the summer.”
“That sounds like it could be really inconvenient.”
“Inconvenience is but a test to resiliency, or so they say. I think they like pretending they’re tougher than the rest of us.”
They stopped, letting a patrol walk by; the soldiers paid them no mind, laughing with one another with an ease that matched the city’s relaxed airs.
It was as though the festival had devoured their excess energy and spat out contentment.
Everyone moved with looser shoulders and smiles.
Another large group, wearing dark brown cloaks, passed by.
“Students at their military academy,” Leo explained. “Most active military members attend further education courses throughout their service, swapping between school terms and active duty.”
She hummed in interest. Leo was a walking encyclopedia, easily distracted by posed questions, but she greatly enjoyed his company, taking in the new information like a sponge.
They continued walking, entering the craftsman's district next; the temperature spiked, the blacksmiths’ furnaces already smoking. Hammering filled the air.
“Where are we headed?” she finally asked.
“It’s a secret.”
“It’s always a surprise. Come on, tell me,” she said, pouting.
“How about a hint? It’s somewhere hot.”
“We’re in the Fire court, isn’t everything here hot?”
“A generalization,” he replied, clicking his tongue. “They do, in fact, enjoy the cold too, and for good reason. You’ll see once we arrive. We’re almost there.”
She scrunched her nose; her dislike of surprises had remained the same.
Okay, so maybe she didn’t always enjoy him spewing facts at her, but she bore with it.
They arrived at a wide building that spanned half the street, its massive chimneys spouting smoke into the air.
Large windows displayed an empty waiting room filled with a variety of plants.
Its name was engraved into the stone in Izmarian above the door.
She recognized the word for rock, but Leo pulled her inside before she could ask its name.