Queen of Fire

by K. V. Adair

  “Is this what you do around here? Are you the coroner or something?”

  “I don’t know what that is, so my guess is no.”

  “They examine bodies. Find cause of death, that sort of thing.”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  “That’s a weird calling. I assumed you were some important noble, or is that just a byproduct of your sister marrying the king, I mean, supposed to have married…”

  “I am important. This has nothing to do with that.”

  “Then what? Why?”

  He looked up, something unreadable in his eyes. “Because it’s important, too.”

  For all his pompous attitude and icy demeanor, Liam’s death had affected him deeply. Personally.

  “Were you close?”

  He closed his eyes, his facial muscles tightening again. He swallowed hard. His hands gripped the side of the stone table hard enough his knuckles went white. A strange contrast to his tanned skin.

  “Why do you hate me?” I asked after a long moment of silence.

  He looked at me, confused. “I don’t hate you.”

  I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

  “I don’t like you, but that’s far from hate.”

  I shook my head and folded my arms across my chest. “What did I do to piss you off so much? Exist?”

  “Pretty much.”

  I had no idea what to say to that.

  Innis returned to his work, carefully examining the body’s neck and face. He pulled up one of the eyelids and then the other.

  “Magic?” I asked, making a guess at what he was looking for.

  He looked up startled. “Something like that.” He sighed in resignation. At least he was figuring out I wasn’t going to stop asking questions until he answered some of them. “Magic leaves clues. You just have to see them.”

  I bent down, staring into its eyes. At first, I didn’t notice anything. But then there were swirls of white and gray inside the pupils. My eyes widened, and I took a step back.

  Innis frowned. “What did you see?”

  “I don’t know. Something. It’s hard to explain.”

  “Try.” His voice was sharp, demanding.

  “Why don’t you look yourself?”

  His lips set in a thin line. “I didn’t see anything, which I thought meant he hadn’t been killed with magical means, but if you did…”

  “Why would I see something you didn’t?”

  He blinked at me, looking at me like I was an idiot. “Do you know nothing of your magic? How it works? What you can do with it?”

  I frowned. “Four days ago I thought fairies were make believe. So, no. I know nothing.”

  “Fairies?”

  “Oh, sorry, Fae.”

  He chuckled. It was the first time I’d heard him make a noise not infused with scorn and mocking.

  It was a nice sound.

  He sobered, his eyes resting on the body. “It was cruel what he did.”

  I flinched. “Should I have gone the rest of my life not knowing what I was? Questioning why I was different but having no answers? How wouldn’t that have been more cruel?”

  He looked up, his brown eyes darker than usual. “That’s not what I meant. It was cruel to let you grow up in the mortal realm ignorant and weak.” He sighed. “I don’t know what he thought he was accomplishing.”

  Defensiveness went through my body. “He tried his best. He only wanted to keep me safe.”

  “Safe?” He lifted his eyebrow. “How is keeping your magic from you, the one thing that can protect you, hidden? You should have been trained from the start. Then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

  “The Unseelie. Who are they?”

  “Not your concern,” he replied sharply.

  I folded my arms across my chest. “If they are a threat, then it is my business.”

  “Why?” His hands moved over the body’s chest, pressing every few inches. “We both know you’ll leave as soon as you get your answers.”

  “We both know? You’re making assumptions.”

  “You’re easier to read than a picture book. We scare you. Rightfully so I should add. Blood doesn’t mean you belong here. Without magic—”

  “I can learn. I’m a good student.” A lie, not even a stretched truth. I’d had a terrible time in school and dropped out of community college after one semester. High school had been worse. I wouldn’t have graduated without a little grade adjustment curtesy of Aidan.

  I wasn’t dumb. I just didn’t do the work. Survival had been more important than being valedictorian. Besides, I couldn’t have competed with Aidan anyway. The male was adept at making even advanced calculus look like basic addition.

  Probably because he’s been alive longer than Jesus.

