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Draevyn

D raevyn lay awake in bed after a night of restless sleep. He didn’t know what had come over him to act out the way he had, and he couldn’t get Esmyra out of his mind.

As he lay there, the night replayed in his mind like a vivid dream, one that felt impossible to shake.

He knew, logically, that this was the worst mistake either of them could’ve made.

There was so much at stake, and they were possibly stranded down here in Maerinys while his father held hers captive.

Not only that, but also everything they had uncovered the day prior—her past life and the true reason for Maerinys’ fall. He knew she had an entire kingdom on her shoulders, all while trying to process who she truly was.

And yet, even knowing that, Draevyn had no intention of turning back. He was too far gone, and she…well, she had a hold on him that he didn’t want to escape, anchoring him to her.

He let out a long breath, recalling the way she’d looked at him—the soft vulnerability she was desperate to hide behind her walls he’d come to know so well.

They were mirrors in many ways, each carrying burdens placed on them by others, each wearing armor they had been forced to build to protect themselves .

But last night, Draevyn felt those walls between them fall away, and with that, he wondered if perhaps she needed him as much as he desperately needed her.

Esmyra was everything any man would be lucky to have—she was breathtakingly beautiful, powerful, humorous, and absolutely fucking lethal. Perhaps he was the only man who would enjoy the last one, but the thought of her being someone else’s set his blood boiling.

As these thoughts swirled, he accidentally set a small section of his sheets on fire where his hands rested as flames burst at his fingertips. “Godsdammit,” he huffed as he patted out the dying embers.

Across the room, the door creaked open and closed with a gentle click. A smile tugged at his lips, assuming Esmyra was sneaking in before anyone else was awake. He sat still for a moment, listening for her footsteps.

“Sneaking in again?” Draevyn called softly, an easy grin spreading over his face as he looked around for a shadow.

There was no answer, but he sensed her presence in the room. He stood from the bed, stretching as he padded across the floor. “Hiding, are we? And to think I thought we were past these games, Wildfire,” he murmured, a teasing lilt in his voice. “If it’s a hunt you want, you know I’ll find you.”

He always found her—in every room, every thought, and dream.

Draevyn moved quietly through the dimly lit room, running his hand along the edge of a curtain where he thought she might be lurking. He pulled it back, expecting to catch her there with that familiar spark in her eye, but the space was empty.

Thinking she was hiding with camouflaged skin, he reached out, but all he was met with was the window’s glass. He frowned, but then the sound of scattering feet echoed across the room, making him move towards the alcove by the wardrobe.

“There you are.” He moved toward it, smirking as he crept closer. “Alright, I know you’re hiding in here,” he whispered, reaching to push aside the loose fabric of the wardrobe.

But then, his gaze caught on a figure blending seamlessly into the shadowy textures of the wall. For a split second, he hesitated, a shiver of anticipation racing along his spine as he felt her presence.

Then, in a subtle, almost eerie shimmer, the figure shifted. The edges of her silhouette sharpened, her skin lightening. Draevyn’s pulse quickened as the shadowed, seamless surface peeled back to reveal the familiar features he’d been falling in love with—until he was met with golden hair.

His heart leapt in his throat at the sight.

Syrena tilted her head, a smirk forming as she crossed her arms, stepping out of the shadows. “Expecting someone else?” she purred, her gaze sweeping over him.

Draevyn matched her step backwards, his thoughts reeling, heart racing. “Where is she?” he demanded. Every nerve was on high alert, his pulse a deafening roar in his ears, knowing Syrena would never set foot in his room without a motive.

“Oh, I’m sure she’s still sleeping off last night’s… escapades .” She licked her lips and stepped closer. Her movements were confident, each one calculated to unsettle him. “But don’t worry, Draevyn. She doesn’t have to know you’re here. With me.”

His jaw tightened, every instinct telling him to roast the bitch alive, but he couldn’t do that to Esmyra. And he would be killed without knowing a way out of the prison Maerinys had become.

But as Syrena drew nearer, her hand brushed his arm, and his heart hammered in a different rhythm—not from her touch, but from the danger exuding from her, having every cell in his body on edge.

“You look surprised,” she said softly. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out about you and my sister?”

“What are you doing here?” he growled, trying to hide the fury in his tone, but it was useless.

