Page 67 of A Flame of the Phoenix (An Heir Comes to Rise #6)
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Reylan
“ T hey’re going to kill each other!”
Reylan’s head whipped to Nerida, who burst into the drawing room. It had been a week since Faythe started training with Zaiana and the ruin.
He ran from the room, with Kyleer, Izaiah, Nik, Tarly, and Tauria in tow. They’d been discussing various enemy sightings and repositioning of certain squads. While the bigger battles that would see great numbers fighting had not broken out yet, smaller fights were happening throughout the kingdoms.
It was how war always went. They were testing each other. Trying to figure out strategy and numbers and coordination in preparation for a bigger attack.
Reylan felt for Faythe, who closed herself off to him when she trained with magick. It distracted him, worried him, and to keep his own mind sharp for his role as leading general, he had to agree it was best for both of them. So when he reached through their bond, beyond the block, all he felt was a rage of power.
He’d been uneasy about Zaiana training her from the start, and if the dark fae harmed her…
Following Nerida and his own direction to Faythe through their bond, they burst out into the thick snowfall of the back courtyard.
Sure enough, the source of the blasts and currents of energy drew their eyes up to where two forms could be spied through the bursts of colliding light. With the velocity of power they threw at each other, amplified by the ruin, it was just as well they’d taken to the skies.
Reylan assessed their battle, and it did seem vicious. They attacked each other unfalteringly and with full force. He tried to reach Faythe’s mind for an answer to whether he should intervene, but her block on their bond was solid.
“They do seem a little intense,” Izaiah commented. “But Faythe always did respond better to force. She’s a ball of chaos.”
Reylan was trying to decide if Zaiana was using harsh methods to train Faythe, or if they truly had hit heads and their violence had turned genuine.
They were shooting stars of gold and purple. Putting his concern aside, it was a stunning spectacle to watch the pair fully unleashed.
Nerida said, “They’ve never attacked this hard at each other before. Zaiana was frustrated and started goading Faythe, mentioning her failures and how more people will die if she doesn’t train harder, and Faythe…well, she just erupted! ”
Reylan’s chest beat with pride beside his worry for Faythe. She was a fierce protector, and he adored that about her. It somewhat pissed him off to hear what Zaiana had provoked her with, but his Phoenix needed this. Needed to let her wings out and trust herself to harness the power she was capable of if she found the will to control it.
Zaiana was the only one who was unbiased toward Faythe’s feelings, able to pull things out of her they couldn’t bear to. And she had the skill to contain the ruin if things got out of control.
“This is quite fascinating,” Nik commented, watching them intently, with his arms crossed.
“Are you mad?!” Nerida screeched, clearly in distress with how the duo above were unrelenting on each other.
Reylan said, “With the ruin, I can seize both their power if I think they’re going to seriously hurt each other.”
At least, he thought he could.
“Just to remind you, I don’t have my healing ability anymore if you let this go on until one is falling from the sky,” Nerida grumbled.
Reylan dropped his attention to her with a wince, realizing now why Nerida was so upset. She was used to being able to help people and could immediately step in if something went wrong. Tarly slipped an arm around her in comfort.
“I’ll put an end to this,” Kyleer said, bracing with his wings to take flight. Reylan eyed them with awe and incredulity every time. Still not used to seeing them towering over his shoulders.
“Wait,” Tauria said. “You only risk getting hurt going up there. I can interfere from here.”
Everyone watched as Tauria retrieved her short staff strapped to her thigh, intrigued about what she was going to do from the ground. Her staff was unique, and Reylan watched in admiration as she kept her eyes on Faythe and Zaiana above while skillfully twisting the baton in a two-step sequence that expanded it to full length.
He felt the gentle interference of her wind ability. She twisted her staff and began to shift her feet in a graceful, focused dance. The wind grew stronger around them, starting to form a small hurricane, and Reylan matched the others, who had begun to step back, shielding their eyes.
Tauria was impressive with the force of the wind she could conjure. He was outside the wall of her hurricane, but still, he had to shift his stance to keep from losing balance. After she’d gathered enough, her hurricane started to tighten, drawing closer to where she still danced in the eye of the storm. Reylan had only seen small usage of the Windbreaker ability before, but this was a stunning demonstration of how lethal it could become, and how powerful Tauria Stagknight was.
When she was satisfied, Tauria shifted her leg back into a lunge, her staff angled skyward in both hands. The full force of wind she’d conjured shot up, blasting between Faythe and Zaiana. The gale was strong enough to knock both of them out of flight. Reylan’s heart leaped up his throat watching Faythe tumble down rapidly.
He walked toward her, tracking her while she flailed, trying to regain her balance, but her Phoenix wings had burned out. Reylan was running now, with fear marching in his chest that she wouldn’t conjure them back in time.
She did, but the distance she had left to find balance and fly wasn’t enough, so all she could do was slow her descent. Reylan caught her, and both almost went crashing to the ground, but he found his footing after the impact.
He cradled her, and their bewildered eyes met.
“Thanks,” she panted.
Reylan huffed with a smile, setting her down. “Want to tell me what that was all about?”
Faythe blew a lock of loose hair in her huff. “She’s the worst teacher.”
“My teaching is not the problem.” Zaiana glowered as she approached.
“You’re right, because this is torture, not teaching.”
