Page 86 of Only Flames Remain

I wasn’t sure what I needed right now.

I stalked down the corridor, unsure where my feet were taking me. I had felt this insatiable pull toward Aveline since the moment I had laid eyes on her. How much of it was the bond and how much of it was simply…Aveline?

I didn’t think the timing could be worse.

Aveline was in love with the prince of our rival kingdom. She was human. My betrothed was currently residing in this very castle—waiting to marry me at week's end to secure an alliance with Gothryn. King Mavros was ill, growing worse with each passing moment. My ascension to the throne could happen any day now.

I was dumbfounded.

Everything had happened so quickly since her arrival.

Of only two things I was certain.

One: the gash in my side had begun to heal for the first time in decades, a stark relief from a century of pain.

And two: Aveline Drake, the maddening human from Myros, was my mate.

CHAPTER 25

Aveline

When I returned to my room, there was an assortment of gowns laid across my cot. One such gown was currently occupied by a small white cloud of fluff. Upon hearing the door click shut, Quinnick perked his head up, yipping and scampering over to me when he realized I had come back. He fell onto his back happily and I scratched his belly, his joyful little squeals bringing a smile to my lips.

With a heavy sigh I stood before the cot, running a hand across the dresses Sorin had picked out for me. There were some with intricate beading, bolts of gossamer and tulle. Even silk. One thing was a common thread between them all—each dress was the color of deep, midnight blue. I raised a brow at the thought that perhaps he liked me in that color.

I cast my mind back, trying to think of a time when I had worn a dress of this color in his presence. I had worn a deep blue that night in Stormgaard, the night I had revealed my scars to him. The night I had tried to poison him.

I made use of the communal washroom and quickly bathed myself from the grime I had accumulated on the journey back from Stormgaard. There was no time to soak in one of the small tubs, and I wasn’t sure I even wanted to at the thought of how little they were cleaned. I returned to my room and plaited my hair down my back so it would dry with thick, elegant ringlets.

I didn’t have a proper vanity or mirror, but I made use of the reflection from one of my tincture bottles. I lined my eyes with kohl and applied pink rouge to my cheeks. My hair was mostly dry by the time I had applied the cosmetics, a knock sounding at the door as I pulled my hair out of its plait and shook it out.

“Enora!” I threw myself into her arms. “I went searching for you upon my return from Stormgaard, but I couldn’t find you.”

When I stepped back from her, she appeared tired. As if she hadn’t had a good night’s rest since I had left.

“I was working with Noor in the library on some artifacts,” she replied, glancing at the dresses laid out on the bed over my shoulder. “Are those—” Her words were cut off as she pushed me aside and kneeled before the dresses, running her hands along the delicate material with an excited squeal.

When she met my gaze, her expression was devilish. “Aveline…are these from him?” Her knowing smile told me she already knew the answer to that question.

I straightened to my full height; my hands clasped before me. “They are.”

“Well, what are you waiting for! Let’s try them on!” She stood; her own frame adorned in a deep plum gown with a pleated, silken skirt.

“Is that—” I scrunched my nose in thought.

“Yours?” she finished for me, twirling in a circle to show it off. She was taller and more slender than I was, but the gown still fit her seamlessly. It fell to her ankle instead of her feet, the adjustable bodice pulled tight by the laces to compliment her more elongated figure. “It is. I might have stolen it from your things. It suits me better, anyway.”

She was right.

I answered her with a laugh and a shake of my head as I approached the bed. Quinnick had curled up atop the dresses as I had gone to prepare for tonight, and he let out a grumpy growl as I attempted to pull a dress out from beneath him.

“Will you help me into this one?” I asked, holding it up for her to see.

Her gaze was bright as she nodded enthusiastically. I stripped out of my robe and pulled the dress on. It fit me like a second skin.

It had long, tight arms made of delicate, sheer material and adorned with beading and sapphire gems. The neckline ran across my chest to dip low and expose my entire decolletage and a generous amount of cleavage. The arms were off the shoulder, allowing my hair to fall in ringlets across the open expanse of skin. The neckline was beaded, too. Tiny, delicate gems adorning the edges. The bodice sparkled with a midnight blue sheen, as if the stars themselves had exploded across it.

The flowing skirts boasted a slit that reached my hip, exposing my long, pale legs as I walked. I was lucky I had brought at least one pair of heels, no matter how impractical Enora had thought it was. As she zippered the dress, I pulled my hair to the side to allow her better access to the back, which incidentally also dipped dangerously low. My hair would cascade down my back to cover my scars.