Page 74 of Only Flames Remain

It couldn’t be. It was too soon.

Did they expect me to wed Princess Morwenna by week’s end?

The throne room began to spin, and I couldn’t say with any certainty exactly why. The pain in my side stung anew for the first time in days, and my hand immediately shot toward it. Both pain and panic warred within me as Emrys’s gaze morphed from one of warning to one of concern. He gave his head a finite shake. I allowed my hand to drop back to my side, though the stinging of the wound remained.

Had I overexerted myself on the flight back?

I would need to go to Azhar the moment I was dismissed. Could this be the lingering effects of the ixia poison I had ingested? It was true that I hadn’t needed to finish the whole goblet; my regular dose from Azhar was not nearly that much. But I had wanted to prove a point.

I swayed uneasily, stepping back to gain my footing. No one seemed to notice.

“If all goes well, we can host the wedding here next week before King Eldrin returns to Ravenscar. Morwenna will remain here, of course. With her husband,” King Mavros stated from the dais.

He looked entirely satisfied with himself, while I felt like I was going to be physically ill.

“What a grand idea!” King Eldrin replied, clapping his hands together and turning toward his daughter.

“It would be my honor, Father.” Morwenna bowed to him, but something about it was artificial. Forced.

It was all happening too quickly, and I had no idea how I was going to stop it. I needed to send word to Rensford in Stormgaard right away. This is not at all what I had expected when I had been summoned. I had merely thought the princess would be traveling with her lady’s maids to meet me for the first time.

This was all too…formal.

Official.

The image of Aveline’s devastatingly beautiful face flitted behind my eyelids as they fell closed. Her warm cheeks. The feel of her skin beneath my touch. Her contrasting eyes, one blue and one brown.

My eyes snapped open once more, pleading gaze turning on Emrys.

I had to fix this.

I couldn’t marry Princess Morwenna by week’s end…not when I was hopelessly enamored with another. I wasn’t ready for such a commitment without more time to think. My thoughts were churning, head spinning with a million thoughts at once.

We were on the brink of war, and we desperately needed this alliance with Ravenscar before Myros had the opportunity to ally with Emberfell or Sylvaris and bolster their own forces.

We may not be truly immortal, but Vireth lived a long, long time.

I wasn’t ready to bind my life to Princess Morwenna’s for eternity.

Not yet.

I needed more time.

And I knew exactly how I was going to get it.

CHAPTER 22

Aveline

Three days.

It had been three days since I had run out of my tincture. Three agonizing days that I scoured this godsforsaken island for poison, or any living plant life. Apparently, the vicious tide kept anything of any worth from growing along the shores. The rock face was too steep for me to descend on my own, limiting my access to any beaches.

There was stone, stone, and more stone.

Nothing green, except for the ivy vines curling around the pillars in the courtyard and the moss growing on the sea wall. I was pressed against the stone, the ocean spray misting my hair as my gaze searched the skies for any sign of Sorin.

I had expected him to return right away…but he hadn’t.