Page 69 of Only Flames Remain

I pressed my eyes tightly closed. I could hear him take a step back. He didn’t so much as breathe, and the silence that hung between us was deafening. Haunting.

“Who—who did this to you?” His voice was a hoarse whisper against my exposed flesh.

“Queen Dyata.” My loathing for her was plain in my voice. “The first time I had been caught with Kallias. My punishment for a human whore being found in the bed of the crown prince. That I would soil him and his reputation with my unclean and unworthy blood. Twenty lashes.”

“Twenty—”

“Humans don’t heal as the fae do. I was bedridden for weeks. I didn’t wake for days, the pain unimaginable. I am scarred for life because I dared to love above my station.”

I could hear him swallow.

Silence hung between us, thick with a tension I ached to break. I was laid bare beneath his gaze.

It wasn’t Sorin’s fault that Queen Dyata had been cruel to me. That she had permanently ruined me simply for loving her son. Her psychological warfare was arguably worse.

Sorin’s featherlight touch returned to my skin, and I jumped forward in surprise, pressing myself against the glass fully.

“Aveline,” he murmured, my name a soft whisper on his lips.

He reached for the gown, pulling it back up over my undergarments. With a gentle, delicate touch he began to re-lace my dress. My breath was heavy in my chest, each brush of his fingertips frozen flames against my skin.

When he knotted the last lace and stepped back, I turned. I pushed my hair back over my shoulder and it fell down my back once more. I raised my chin, refusing to be cowed before him. He met my gaze evenly.

His brow softened as his wings folded against his back, not disappearing from view but tucked into a more comfortable and less imposing position.

“As you can now see for yourself, I have sacrificed much to be with Kallias.” I held my chin high and kept his gaze.

“What has he sacrificed to be with you?” he asked softly.

“Excuse me?”

“What has he had to give up? Why is it only you who must sacrifice? Why has he allowed you to be so naïve? Unprotected? Why did he allow you to be sent here—”

“He didn’t know,” I defended.

“He didn’t?” Sorin’s voice was disbelieving as his brows raised. “How could he not? How could he not know his mother’s true nature? Does he not look upon these scars each time he takes you to his bed? And still, he allows his mother to treat you—”

“It isn’t like that,” I interrupted, shaking my head. “You don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand?” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I, of all people, understand. I, too, am the crown prince of my kingdom. Kallias has failed you in every conceivable way. Every way that counts. He has allowed you to be bullied, beaten, and betrayed. There is no way in the seven hells or the realm of the gods above that I would ever allow my potential bride to suffer such cruelty,” he growled.

The hairs on my skin raised, gooseflesh breaking out against my exposed flesh. The corded muscle in his neck flexed with anger, a muscle ticking in his jaw. He tilted his head toward the open doorway as if he heard someone approaching, but I heard nothing with my human ears as his gaze trained back onto mine.

“A little bird in a cage. No idea that the world she thought she knew was so much different, in truth. Limited by the man she thinks she loves. Restricted in a kingdom that views her as less than. You are so much more than they give you credit for, Little Dove. Not just any human would be brave enough to cross the sea and poison a dragon prince. Don’t allow yourself to be trapped by them.”

Tears rose to my eyes, and I fought to press them back.

I lacked any sort of freedom to make my own decisions. Lacked any of my own agency. I was furious that he was right. That he had analyzed me irrefutably down to my very existence.

The footsteps from beyond the door could now be heard by my human ears, and Sorin took a step away from me. I hadn’t realized the heat that had been rippling off him until I felt the absence of it.

“My Prince.” The voice was that of the Commander Rensford, halting in the open doorway.

His face was taut with barely contained rage as his gaze drifted toward me over Sorin’s shoulder. I shrank back against the glass. I was in the presence of two incredibly powerful Vireth fae. I needed to choose my next words and actions very, very carefully.

“What is it, Ren?” Sorin asked, turning toward him.

Brave of him to show me his back considering mere moments ago I had tried to kill him. Perhaps he was satisfied that I was no longer a threat, now that I had played my only card and failed. Now that I had revealed my true motivations.