“I knew you weren’t cut out for the discipline this would take.”
“We don’t have time .”
“Then here’s to the end of the world, all because Faythe Ashfyre isn’t as special as she thinks she is,” Zaiana said bitterly. Reylan’s brows shot up when Zaiana’s purple eyes shifted to him. “Good luck with her.”
The dark fae began to storm off. Kyleer winced at the rest of them before he followed after her. Izaiah approached, studying Faythe.
“She’s actually quite patient and articulate at explaining the ruin’s power. You have a particular talent to enrage her.”
“Don’t you side with her,” Faythe mumbled.
Reylan couldn’t fight his smile of amusement. He knew Faythe’s impatience all too well.
The back of Faythe’s hand whacked to his abdomen when she sensed his amusement. He caught her wrist, pulling her flush against him. The fiery irritation in her eyes, along with her pout, was wildly attractive.
“Maybe you need a break.” He leaned down close to her ear. “A little stress relief, perhaps?”
Faythe tried to push him away, but he circled an arm around her.
“You’re not helping,” she grumbled.
“I could be. The choice is yours.”
He caught a flicker of her desire for the temptation.
Faythe let go of her tension, slumping into him instead. “Zaiana is right. I don’t have the patience to do what she’s telling me. Every time I try to tap into the ruin, I just want to take it all and rage across cities. It heightens my anger too fast for me to control it.”
“You have a lot to be angry about. More than most.”
“Zaiana does too.”
“Yes, but her mastering the ruin was a matter of survival. Something she’s very good at. Yours… All you have is vengeance to be had, and the ruin is taking advantage of that.”
Nik said, “So maybe the key to keeping your control is having something to counter the rage. Remembering you don’t want to destroy the world when there’s still plenty of people you love here.”
It made sense. Faythe had lost and suffered so much in her short life, and it was easy to let the pain take over when the means to make the world hurt with her was right there.
Nik continued, “I’d like to try to guide you as you attempt to merge with the ruin. I do have the most experience in the training of Faythe Ashfyre.”
Faythe smiled at that, pushing Nik by his shoulder, which was a relief to see.
Reylan pulled her away from the others. Having claimed their bond just days ago and being separated so much for duty, he’d been riled to the brink of madness every moment she was out of his reach.
“That can wait for a few hours,” he said, subtly kissing her neck. Faythe’s desire filled his senses with a primal urge, so the mere thought of how close other males were made him highly irritable.
“What do you have in mind until then?” Faythe asked, her breathing delightfully short.
He took her hand, leading her across the field and into the castle.
Reylan thought he could wait until they’d made it to a room—any damned room—but the moment they rounded a corner and he sensed no one nearby, Reylan pushed Faythe into a shadowed alcove, hiding behind a statue within in.
“We can’t?—”
His mouth crashed to hers, and Faythe lost her protest, moaning into their feverish kiss as he pressed her into the wall.
“This can’t wait,” he growled, untying the fastens of her pants. He swallowed her moan in a kiss when his fingers dipped past her waistline and over her apex, already slick for him.
They’d been denied the days following their mating to just be together, when he would have taken her again and again, until both their bodies were sore and spent but completely entwined with each other.
So it left him feral for any moment they could steal to make up for it, no matter how deplorable their location.
Faythe peeled one leg out of her leather pants as Reylan pulled himself free. He lifted her, legs wrapping around his waist, and the next second he was deep inside her.
It was an immense effort to be quiet. They were alone for now, but anyone could pass, and fae hearing range was sharp.
“Best be quick before someone comes,” he taunted in her ear.
Reylan knew it was a risk to surge Faythe’s pleasure with where they were, but when his eyes fell on his mark on her neck, a primal need overcame him quicker than reasoning could stop him. His teeth sank into his previous bite mark, and he cupped a hand over Faythe’s mouth to smother her cry. Faythe bit his hand, drawing blood, and that only turned him more delirious.
He pounded into her, hard and fast. This was just a quick release to curb their edges for now, even though he wanted to prolong it. Wanted to lock her in a room and not let her leave until he was finished with her. No one would see her for days.
Reylan pulled his teeth out of her and stilled inside her. He rested his forehead to hers as awareness prickled over his sweat-slicked skin. Someone was approaching. He could hardly catch his breath. Buried in Faythe and on the cusp of release, the thought of someone passing turned him irrationally murderous.
He pulled back, dropping his hand from her mouth and pressing a finger to his lips. Faythe’s eyes widened as she sensed the person too—a castle guard, Reylan assumed. He gave a wicked side smile as he continued to pleasure her in slow strokes. Her head fell back against the wall, biting her bottom lip into her mouth to keep from making a noise.
Reylan was so close he would erupt inside her any moment. The shadow of the guard passed over them. He thought they’d go right by, but their steps faltered, likely scenting the depravity right beside them.
He thought they would be caught for sure, but after a few seconds of pause, the guard kept walking.
Reylan knew then Faythe had intervened in his thoughts.
“We could do this more often,” he purred.
Faythe smiled, devious. Reylan groaned, licking her mating mark, which surged Faythe over the edge, and he went crashing with her.
They rearranged themselves to appear as presentable as they could, but Faythe scowled at him with the annoyance as she had to quickly bathe and change before she could resume her training. Reylan merely smiled, leading her out with the full intention of joining her in every second before he had to let her go again.