Page 58 of Only Flames Remain

Enora scoffed, but her gaze quickly drew away once she realized she had garnered my attention. She had a healthy dose of fear for me, where Aveline didn’t.

A sharp pain surged through my side, my teeth clenching together to remain composed before them. I needed to see Azhar. It was late, and I wasn’t entirely sure he would be awake at this hour. The pain rose suddenly once more, and I took an involuntary step back. I was positive that my side would be sticky with blood when I peeled off my tunic.

“I’ll come for you in the morning. We will leave at first light.” I turned toward the gates.

“First light?” she asked at my turned back.

I spun on my heel, turning my face toward her only enough to gaze back at her. “Do you like to sleep in, princess?” I asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

She had good reason to be embarrassed; her pretty lips sealed shut for the first time since I had met her.

I nodded, a grin spreading across my own lips. “First light.”

I turned back to the castle and passed through the gates, leaving Enora and Aveline in my wake. I stormed through the courtyard, needing to put as much distance as mortally possible between us.

The human intrigued me far too much. Our little conversation had my blood heated, my heart pounding in my chest.

She was delicate and soft—but with a smart mouth that didn’t match her composed exterior. She was clever and hardened, even if that was a pretense. Where she didn’t have physical authority, she made up for it in spades with mental prowess.

She was…unexpected.

In only a few hours, I would be alone with her at Stormgaard. Except for Voirel, of course.

As I knocked in distress on Azhar’s door, there was only one thought barreling through my mind and seizing my every thought.

I was completely and utterly fucked.

CHAPTER 17

Aveline

Icouldn’t be separated from Enora. I wouldn’t. There had to be some excuse for me to use. One that would allow her to accompany us to Stormgaard.

I was leaving the castle in Gothryn, and Sorin and I would be alone. With his sister, of course.

On the one hand, I was terrified to be alone with him in a strange place, not a single person I knew by my side. On the other hand, the voice inside my head was screaming at me that this was my chance.

The perfect opportunity to execute my task and be done with it.

But one issue remained…I had yet to set eyes on the relic Queen Dyata had sent me to procure. Would she be terribly disappointed if I returned without it, but with the prince still dead?

She would have to be.

I racked my mind, flipping through the catalog in my brain to help me decide which poison to choose. It would have to be something untraceable. Something that even upon examination they could not determine the cause of death. There would only be two people to point the finger at in Stormgaard…and Voirel certainly wasn’t going to murder her own brother. She had no motive to want the prince dead.

As soon as it was done, I would need to escape. I wouldn’t be able to linger in Stormgaard.

I would need to set sail for Myros immediately and ensure Enora was able to follow safely. I swallowed thickly, mouth drier than the deserts of Faedwyn, as I finished packing the lone satchel I had taken with me to Gothryn.

I slung it over my shoulder reluctantly.

Quinnick was cuddled up on the cot, his ears flattened against his head in sleep. He would have to stay behind, too. Enora had promised to take care of him, but the thought still made me uneasy. I gave him a soft scratch behind his ear, and he grumbled, stretching and licking his lips before curling back into a cloud-like ball once more.

With trepidation, I reached for the doorknob of my small room. I opened it and Enora came into view. Her mouth was open, fist raised to knock.

The sun had crested the horizon through the small, narrow window above the cot. First light had only allowed for a few hours of sleep, which meant I was groggy.

Moody.