Page 29

Neither Dahr nor I could sleep too much, so we ended up holding one another throughout the night. His arms around me felt heavy and tired, while his heartbeat thumped under a shield of worry and surrender. He’d tried to convince me to leave over and over, but each time I refused.

I refused when he bent down on his knees and pleaded with me.

I refused when, still on his knees, he used his tongue to do wicked and delicious things in between my legs and ordered me to leave him, just before he sent me over the edge. And I refused when he spilled himself into me, his body joined with mine and moving in that perfect synchrony.

I was not scared. Not anymore. Not when Dahr might have a chance to control it, not when he’d put himself and his tribe in danger to save me from the captain. He had a job to do, and I had already fulfilled my purpose. I had saved my town. Now, I had to become the offering I was meant to be and hope. The attack had to be real, had to look real enough for the reports going back to the king and the general. No one could know the town was spared. Not the Fire Kingdom command, not the faerie scouts, and not the rest of the camp.

Morning came with the beating of the drums, rhythmically calling the day towards destruction. Hundreds of small echoes sang together around the camp, loud enough to send vibrations through the air and raise war spirits. For all they knew, they were preparing for battle.

“It’s time,”

Dahr blinked at me, his obsidian eyes weary. I nodded slowly and leaned in to place a calming kiss on his lips. Then stood and moved to the side of the bed, waiting to be encased into my role. Not a second later, Markos and Karisha made their way in, both looking more sombre than I had ever seen them. I found it curious how people reacted to the announcement of death when someone fell under its dark cape. Some cried —in Karisha’s case — some became sombre like Markos, and some became a shell of their former selves, just like Dahr was now starting to.

There were only a few who embraced it. Only a few that saw it as a hideaway from future pain. And while everyone around me acted as though this was an end to be scared of, I saw it as the end of a celebration. That exquisite moment when the party ends and, even though you had fun, all you want is to go home and sleep.

My party was ending today. And I was ready to rest.

“See you in an hour?”

I tried to smile at Dahr, who nodded at me, his gaze still pleading with me to reconsider.

“Even if you think you are helping him, even if you think this will give him the strength he needs to set himself free,”

Markos grabbed my arm on the way out and stopped me with a whisper.

“he might fail and accidentally kill you, or he might not even remember you after this.”

“That’s fine,”

I smiled with confidence.

“I’ll remember for the both of us.”

I stopped then, trying to be truthful to the possibility.

“If he succeeds…” I dipped my head as a final goodbye to the tribe leader.

“I truly hope he does,”

he nodded back before he released me.

Walking to Karisha’s tent, I took the opportunity to look around the camp and observe the battle preparations. Some were eating, others were stretching and started toying with weapons and some had already started to pick apart the tents and prepare them for the next travel locations. All of them confident, all of them putting their trust in Grannicus. The descendant of a god. If there was something to believe in, I also chose to believe in him today.

“Whatever he told you Nora, whatever he said…'' Karisha shook her head as she wrapped her arms around me to drop heavy tears on the side of my face.

“It is just wishful thinking,”

she continued.

“He has never managed to contain the wrath of his power without an offering and trust me, he has tried many times.”

“But he has an offering now,”

I squeezed Karisha tightly, trying to calm her down.

“And I believe in him.”

I took a deep breath to encourage both her and myself.

“And so should you.”

Once the tribe lady settled her emotions, we started talking about little nothings, to keep our minds occupied. We chatted about skincare and outfits; we talked about the warm weather and how it looks like April is going to be a hotter month.

We did all that while she dressed me in the drake fashion and painted my body with shades of yellow, red and of course, orange, while I admired her work in the mirror and realised that she had been the one to paint all those amazing designs in Dahr’s tent. Without knowing, Karisha’s work had kept me company through all those solitary and frightened nights, before she became my friend. I wanted to tell her all this, to tell her how talented she was, but I did not want to open the topic we had both done our very best to avoid for the past hour. When she finished with me, my entire skin was covered in paint which, due to Karisha’s talent, resembled Dahr’s flames extremely well.

“Nora, even if he manages to inflict less damage this time, none of the other offerings have survived. And he tried to save them, believe me, he did. Even though it’s different with you, even though you are his mate now, there is no guarantee that his power will react kindly to you,”

the tribe lady sighed and shook the regret off her face.

“Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?”

she asked me one more time as she squeezed her hands in mine.

“I am,”

I nodded and said my goodbyes to the woman that had quickly become like a sister.

“Let’s go then.”

Karisha blinked away tears and invited me outside, where the sea of murmur told me there was a large crowd gathered around. When I came out of the tent all eyes moved on me and the body paint that flickered in the sunlight to reflect Dahr’s own glimmering skin. He was waiting for me, surrounded by what looked like half the people in the camp, all of them cheering and chanting. Chanting for another month of freedom. And singing songs that thanked me for my sacrifice.

I did not have the energy or sufficient focus to listen to them or to pay attention to what they were saying. I only had eyes for Dahr. Dahr, who waited for me, tall and commanding, the portrait of authority. Dahr, whose darkened eyes blinked with the despair of a final plea. Dahr, who reached for me and grabbed me in his arms, desperate to take me away from the crowd. I was too focused on feeling the warmth of his body to realise that we were moving away from the cheer. All I cared about was his beating heart, thumping with desperation inside his chest, its song joining with the one of my own heart.

“Whichever way this goes, know that I am happy I had a chance to experience this with you,”

I whispered to him as I nestled my head inside the shell of his shoulder.

“And know that, the little time I had to fall in love with you, was lived to the fullest.”

Wordlessly, Dahr hoisted me up and I barely had a chance to steady myself when I realised that he’d just mounted me on a horse. The fright was short lived because in the next beat, Dahr occupied the space behind me, his arms settling around my body before the horse started galloping and flying us away from the crowd.

“A horse?”

I shrieked, in both excitement and fear. I’d never ridden a horse before but always wanted to. Just another thing I could tick off my bucket list, I smiled to myself as I rested my back on Dahr’s warm bare chest and let myself enjoy the view.

“We must follow the old ways on ceremony days,”

Dahr replied after long minutes, once the echoes of the camp were long faded and the only one that remained to keep us company was the wind.

“Which means that, no matter how much I wanted to halt this steed and make you mine one more time this month, little flame, I must follow the ritual,”

he explained, his voice heavy.

“It’s the only chance we have at survival.”

“Don’t worry,”

I kept my voice light. Or at least, tried to.

“April works for me too.”

Dahr chuckled but kept silent. The only sign that my words cut deep through his spirit was his embrace, which nestled me deeper into his skin, as if he wanted to absorb me into his warmth. We spent a long time like that, joined by the tightness of his arms around me and the horse that pushed our bodies together with every gallop, allowing our spirits to carry the conversation we could not.

Slowly, the scenery started changing from hard stone terrain into more fertile soil and, when I finally spotted the shape of my town in the distance, I inhaled a deep sigh, saying my final goodbye, because, no matter what happened today, I knew I would never come back here.

“Final chance to change your mind,”

Dahr warned just as we passed the city gates.

I knew. I knew that even then; he was offering me a chance at freedom. That he was willing to sacrifice himself, and the thousands of people he cared for, to try and save my life.

“And miss all the fun? I’m ready for fireworks,”

I smiled and meant it. No matter what would happen, at least I knew one thing. It would be extraordinary.

Dahr trotted slowly through the abandoned town streets, both of us looking at empty houses and opened doors where, just two days before, people had lived, slept and filled their houses with hope.

“Thank you,”

I turned to look at his grim expression.

“Thank you for saving them.”

“Don’t thank me yet,”

he leaned in to press a kiss on my forehead.

“There’s one more I need to save.”

When we reached the town square, Dahr jumped off the steed and then grabbed my midsection to help me down, before he looked at me one final time, double checking.

“I’m staying,”

I replied with determination and, without knowing exactly what I was doing, I patted the horse’s back, making him whinny and shoot down the street. Hopefully, back to the camp.

Dahr wrapped his arms around me as he rested his forehead on mine, breathing me in.

“Little flame, if this overpowers me, there is nothing I can do to stop it,”

he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. Slowly, reverently, as one does to something that’s too fragile. Too scared to ruin its beauty.

“Then burn bright, my love,”

I replied as I launched myself onto his mouth, devouring his taste. Our tongues met and started dancing as Dahr’s arms lowered to the small of my back and pressed me tightly into him.

I had time for a final breath.

Just one more breath as his mouth brushed against mine and his body melted into flames.