  “It’s not like you can read a book and suddenly know. First you have to find the magic inside you to begin with. You’ve spent, what, sixteen years ignoring it?”

  “You think I’m sixteen? Seriously?”

  He looked at me with pure innocence. I couldn’t tell if it was an act.

  “You can’t be much older than that. The queen disappeared about seventeen years ago. I don’t remember a baby.”

  “I’m twenty, almost twenty-one.”

  “Almost? Almost doesn’t count.”

  “My birthday is in two weeks,” I said, a bit wistful. Twenty-one had seemed like a big deal, could finally buy wine myself, but here it seemed childish to even care.

  Innis frowned, his eyes back on the body.

  “Then he lied,” his voice held a familiar grief. “Not a surprise, I suppose, all things considered.”

  “My brother? What did he lie about?”

  “Other than your existence? He’d said your mother had taken you to the mortal realm to escape some kind of threat but that isn’t possible.”

  “What are you saying? My mother wasn’t my mother?” A chill went through my body. “My brother wasn’t my brother?”

  He shook his head. “There’s no doubt whose blood you have. What it means is someone else took you as a baby.”

  He continued scrutinizing the body.

  “What else were you keeping for me, Liam?” he whispered.

  “Keeping from you? You two were close?”

  “I thought so. Yet I didn’t learn of your existence until he announced it to court.” A shadow crossed his face.

  “Is that why you don’t like me? Because I’m a reminder he didn’t trust you?”

  He looked at me with enough hatred I physically felt it. “I’m not a threat to you. He should have known that.”

  “Maybe he knew you’d throw ice at my face.”

  Innis’s face relaxed. “I told you I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

  “I’m not sure how a face full of pointed icicles wouldn’t hurt.”

  “I have complete control over my power. I was only trying to scare you.”

  “Oh, so that makes it better? Why are you such an ass?”

  He smirked. “Defense mechanism.”

  I was taken aback he’d admit that. “Really?”

  He gave me that look telling me he really thought I was an idiot. “No, not really. I’m an ass, as you say, because I don’t have time to deal with anyone’s feelings. There are more important uses of my time.”

  “Like playing with dead bodies?”

  He growled. “I would think you’d appreciate the importance of finding Liam’s killer. Or are you worried?”

  I took a step back. “You think I had something to do with this?”

  “No, but you seem more put together than I’d expect. If I lost Niamh…”

  “You’re close.” It wasn’t a question. I couldn’t ignore the pang of jealousy through my heart. I hadn’t had much time with Liam. If we’d grown up together, things would have been different.

  He nodded. “Another reason Liam was cruel. Did you have family? Anyone you left behind?” His voice was soft. “Anyone to return to?”

  If I didn’t kno
w better, I’d think he cared. But I knew better. He was digging for information. Not that I blamed him. It was a smart move. Know your enemy and all that.

  I just didn’t know why I was the enemy, especially since it was pretty clear he loved my brother.

  “Of course,” I lied. “Loads of people.”

  He gave me the look that said he knew I was full of shit. “Then why don’t you want to go home?”

  “I do. I tried. Eoin prevented us from leaving. Blame him.”

  “I do.”

  There was a hidden subtext in his voice indicating there was a lot he blamed Eoin for. The tone of his voice also suggested he didn’t want to elaborate.

  “Who would have motive to kill my brother?” I asked, changing the subject. I’d gotten more out of Innis so far than ever before. I didn’t want to push a subject that’d shut him up again.

  “You. Bryna isn’t wrong. You gain the most from his death.”

  I scoffed. “You think I want this?”

  “No, which is why I believe you’re innocent. Besides, you couldn’t have killed him. You’re not strong enough.”

  I don’t know why that rubbed me the wrong way so much, but it did. “When you trust someone you don’t worry about shielding your back.”

  “That’s why you don’t trust anyone. Never turn your back, Morgan. Not to anyone.”

