“It’s still not fair,” I pressed. “You should’ve had the right to make that call on your own. You don’t trust me, and I don’t expect you to, but if there’s any chance I can earn your trust back, I’m going to do what I have to do.”
Ava cleared her throat. “Thanks, Charlie. It means a lot.”
It was a start. I nodded. “All right. How do we complete the spell and get off this island?”
“It says here we have to lay out your wounds and define your roles.”
I sighed. “So more riddles. This might take longer than we thought.”
Ava’s tone shifted. “If this is going to take a while, we should do what we can to make things more comfortable.”
I stood up tall, ready to take on any challenge. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
Ava rubbed her arms. “You can start by building me a fire. I’m cold.”
Spring was blooming here in Ilamanthe now, but today was particularly chilly, and without Ava’s Fire magic, she must be freezing. The weather still wasn’t back to normal, since the gods were still fighting.
“Of course. Right away,” I told her.
I hurried off to the tree line and quickly found a bunch of dry sticks and logs I carried back to the beach before running off to find more. Ava stayed quiet, but I could feel her eyes on me. I couldn’t tell if she was scrutinizing me or checking out my ass. I hoped it was the latter. Things were tense between us, but I could tell Ava was trying to connect with me, and I desperately wanted to reconnect with her.
Gathering sticks was easy. I was honestly just relieved I had instruction and didn’t have to guess what I had to do. I had no problems serving Ava as long as I knew what she wanted, and right now, the princess wanted to be warm. Simple. I could do that no problem. It was a much easier problem to find a solution for than all the other troubles that plagued her and me.
I returned to the beach with my last pile of wood and got started preparing the tinder and kindling. Ava and I had never started a fire in the wild before without her magic, but she seemed to know what she was doing regardless, because she instructed me on how to rub two sticks together to spark an ember, which wasn’t as easy as it seemed.
I was sitting in the sand with a log and a stick between my legs, rubbing them vigorously together when Ava started chuckling. “It looks like you’re rubbing one out.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “You’d like to witness that, wouldn’t you?”
“It wouldn’t take as long, that’s for sure.”
“Clearly, I’m edging the log,” I deadpanned. “Sorry I’m not a Koigni who can shoot fire out of my dick. Have you ever tried starting a fire without your magic?”
“That’s what you’re here for.”
I was starting to get frustrated, because I must’ve been at this for half an hour now, and nothing was happening. So much for proving how well I could provide for her. She was going to turn into an ice block before I started this fire.
“I wish we had some flint,” Ava mused. “That would make this easier.”
“Unfortunately we don’t.” My kid was going to be an adult by the time we got off this island.
My anger flared, but I realized that wouldn’t help me right now. I’d spent a long time doing nothing but being pissed off, and that wouldn’t spark this flame, or solve my problem.
Patience. I had to embody some feminine energy right now and keep working at this until I got it right. I moved the stick across the log in a different way, and to my amazement, the scent of smoke touched my nose.
“That’s it, Charlie!” Ava exclaimed. “You’re almost there. Keep going!”
If I was actually rubbing one out, her encouragement would’ve made me come right then and there. My frustration was quickly replaced with a feeling of elation, and I let out a gleeful sound. The smell of smoke grew, and the smallest bit of heat radiated upward.
“You’ve got it, Charlie!” Ava cried. “Quickly, add more kindling.”
I placed dry leaves atop the ember, a little at a time to keep the fire breathing. Flames ignited, and a huge smile broke across my face as I tossed more fuel on the fire. It started out small, until I added the tiny dry twigs that served as kindling. With every bit I added, the fire grew, until I was able to add full logs without fear of them smothering the fire.
I leapt to my feet as heat billowed off the flames. “I did it! I am a master of the elements! Bow down to your fire king!”
“Ah, yes,” Ava said flatly. “All hail the almighty King of Fire. Now make it bigger.”
I eagerly ran off to gather more dry logs and placed them on the fire. Finally, I’d done something right for once. Ava rubbed her hands together to warm up, then gave a contented sigh. “That’s much better.”
