Page 20

THEREN

Mortal Ruins

I can hear the roar of the people’s cheers from where I kneel on the sodden earth.

Beads of blood pebble from the cut on my hand before I shove my fist, wrist deep, into the mud.

For eight glorious heartbeats I feel no pain, but the agonizing burn begins to flare as I whisper the spell to activate the runes. Only three more left to go.

Sweat trickles down my temples and drips onto the ground. A shadow eclipses me and I smell the bitter aroma of smoke. I glance over my shoulder and find Aima leaning against a large stone. “Aima,” I start as I look up at her. Her timing could be much better. “Was there something you need?”

Aima scoffs. “I need a lot of things, Theren, and I doubt you can give me even one.”

“You… you’re angry.” I don’t know why I’m surprised. I shouldn’t be.

She shrugs. “You know me. I can tell Pyre and Baron and Kolvar that I’m unfazed by your presence, but we both know that’s untrue.”

“I never meant to hurt you.” The words ring hollow.

“That’s funny because Pyre said the same thing to me,” she sighs. “Did you know that I’m the reincarnation of his first love?”

“I had heard, yes.”

She nods and I can see there’s more. “And yet Pyre has no feelings for me beyond that of a friend.”

“And you… harbor feelings for him?”

“No,” she says and waves away my concern. “No. I feel nothing but friendship towards Pyre. And he loves Eilish.”

“Has he said as much?”

She shakes her head. “He doesn’t have to say it... none of you do. It’s written on your faces—in the way you look at her. The way you talk about her.”

“I’m sorry, Aima.” It’s the only thing I can think to say to her.

“I know.” She takes in a big breath. “I don’t blame Eilish for any of this. It’s not her fault she’s perfect in every aspect.”

“Eilish isn’t perfect. None of us are.”

“Regardless, what’s not to love about her? Hell, Kolvar just made her queen.” Though Aima is clearly upset, there’s no anger in her voice. There’s only sadness hidden behind a wall of confidence.

“Kolvar doesn’t love Eilish in that way, Aima,” I tell her, wondering if her anger is reserved for her friend. “His heart already belongs to another.” I pull my hand from the mud.

“How do you know that?”

I shrug. “Because I’m a man and I understand the way men are, the attachments they make.”

“Maybe you’re just trying to calm your own heart. I’m sure you don’t like the fact that every man within the vicinity wants her.”

“Eilish doesn’t have Kolvar’s heart,” I repeat.

“But how do you know?” she insists.

“Because I’ve seen the way he looks at her. It’s no more than friendly love and the need to protect her. And I’ve seen the way he looks at you. His expressions are entirely different.”

Aima shakes her head as I move to the next rune. “Are you sure you aren’t just saying this to encourage me towards Kolvar so you can ease your own guilt where I’m concerned?”

I look at her. “I do feel guilt towards you. I won’t pretend I don’t. But, I also consider you my friend and my equal and I wouldn’t lie to you. Kolvar loves you and if I’m not mistaken, you love him too.”

She swallows. Hard. “I loved you, Theren. To stand here and listen to you encourage me to find love elsewhere... it hurts. I thought I was different from the women you took to your bed each night.”

“You were, Aima. You still are. You were my friend and my advisor for years. None of the others ever saw me after the sun came up each morning.”

“Then why,” she starts.

“The evil inside me didn’t allow me to love anyone in the way I loved Eilish.”

“I know your story with her, Theren. I don’t blame you either. Perhaps there’s just a part of me that always hoped my insecurities were wrong, that I was worth more in your eyes.”

“Aima.” I touch her cheek with my unsoiled hand. “You have to stop lying to yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I remember the days of our youth as though they were yesterday. You rejected Cambion’s affection and you told him it was because you loved me.” I pause. “That was a lie, wasn’t it?”

She gets flustered and steps away from me. “You doubt I loved you?”

“You loved me, just not the way you claimed to. I think you always knew I couldn’t love you the way you wanted me to and so you chose to love because I was safe.”

“Safe?”

“Because I couldn’t love you back so your feelings would never truly be on the line. You can’t truly love someone who is incapable of loving and that’s exactly what I was… back then.”

She swallows and grows silent for a few seconds. I can see the truth swimming in her eyes and it offers me some level of relief.

