Page 162 of By the Flames of Her Fury

“How are you even here?” I spat. “I watched you die.” Even as I said the words, I realized I’d never fully believed them. It had been too easy. Too clean.

And we never saw a body.

“You watched me disappear. Beneath the sand and into these very tunnels, in fact.” Mortep gestured toward the ceiling. “The Elders are quite clever creatures, I must say. Their magic certainly has its perks.” He smirked, and his perfectly intact eyes shone back at me. They looked different this time, as if whatever had healed him also changed him.

“You’ve been working with them this entire time?” My mind spun, trying to wrap around how any of this could be possible. “How did you even know about this place?”

“I’ve been in contact with the Triad Realm for some time. Lord Scarven and I acquired useful resources from them.” he said. “Rumors of a forgotten kingdom made its way to us, and when your brother’s little rebel group”—he sneered—“forced me into hiding, I sought the truth. I was able to get a magical message to Pyraeth’s shores.”

It dawned on me—it was the same way Everett’s messages had reached me once I got to the kingdom. The magic here was the same as the Veridian Empire, so they could communicate between worlds.

“From there, it was a matter of negotiation.” Mortep drew nearer, close enough to lift the ends of my hair with his finger. “What they could offer me…” He circled me, his nose grazing my neck. “And what I could offer them.”

“Me,” I said, shoulders falling.

“You.” He nodded. “They were very intrigued when I told them of a phoenix Shifter from my land who possessed the same powers as them. I knew you’d chase me. Once I got you to the Triad Realm, you merely needed a little help getting the rest of the way.”

My gaze drifted to Starke, whose eyes were fixed on the ground at my feet. The cuts and bruises on his face highlighted his sallow, tired skin.

“Look at me,” I commanded him, and he winced. I stalked closer. “Look at me!”

Starke raised his chin, barely meeting my eyes. I saw my friend in those blue pools. The man who found me in a bar, who put a roof over my head and an ocean beneath my feet. Who followed my every whim as I hunted Mortep. The late night laughter and empty bottles of rum, boots kicked up on the railing, his tricorn hat slipping low on my head.

I swallowed hard. “How could you?”

“I didn’t have a choice.” His eyes shuddered. “He took them, V.”

“Took who?”

“My family.”

My brow furrowed. “I thought your family died.”

He shook his head. “I said they were gone.”

I looked back and forth between Starke and Mortep, who wore a vile grin. It was all so simple. I closed my eyes. “He took your family so you’d get me here.”

“He found me,” Starke whispered. “After you and I met. He captured my family, tortured them, and told me what I needed to do to save them. He told me about the hidden island, and where to be at the spring equinox. I had to keep you close until then.” He took a deep breath. “I hired Odessa because I knew her background. I knew she’d be able to lead you to the legends, and you’d never suspect me having a hand in it.”

“But you didn’t even want to do this!” I yelled incredulously. “You tried to convince me not to come.”

“I got scared,” he pleaded. “After you finally told me the truth, and everything Mortep did to you, I—I thought I was making a mistake. I thought I could figure it out and save you and my family. But I—” He cleared his throat. “I couldn’t. I had to choose.”

Deep down, I was angry. Simmering and coiling and ready to strike. But this time…it wasn’t rage that rose to the surface.

“I trusted you,” I choked out. “I let you in. You knew how hard that was for me, and you—” My voice fractured, but I shoved it down. “You delivered me right back to him.”

Starke flinched like I’d struck him. He dragged a hand through his hair, eyes desperate. “I didn’t know it would go this far. I thought⁠—”

“You thought what?” I snapped. “That I’d forgive you? That I’d understand?”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen.” His shoulders fell. “I didn’t mean to fall in love with you.”

The words hung between us, heavy and useless. “You never loved me, Starke,” I said coldly. “Lie all you want to make yourself feel better, but I know what love is. And it doesn’t do this.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he pushed on. “You didn’t feel the same, and I knew that. I know that. But they’re my family, Vera. They’re all I have⁠—”

“And I would’ve helped you!” I shouted. “We could’ve saved them. If you had only told me the truth, we could’ve made a plan. We could’ve been in this together. But I was just another means to an end.”