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“I used to play silly games like this with your Sire,” I said, reaching out to wipe the earth off the girl’s leather tunic. “We were best friends, you know.”
“Sire had friends?” The idea seemed to shock her beyond words. “R-really?”
“Of course, urchin,” I said with a shrug. “She wasn’t always as broody and fearsome as she is now.”
“And you were herbest friend?”
I smiled, brushing more crumbles of dirt off her tiny fingers. They were warm, almost too warm, and the memories of holding Zoei’s hands as they sparked with her powers threatened to burst through the dam I had built around my heart.
“I was,” I assured Emberleigh. “We were inseparable about twenty years ago.”
“What happened?” she questioned with the curiosity of a young one at bedtime begging for more of a fantastical tale.
“Well.” A little smirk tilted the corner of my lips. “I kept besting her in fights, so she had no choice but to concede defeat. That’s when our friendship crumbled.”
The girl stared at me for a full minute before she burst forth with, “You’re being silly!”
“I am,” I said with a little laugh, scooting over on the rock so that she could join me. “How did you know?”
Emberleigh shrugged, making herself comfortable next to me. “Sire never loses to anyone.”
“Except me,” I joked with a wiggle of my brows.
“I don’t believe you,” she refuted, sticking her chin in the air.
“Excuse me,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Didn’t I just extinguish your little ball of flames without even batting an eye?”
“T-that’s different!” Emberleigh sputtered. “I wasn’t paying attention. I could’ve done better!”
I placed a hand on her arm before she could go flying to her feet again to prove me wrong.
“I believe you,” I soothed her. “I was only teasing. Our powers are forceful in equal measure. There is no need to fight.”
“But fire beats earth—every time,” she insisted, brows converging into a frown.
“Is that what your tutors are telling you?” I questioned, folding my hands onto my lap. “Because it isn’t true. The only thing that’s for certain is that arrogance breeds failure—to think you are undefeatable only makes you foolish.”
Emberleigh stared up at me, blinking quizzically. “So Agnivale isn’t stronger than Vetri?”
“No.” I shook my head. “We are equals—that’s how it’s always been, and always will be.”
“So, nobody would win in a fight?” The girl’s tone made the idea seem almost unbelievable.
“There would be no benefit to winning,” I explained. “It would be favorable for us both to keep the peace that we have worked so hard for. Our lands would prosper with peace rather than war.”
Emberleigh bit her lip as though considering my words.
“You seem smart,” she concluded, nodding swiftly. “And kind. Will you be King like my sire?”
“Yes,” I confirmed, gazing into the inky darkness of the night sky beyond her shoulder. “I will be Queen of Vetri—”
“Emberleigh!”
A sudden, shrill bark had us clutching our hearts.
“Stupid girl, always running off!” In the silence of the gardens, the murmured scold resounded harshly.
We turned to find a small figure squinting into the darkness, the finery of their dress glinting in the moonlight.