She didn’t answer immediately, only took another step forward, closing the space he’d put between them. Her smile turned teasing as she leaned closer, her voice barely above a whisper. “Why should she be the only one to know you this way? We’re twins after all.” Syrena winked. “We can share.”

The implications in her voice had an overwhelming dread creeping in. “You need to leave,” he said firmly, trying to put more distance between them. But she only followed his movements, her gaze unwavering as she watched his reactions.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, feigning innocence. “Surely, you wouldn’t turn away a queen. Again .” The last word came out cold and cruel.

Syrena backed him into a corner on the far side of his room, his back hitting the wall as she draped her arm over one of his shoulders, pressing her chest to his as she looked into his eyes.

Draevyn was repulsed, desperately trying to keep his flames at ease.

Was this a test? Was this why she released him from the velsinyte bracelet? To edge him on and get him to lash out at her to prove to Esmyra he wasn’t to be trusted? He’d made it clear to Syrena before he wasn’t interested.

Draevyn shook his head, his jaw locking. “I refuse to play your little game, Syrena,” he said, his voice hardening. “Where. Is. She?”

Her eyes flashed, her smile fading as she finally halted her advance. “Has it never occurred to you that I’m exactly who you should be with instead?” Syrena’s words dripped with disdain, and he could see the bitterness, the resentment simmering beneath her polished exterior.

She pressed a soft kiss to the nape of his neck as she held him against the wall. His magic was thrashing within him, and every ounce of his restraint not to ignite her in flames was ready to snap.

Syrena gazed up at him, her golden-amber eyes boring into his, and he knew she could see the raging blaze lashing out in them.

She brought her lips to his ear, and he was clenching his teeth so hard he could’ve sworn one cracked.

“After all…shouldn’t a queen find her king?

And who better than the son of one, Draevyn Rowe ? ”

Draevyn’s eyes flared, his jaw dropping in horror as she spoke his last name—his lineage they kept secret since arriving.

“How?” he demanded. Draevyn hadn’t realized all the torches in the room burst into his flames as they had the night before in Esmyra’s room—only this time it was from rage .

“Patience,” she whispered, savoring his reaction. “I know everything, darling. Your father’s kingdom. His tragic ambitions.” Her eyes darkened. “And how he offered his infant sons on a platter to the God of Rage and War.”

How would she know that being trapped down here?

Draevyn’s expression hardened. “And what else do you think you know?”

He couldn’t risk giving away anything he knew, not about Esmyra and what she meant to him, or the tomb they found in the cave, revealing Maerinys’ secrets.

“Oh, I know far more than you’d ever want me to,” she cooed, glancing toward the door as if she could see right into Esmyra’s room across the hall. “I know the kingdom’s history, the truth of my sister and I—of what we really are. The truth you thought you discovered before me.”

Fuck .

His chest rose and fell rapidly, his nostrils flaring as he held himself back, knowing there was a threat in her words. “We were looking for a way out.”

“I know. And it’s back down the path from which you came.”

“Then why the fuck haven’t you been leading your people out of here?!” he bellowed.

Syrena rolled her eyes. “So dramatic.” She huffed out a breath.

“Nobody can leave, aside from the two of you. Esmyra unlocked the gates with her runes when you found the tunnel. My men can go as far as the lake, but when they climbed the wall to get to the arch that awakened the passage, they couldn’t step through.

We’re cursed to remain down here without both of our blood and power to unbind Maerinys from the depths. ”

“Climb?” The word left him on a breath.

She gave him a malicious smile. “ Very small crevices in the rock act as a ladder.” Her tone was mocking as she shrugged. “I understand how you missed it. It’s a bit dark down here.”

A growl brewed from deep within his chest, but Syrena’s eyes lit in satisfaction as if it was exactly what she wanted .

But he could play her game.

“Tell me what else you know.” He cocked his head to the side in a predatory manner. “Just want to be sure we’re on the same page and all.”

Syrena laughed softly, and Draevyn ignored the chill that ached to seep into his bones from it. “Oh, do you mean like the page you found of Esmyra and myself within the Book of Aeress?”

Draevyn thought his heart stopped as the words left her. How could she have known that?

“Honestly, you men are so predictable. Do you really think that book was placed on a podium without reason? Gods, truthfully, I was expecting a bit more of a challenge from you.”

“You put the book there,” he hissed, and she winked. “And what else do you know?”