“You killed the king. You got what you wanted.” He lifted a hand toward her, the flames lining it dying out. “Now, please, Esmyra. Let Atlas go. LetLephyringo.”
“You have no idea what I want, Draevyn Rowe.” The words slipped from her in a near growl.
Howdarehe even assume he knew what she wanted?
“Enough of this, Draevyn.” Atlas pushed himself to his feet, fury in his eyes. “If you won’t get her, then I will.”
Esmyra tsked. “Now, now, princeling.” Water erupted from the floor, snatching Atlas up like a predator’s jaw, hauling him back into the air. He thrashed and shouted as the water coiled around his neck like a noose.
Fire roared in Draevyn’s hands once more. His breaths were uneven, but he wasn’t attacking.
“Let him go. I don’t want to fight you,” he said, voice lower now, almost pleading. “There’s another way.”
She tilted her head as she grinned.
“You should have thought of that before you allowed your father to kill mine.” The memory of his lips on Syrena’s resurfaced and a sharp pang rang through her chest. “Among many other things.”
Her fist clenched, and water pulled Atlas’s lips apart, preparing to plunge down his throat, just as they had to the king.
“I didn’t allow anything! Esmyra, don’t do this; just let me explain!” Flames raged in Draevyn’s eyes as he stalked toward her, nearly closing the gap between them. “Wildfire…”
That. Name.
The room trembled at the use of his nickname for her, and her power detonated as a scream wrenched itself from her throat. Water, wind, and lightning now swirled around the two of them in a violent storm, both of their hair thrashing in every direction.
But Draevyn didn’t show even an ounce of fear. He stood tall, seeming to have accepted a fate she was desperate to give him, his whiskey eyes locked on hers.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he admitted, shouting over the roar of her storm.
A vicious cackle slipped from her. “What makes you think you still can?” Silver flashed from her eyes, illuminating his face. “And let’s not forget… I would’ve destroyed this kingdom for far less.”
“Esmyra…” Fire raced up Draevyn’s arms. Squaring his shoulders, he slid one foot back, his knees bent—his fighting stance she knew all too well from sparring in Maerinys’s gardens. “Take me in his place. I’m the one you want to hurt. Release my brother, and take me. Do whatever you will, but for the love of every fucking kingdom,please, let Atlas go.”
The desperation in his voice was comical. Here he was, begging,pleadingfor the life of his kin, just as she had for her father. Draevyn knew what giving her heart to him meant. Knew how difficult it was for her to trust and what placing that trust in him meant to her. And now any love she felt for him had burned to ash in that crypt as her body was reborn.
Esmyra let out a breath, the weight of his betrayal pressing against her ribs.
“I don’t want you, Draevyn. Not anymore.” The words were soft. Merciless and final.
Esmyra didn’t miss his head rearing back slightly, as if what she said struck like a physical blow. “But don’t worry. Your time will come, just as his will.”
She didn’t allow herself to be concerned with the heartache in his eyes at her confession, and the moment the words left her lips, her magic circling them lashed out.
Draevyn’s flames roared to life in response, spiraling toward her like a living beast. The marble floor cracked from the heat, tapestries lining the walls curled into ash, and the very air shimmered under the sheer force of it.
“Finally.” She grinned.
Her water crashed against his fire in a violenthissas their powers warred. She twisted her hands, and her magic swallowed the inferno whole.
Draevyn rushed her then, but her water serpents coiled around his ankles and yanked him back, sending him tumbling across the scorched floor.
Esmyra sent out another deadly strike, and he barely managed to throw up a shield of fire as he pushed himself to his feet. The blaze crackled between them as steam erupted in thick, suffocating clouds, shrouding the room in mist. The floor beneath them sizzled, the air overtaken with the sharp scent of salt and smoke.
But Draevyn wasn’t attacking, only countering her strikes.
Why the fuck isn’t he fighting back?!Esmyra narrowed her eyes, fingers curling at her sides as she moved to circle him.
“Fight me,” she demanded. “Fight back, you fucking coward!”