  “I trust—trusted—Liam.”

  “Why? He lied to you. He kept you hidden even from himself. Why would he do that? Why would he keep you defenseless if he was truly worried for your safety?”

  I didn’t have the answers, but I really didn’t like the questions.

  “Just because he betrayed you doesn’t mean he’d do that to me. He had his reasons.”

  “Perhaps. And I have my suspicions on what they were. But it doesn’t really matter now, does it? You’re alone now.”

  I shook my head. “Not true. I have Aidan to watch my back. Who do you have?”

  Innis looked around the room. “Then where is he? There’s a murderer loose in the castle, a very real threat, and he’s no where to be found.”

  “I’m sure he has his—”

  “Reasons? I understand, Morgan. You are young. Very, very young. Life hasn’t scarred you yet.”

  I lowered my voice, definitely pissed now. “You have no idea of my scars.”

  He looked surprised, but before he could say anything, another voice sounded behind us.

  “Not to interrupt your bonding, but it’s time for the queen to rest.”

  I turned, half expecting it to be Eoin. Instead Feoras stood in the doorway, a cocky smile on his face.

  “I’m not a child. I don’t need a bed time.”

  Innis grunted but thankfully kept his mouth shut.

  Feoras shrugged. “Not my orders, love. I do what I’m told.”

  Innis turned his eyes to Feoras. “Love? Who do you think you’re talking to?”

  “Not you.”

  Innis looked between Feoras and me, then shook his head. “I have work to do, Morgan. Go with the fire spawn.”

  “Fire spawn?” I choked out a laugh. “Seriously? You are abrasive to everyone. Defense mechanism?”

  “If by defense you mean defending myself from wasting my time with children, then yes.”

  I scrunched up my nose. “You go from cold to hot to cold again more often than the weather in Minnesota.”

  “I don’t know what that is. And besides. You haven’t seen me hot, trust me.”

  Feoras laughed loudly. “When Innis gets hot, he melts. It’s such a mess.”

  Innis narrowed his eyes at the ‘fire spawn’. “You haven’t seen me hot, either.”

  “Is that an invitation?”

  “No. Fire and ice do not mix for a good reason.”

  Feoras smirked. “Have you told your sister that?”

  “Niamh?” I asked. I was having a hard time following their not so friendly banter.

  Feoras looked at me, a smirk on his lips. “Thank your elements Niamh didn’t actually wed your brother. Innis is a pain in the ass as a brother in law.”

  Innis’s jaw clenched. “Thank you for proving my point.”

  “What point is that?”

  “That you’re a child. And a hothead. Do you think before words leave your mouth?”

  Feoras tilted his head, looking confused. “Did I offend you? I’m joking about your sister. Kiara is a great addition to the family.”

  Innis sighed. “I’m not talking about Kiara. What kind of idiot tells a grieving female she should be happy her brother is dead?”

  Feoras looked at me his eyes wide. “I didn’t… that’s not… shit.”

  I waved my hand dismissively in the air. “You’re fine. I think you offended him more than me.”

  He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Are you ready to go, love? The longer I’m here, the more red Innis will become.”

  Innis blew out a harsh breath. Feoras was right. Innis was turning red. “She’s not your love. Have some fucking respect.”

  Feoras laughed so hard and for so long he was grasping his sides by the time he calmed down. “And you call me a hothead.”

  I shook my head as I walked to Feoras. I knew none of this was about me, and I didn’t appreciate being used as a way for them to demonstrate who was the better man. Male, I corrected myself. They, and everyone else here, weren’t at all human.

  Before I could exit the room, Innis spoke. “Careful, Morgan. His mouth isn’t the only thing he uses without thinking.”

  The implication he made bothered me. “Thanks for the warning.”

  He nodded, either ignoring the sarcasm in my voice or ignorant of it. “Oh, Morgan?”

  I glanced over my shoulder. He held a scalpel in his hands. I shuddered. “Yeah?”

