Page 116 of Only Flames Remain

I couldn’t leave.

Not yet.

Not like this.

Things had changed irreparably in the weeks since I had last seen him. I had left Myros on the summer solstice, but the seasons had begun to turn. Autumn was almost upon us.

If he were truly the compassionate and gentle prince I knew him to be, he would understand.

“Kallias…I can’t. I—”

His brow furrowed, and he interrupted me. “I sailed across the sea to save you, Aveline. I took great risk. I am the only prince of the Ashbourne line. The only heir. My mother would be furious—”

“Enough about your mother!” My voice was a strained whisper. “I cannot—and will not—leave without Enora and Quinnick. I—”

“We will come back for them,” he assured me.

I shook my head fervently. “I am not in danger here. You shouldn’t have come...”

Kallias reeled back. “Shouldn’t have come? What did you expect me to do when I discovered my future wife was in the clutches of my greatest enemy? Simply…leave her there?”

He had a point. “No, but—”

“Aveline, we don’t have time for this. If I am caught, they will assassinate me. The princes of Blackwater have been lured to Southgate, but they are fast. They could return at any moment.”

“The princes aren’t here?”

Sorin wasn’t here.

Nausea climbed up the back of my throat.

I needed to see him. See if I could make sense of everything that was happening—

Kallias gripped my arm and tugged me toward the next pillar, making our way toward a side entrance of the palace that led to one of the elaborate gardens. I cast a glance over my shoulder—toward where I believed Enora resided beyond the library doors—as he dragged me along.

I ripped my arm out of his grip. “Do not handle me with such brutality, Kallias.”

“You don’t understand. If we are to escape, we need to leave now!” His voice was dangerously loud; his anger barely tethered.

“Am I to understand that you mean to take me against my will if I do not choose to go?”

He raised a brow at me but did not answer. If only I could wait for Sorin to return—

“Did you retrieve the relic?” he asked.

My stomach dropped. “The relic?”

He nodded fervently. “The relic my mother sent you to steal from the prince. Do you have it?”

“Is that what this is truly about?” I asked, taking a step back from him.

Kallias shook his head. “Aveline, my dear. You misunderstand me.”

I shook my head, a flush of anger rising up my throat. “I’m not sure I’ve misunderstood anything, My Prince.” The words seethed out of me.

My newfound magic was barely shackled in my core, begging to be freed. The mist rose to my skin, beads of water collecting against the fabric of my already soaked dress.

“I need to see Enora. I need to see Sorin.”