Page 37 of Of Ash and Iron (Flame Cursed Fae #3)

Chapter 37

Maddy

S hit. Shit, shit, shit.

I've never seen him this angry. Seeing the brand after containing his rage with my father has tipped him over the edge, and he's probably reasoning that it's safer to kill Inga or Orgid than the King of the Ice Court.

Shit!

I can't let him kill anybody .

The fact that what he just said has tipped me hopelessly and irrevocably from obsession with him into something slightly terrifying must be shelved. As must the fact that, for a moment back there, I was actually considering killing my own father.

Right now, I have to stop Kain from doing something we will both regret.

He's not hard to follow. There's a trail of burning twigs and leaves leading all the way to the Bear Wing.

"Inga!" he shouts. "Get out here, now! Are you a coward, cruel little fire-fae?"

Thyrvi is sitting beside him, staring at the Bear Wing.

"Thyrvi! Stop him!"

She swings her head to me. "No. I will go and drag the female fire-fae out here if he wants me to."

I grind my teeth. "Thyrvi, we've been through this. I'm in charge, and I'm not risking losing you!"

I turn to Kain, once more punching his bare arm. My ice sizzles, and I only just stop myself hissing in pain.

He whirls, flames soaring in his eyes. "She will pay."

"And so will I, if you do this," I say as calmly as I can manage. "Harald says if either of us do anything to each other, we will both be thrown out of Featherblade. What do you think will happen if you hurt her because of me?"

Kain stills. The hard pulse in his temple and his straining neck are the only signs he's still breathing.

Inga's voice carries through the silence, and I bite back a curse.

"I'm not scared of you."

She can't be the only one he's woken up. Oh gods, this is going to be a disaster.

Kain turns to her slowly. Skoll is panting as he prowls toward her.

"You branded her," Kain says, and even I'm a little frightened of him. He's loaded every ounce of venom any one being can possess into those three words, and Inga steps backward.

She looks angry about it as soon as she does it, and with a roar, a huge black bear, fur tips sparking, lumbers up behind her. Confidence spreads back over her face.

"She is meant to be alone. Now everybody knows." She looks to me and gives me a hatred-filled smile. "The next brand will say 'weakling.'"

"Except she's not weak, is she?" Kain's gravel-laden voice turns her head back to him. "And she's not alone. Get the brand."

Inga opens her mouth to reply, then falters. "What?"

"Get. The. Fucking. Brand."

Oh gods. He's going to brand her . Panic floods me, the adrenaline that's been building right from when I got into the vault now overwhelming.

"Kain, stop. I don't want this."

He ignores me, and when Inga refuses to move, he bends down and picks up a large branch and removes one glove.

I swallow, fear making my thoughts thick and slow.

The wood of the branch glows hot, and Kain moves toward Inga. She stands her ground, her bear snarling and swiping the air above her head, but I can see the fear in her eyes.

"Take it," he hisses when he reaches her.

Again, she falters. So do I.

"Wh-what?"

"Take it." He holds out the thick branch, and the end is burned into a pattern.

He's made his own brand.

Why the fuck is he giving it to her?

She hesitantly holds out her hand, then flinches as Kain thrusts the branch into her palm. I can see the fear and confusion on her face.

She was expecting a fight. Not whatever the fuck this is.

"Kain," I whisper, but nothing I say is going to get through to him.

With a baring of his teeth, Kain moves, pressing his own arm to the end of the brand.

There's a sizzle and crackling, and a yelp of confused shock from Inga.

My head swims. "What are you doing ?"

I move toward him, and his eyes are blazing. Not burning or flickering, but blazing .

He steps away from the brand, his skin red and seared. The ancient rune for the word "alone" is burned into his flesh. Just like mine.

"I— Why—" I try to speak, but words aren't working.

"Now we're alone, together."

Burning tears escape my eyes, scorching my cheeks.

Kain turns to Inga, and she throws down the branch in frightened bewilderment. "There's no power in this mark anymore. She is not alone. And now she never will be."

Inga's face darkens, but I can't look at her.

All I can see is Kain.

He's right. He's taken every drop of power the brand had over me away from them. The very definition of the mark is useless, now that he has a matching one.

I thought he was going to hurt her, but he took away her power.

He took a fucking brand for me.

I love him.

The force of the realization is overwhelming, and I suck in air wrong and end up swallowing a sob.

I love him. Oh, gods in Asgard, I love him. It's not lust or fascination or obsession. It's love.

I can't be without him. I never, ever want to be apart from him. I would do more than take a brand for him. I would lay down my life for him.

This is bad. Some part of me is very, painfully aware of how bad this is.

But right now, it doesn't matter. Right now, all that matters is him.

"I'll-I'll tell everyone you forced me to do it!" Inga is spluttering. "They won't punish me for attacking a Valkyrie. I'll make them believe it was you! Nobody here trusts you anyway—it'll be easy!"

Kain takes a big stride toward her, and Skoll's fur flares with fire. "Fuck off!" he roars at her, and she only seems to hesitate a second. With a glance at Thyrvi, she turns and walks as slowly as I think she can make herself toward the Snake Wing. To get Orgid, no doubt.

"That must hurt," I whisper as Kain turns back to me. I hold up my hand, and it freezes over. "I can make it better."

He shakes his head. "Let it burn."

I take a shaky breath. Tears are still sliding down my face. "Why did you do that?"

"You know why. Any way to be bound to you, I will take. Any way to keep you free from the monsters of this world, I will take."

"Does that include you?" I whisper.

He stares at me a long time before he answers, and when he does, his voice is a whisper. "I don't know."

"Whether you're a monster? Or whether I should be free of you?"

"Madivia…"

I hold my breath. He's never said my name like this.

"The crime the gods punished me for… I don't remember it."

"What?" I blink at him. "Then how do you know you were set up?"

"Because I know I wasn't capable of it. The bitter, angry, revenge-driven fae who stands before you?" He spreads his arms wide. "This is a product of that punishment. I was a Valkyrie. A gods-chosen, honorable warrior. I know I didn't do what they said. And watching you put Orgid out when he was on fire…"

He closes his eyes, and I want to wrap my arms around him so much that my tears restart.

He opens his eyes again, staring into mine. "We are so incredibly alike. You could become bitter and angry so easily. But you haven't. And I won't let you, because I know what it has done to me."

I heave in a breath, trying to slow my thoughts, trying to get a hold of my careening emotions.

I have to boil it down to what matters.

Is he a monster?

"Have you killed people?" I ask, my voice shaking. I'm not sure I can deal with the answer, but I have to know. There's no coming back from this.

"On the battlefield, I have slain many enemies. Off the battlefield, I have ended threats. But murder? No. Never."

Thank Freya and the fates for that.

I take another deep breath. "Do you enjoy people fearing you?"

"Yes." No hesitation to his answer. "And that was true before, when I still had my wings and the favor of the gods. I am a warrior, and that requires fear."

I can understand that. And I can live with it. Last question.

"Do you get pleasure from other's pain?"

"No. Never."

All the breath leaves my body in a rush. It's what I needed to hear.

"Kain, I think I'm in love with you." I bite my lip as I stare up at him.

Flames dance in his irises as his chest heaves. "Princess, I've been fighting falling in love with you since the week you got here."

"Did you win?"

"It's the only fight I've ever lost."