  “Bryna. Bryna has plenty of motive. Nothing more dangerous than a female scorned.”

  “Speaking from experience?”

  He grunted. “No. I’m not that dumb.”

  I followed after Feoras. Once the door was shut behind us, Feoras smiled at me. “He’s a jackass, but he means well.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that? I didn’t get that impression.”

  “Spend a little more time here and you’ll see the difference between someone like Innis and—”

  “Someone like you?”

  He raised his hand to his chest in a faux display of being hurt. “Me? Never. My intentions are pure as snow.”

  “The lady doth protest too much,” I said and smiled.

  His eyes lit up like I’d said Santa Claus had dropped by.

  “You know your Shakespeare?” He sighed dreamingly. “I’d always wanted to meet the human, but alas, much before my time.”

  “How long before your time? And you know human literature? How?”

  “I said much, didn’t I? Never ask a male his age. It’s rude.”

  “You didn’t answer my other question.”

  “Fae in the mortal realm is nothing new, especially for a soldier.”

  A chill went up my spine. “What would a Fae soldier have need to do to humans?”

  “Not humans. There are other monsters prowling their world.”

  “Like what?”

  He smiled at me. “You’re really a female after my own heart. I’ve never met anyone with a thirst for knowledge more than me.”

  “I think that’s a compliment, but I can’t tell with you Fae.”

  “From someone like Innis, it would be an insult. From me? No higher compliment.”

  “You and Innis seem to know each other well.”

  He nodded. “Some. His older sister married my brother a decade ago. He’s still bitter.”

  “Why?”

  Feoras shrugged. “Don’t know for sure, but my guess is he was positioning Kiara as Liam’s betrothed. Gavan put a kink in that plan.”

  The name sounded familiar but it took a moment for me to remember. “The same creep who cornered me in the hall? That’s Kiara’s husba
nd?”

  Feoras’ eyes darkened. “He is now.”

  “What does that mean?”

  He didn’t answer. Instead he jumped in front of me, blocking my path with mischief in his eyes. “Want to know a secret?”

  I hesitated, not sure where this was going. “Okay,” I said slowly, hoping I wasn’t going to regret it.

  He leaned forward. He smelled like campfire and marshmallows. “I need something from you, first.”

  I stepped back, making space between us. “That’s unlikely to happen.”

  He looked hurt. “You haven’t even heard what I want and already you would deny me?”

  “I have a hunch it won’t be something I’d enjoy.”

  He chuckled. “You have a dirty mind, love. And I assure you. You would enjoy yourself. But no. I need something else.”

  “Like what?”

  “A date, of sorts.”

  I scoffed. “No, not going to happen.”

  He didn’t look too happy with me. Normally when I pissed someone off, I instinctively went on high alert, ready to defend myself if needed.

  With Feoras that familiar grip of fear was missing. I wasn’t anymore threatened by him as I would a kitten.

  I had no idea what that meant.

  “I’m not trying to seduce you, I promise. I just have questions only you can answer.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t have time to entertain your curiosity.”

  He nodded. “You have a killer to find. I understand.”

  I raised my eyebrow again. “Am I that transparent?”

  “No. But I know where I’d be if one of my brothers were murdered. Well, where I’d be if I liked any of them.”

  “Family issues?”

  “Something like that. I think we can help each other, love.”

  “I doubt it.” My voice was cold.

  I remembered the sexual energy he’d sent my way, and while I didn’t see any energy around him at the moment, I didn’t trust that he wasn’t using, or would use, magic to get what he wanted.

  My instincts were failing me. There was nothing that could make me more vulnerable than not being able to trust myself.

  “I know this world better than you. I can tell you who is who. Who is probably lying to you. Who has the most to gain by doing so.”

  I pressed my lips together. He wasn’t exactly wrong, but how would I know if he was being truthful?

  “And I can protect you.” He lifted his hand. A ball of flame appeared in his palm.