Page 84 of Only Flames Remain

Anger surged forth, simmering right beneath the surface. I could taste smoke and ash on my tongue, my wings begging to be set free from my back. The space was too small to accommodate it, and I swallowed back my fury as I pressed my eyes tightly closed.

Gone was the timid fae who had shown fear before me weeks ago. This piece of information she was holding over me had emboldened her.

“What the hell are you talking about?” My eyes snapped back open. “Speak plainly, or I will shove you right back into that cell and forget all about you.”

Enora tutted at me, shaking her head back and forth. “Now, now. Aveline wouldn’t like that. No…not at all.”

I stepped toward her, towering over her as heat radiated off my body. “And why would I care what Aveline thinks?”

Enora’s expression turned smug. “Don’t you? Haven’t you cared about her since the moment you met? Since the moment you first saw her? Haven’t you felt…drawn to her?”

All of that was true. It still didn’t explain what the hell she was talking about. I remained silent, waiting for an explanation that made any sense at all. Enora began speaking slowly, as if she needed to spell it out for me.

“Noor told me about your curse, and how you bore a wound in your side that would not heal. She also told me that she is close friends with Azhar, the palace healer. Azhar is your personal physician, is he not?”

“He is,” I replied, frustration barely caged beneath a thin layer of composure.

“Well, Azhar reported that your wound had initially begun to degrade even further these last few weeks. That it had spread far enough to now wrap around your back and spread up your arm. He also told Noor that in the last week since you returned from Stormgaard, it had begun to heal. That it appeared better than he had seen in decades. Maybe even since its inception.”

I didn’t believe for one instance that the leak had come from Azhar. I trusted him implicitly.

“And?”

“And then, this last week, despite finally scabbing over it festered once more. When King Eldrin and Princess Morwenna arrived at castle Gothryn and you were called back from Stormgaard.”

Gods above there really was a rumor mill at this castle.

She had only been here a few weeks and she was already privy to the comings and goings of the royals. It didn’t help that she was working directly beneath Noor, who had eyes on the back of her head. I would be having a stern conversation with Noor, of that I was certain.

I spoke through gritted teeth. “What is your point?”

“My point is that your wound was healing, then it began to rot. All within days of each other.”

“What of it!” I yelled, what little patience I had been holding on to disappearing as if it had only been a single thread…and it snapped.

She did not back away or cower.

“What of it? Gods above I really do need to spell it out for you, don’t I? Noor told me there was one and only one way in which your curse would be cured.”

My heart stilled in my chest. My mouth parted, but I was speechless. It couldn’t be…

“No.” I bit out the single word and turned on my heel, storming for the staircase that would lead me up and out of the dungeons. I could hear Enora’s light footsteps on my trail, following closely behind me.

“No?” she questioned at my back.

“No,” I barked, turning to glare at her over my shoulder.

I stopped midway up the staircase and turned on her. She hadn’t been expecting me to stop so suddenly. She skidded into me, almost falling backward. I reached out a hand to grasp her elbow, steadying her.

“It can’t be possible.” My voice was rough and pleading as I stared down at her.

“But it is possible. Believe me, I hadn’t been expecting it either. But what other explanation is there?”

I turned, charging up a few more steps before whirling around once more.

I had nothing else to say. Nothing else to disprove her with. Because deep down…I knew it was true. It explained my mysterious connection with her. The way I was incessantly drawn to her. How she consumed my every thought since the moment I first met her.

I had dreamed of this day, fearing it would never come.