“And Pyre?” she asks. “What’s his excuse for feeling nothing towards me?”

I shrug. “You fought beside each other countless times and neither of you noticed anything binding you. If he hadn’t told you who you were in your past life, you would have just carried on with your life as if you’d never known there was a link between the two of you.

Stop being desperate for someone to fall in love with you and focus on the man who already has. ”

I know Aima loves Kolvar. She’s just afraid of getting hurt again.

“I,” she starts.

“Give him a chance.”

She breathes in deeply and then just nods. I pull her into a hug, careful not to touch her with the hand I’m using to cast the runes.

When she leaves me to my task, it goes much faster than I anticipated. However, the sinking feeling in my stomach persists. Something bad is happening, something that triggers my body’s natural urge to run.

Fear.

I feel as though waves of fear are crashing over me. My eyes dart around, taking in the sight of my surroundings.

Eilish.

I must return to her. When I do, I find her standing with her hands on her hips, swaying back and forth as she shifts her weight from one heel to another.

She hums under her breath and stares down at the map.

“Have something to say or are you going to stand there and keep staring at me?” she laughs.

I take the distance that separates us and grab her by either of her arms, forcing her to look at me.

“Theren?” she questions.

“Can’t you feel it?” I ask.

“Feel what?”

I shake my head, surprised she can’t detect the same thing I can. “Something dark is rising, Eilish.”

“I don’t feel anything like that. I’m a bit overwhelmed, but…”

“We need to tread carefully,” I warn her. “I don’t know why but I feel… there’s something looming.”

Eilish brushes my hair back from my face. “Thank you for telling me, Theren. Something as seemingly small as intuition might be the thing that makes all the difference.”

I nod because she’s right. “I haven’t felt fear like this since my father succumbed to the Chasm,” I find myself admitting.

“Theren,” she starts but I shake my head. I’m not through yet.

“I sent him there, did you know? I was afraid he’d kill us and I had to protect my brother. It was either lose my father or lose Cambion.”

“That must have been painful.”

I nod. “The others can hate my brother and me all they want, but we will always choose each other. That was why Morrigan’s betrayal hurt us so much. She turned me against him.” I shake my head and wrap my arms around Eilish. “But enough of that. What else do you need from me?”

She smiles at me and leans up to give me a kiss. “If the runes are finished, I need you to go to the Glade and make sure it’s secure. It may be our only hope of sanctuary if this all comes crashing down again.”

I smile down at her. “Anything for you.”

***

EILISH

Mortal Ruins

Theren leaves only seconds before I sense Pyre’s return.

I glance up and see Pyre disappear through a narrow door along the hallway.

My tongue darts out to wet my lips and I follow him into the darkness where I know he’s hiding.

It’s some sort of closet filled with cleaning supplies.

He stares at me as I wordlessly step inside, leaning my back against the door once it’s closed.

I need him and he knows what his stoic silence does to me.

I want to break him free from his control, feel him lose his inhibitions.

Pyre cocks his head to the side and I watch blazing emerald orbs replace his sightless white eyes.

Is he watching me through the eyes of a dragon or some other creature?

It doesn’t matter. Not when his sensual lips curl into a lopsided grin that makes me quake.

I reach for the hem of my tunic and lift it over my head before dropping it to the floor.

Pyre watches my trembling fingers unbuckle my belt before it falls to the hard concrete beneath our feet.

“I don’t want you to make love to me,” I say, watching the destructive fire of Pyre’s lust ignite in him. I can practically taste his pheromones in the air.

“You want me to fuck you until you forget everything that’s happened, even if only for a moment?”

“Yes,” I hiss.

He nods and chuckles deeply. “I can do that for you, Eilish.”

His words make me shiver as I step out of my pants.

Pyre walks towards me then, slowly as the air between us thickens.

I breathe deeply as my chest brushes against his abdomen, causing my nipples to harden.

He licks his lips and unbuckles his belt.

His eyes never leave my face even as I drop my gaze to watch as he pulls his engorged flesh from the folds of his trousers.

I stand before him, bared completely, while he remains clothed—all except the part of him that causes my mouth to water.

I can’t tear my eyes away as Pyre strokes himself. “Do you want my cock, Eilish?”

I nod, feeling as though I’m hypnotized by my own hunger for him.