“I see,” she said, although she didn’t sound convinced. She was no longer crying though, and instead regarded me with a curious expression on her face. “You could have kept walking.”
I gave a casual shrug. “I like this spot.”
The slightest hint of a smile crossed her lips. “Me too.”
For the next few minutes she wiped at her soot-streaked face and stared off into the fields, while her breathing slowed and her shoulders relaxed. I stood near her in companionable silence, though I had to fight the urge to wrap my arms around her and tell her everything would be okay. She didn’t need my pity or my comfort, anyway. She was already strong and brave and didn’t want someone to save her. She simply needed a few moments to remember all that.
When she rose to her feet, she was steady again. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I asked.
“For being here with me.” She moved close and pressed a hand against my black leather jerkin, looking up at me with those intriguing eyes. “For letting me have a moment to calm down while still showing me I wasn’t alone.”
“You’re reading way too much into my actions.” I should really move away. I didn’t.
“Maybe so,” she said, but then she slid her arms around my chest.
My entire body stiffened at her touch. It took me a moment to realize she was hugging me, of all things. Gods, when was the last time someone had hugged me? I couldn’t even remember. Was it my parents, before the Crimson Dragon had taken them from me? Or was it Mara, before she was killed?
My throat grew tight as emotions I tried to keep tramped down suddenly flooded me. My grief and pain at seeing the burning house and the Crimson Dragon must mirror Kira’s own, and maybe on some level she sensed that. Though I couldn’t talk about it, and wasn’t sure I would ever be able to, I understood more than anyone what she was going through.
My arms came up of their own will and circled her, pulling her tighter against my chest. She breathed out a light sigh and softened into my embrace, resting her head on my shoulder. Time melted away as we held each other, and a terrible yearning filled me as I slowly ran my fingers through her hair. For a few seconds, I imagined what it would be like if I let myself become one of her mates and could hold her like this anytime.
Startled by that train of thought, I pulled away abruptly and stepped back to put some distance between us. I’d let myself feel too much, but that was over now. I locked all those emotions away in the dark recesses of my mind, until I was calm and cool again, like ice.
“We should head back before your boyfriends start to miss you,” I said.
I turned away and began walking toward the others before she could open her mouth and make me stay with the slightest word. She made me feel too much, and that was dangerous. Caring for people made you vulnerable, and emotions made you weak.
I knew that all too well.
28
Kira
On our seventh day of traveling we finally made it to the Fire Realm.
According to Jasin, there was no way to avoid the border crossing here. This part of the Fire Realm was walled off as far as the eye could see, and the only way through was at one of the gates, which were all manned by the Onyx Army.
Jasin donned his black and red uniform, which he still had packed away, and led us to the gate. Onyx Army soldiers in full armor with red markings on their shoulders scrutinized us as we approached. Archers stood on the walls, ready to strike us down if we made a run for it.
A soldier wearing a helmet with red dragon wings on it stepped forward and held up a hand for us to stop. “What is your business in the Fire Realm?” he called out.
“I’m escorting these people to Ashbury,” Jasin said.
The soldier removed his helmet. “Jasin, is that you?”
“Gregil?” Jasin flashed him a smile. “Good to see you. What are you doing out here?”
The soldier chuckled softly. “Stuck on border duty for this quarter. You know how it goes.”
“That I do.” He gestured to the rest of us. “I’m just taking some friends and family to Ashbury to visit my parents.”
Gregil nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem, although we need to search through your things.”
Jasin groaned. “Do you really? We’re in a bit of a rush, and you know me, after all.”
“Sorry, General’s orders. Shouldn’t take long.”
We were asked to dismount and step aside, while four soldiers took our horses and began going through all of our things. Every muscle in my body turned into a tight knot as I watched them, though I couldn’t think of anything suspicious we might be carrying. As they searched, Jasin moved to the side to speak quietly with Gregil. Reven crossed his arms and pretended not to care, but I sensed a tension in him, as if he could snap into action at a moment’s notice. Auric looked worried, and I wondered if he was scared they might find his journal. Slade, on the other hand, seemed far too calm considering the situation.
“You sure have a lot of weapons for ordinary travelers,” a female soldier said, giving us a suspicious look.
“Can’t be too careful these days,” Slade said casually. “There are bandits everywhere. Especially in the Earth Realm.”
She sniffed. “Maybe so. In the Fire Realm we take care of threats like that so our roads are safe.”
Slade smiled at her like they were good friends. “So I’ve heard. Hence why I’m moving here.”
The soldier nodded at that as if it made perfect sense and continued her search, but her suspicions seemed to have eased thanks to Slade. But as we waited, I heard someone shout behind us, and a man yell, “No, please!”
I turned toward the sound, where a young man was being dragged off a horse by another soldier. The man cried out again, but the sound cut short when the soldier thrust a sword into his throat. My eyes bulged and my own hand went to my neck in response. I’d heard the Onyx Army was especially brutal in the Fire Realm, like the Dragon they served, but it was different witnessing it in person.
“A thief,” the female soldier said. “Got what he deserved.”
“Naturally,” Slade said, though his voice had shifted, becoming harder.
As the man’s blood stained the road beneath us, I forced myself to turn away. There was nothing we could do for him. Even if we’d tried to help, that would only have gotten us killed too. But knowing that was little comfort.
When they finally let us go, we mounted our horses again and were allowed to move through the gates. On the other side I saw all the preparations to defend against elementals, but also spotted more dried blood and smelled a whiff of death. I could only relax again once the gate was far behind us.
The land here was flat, with great plains that spread as far as the eye could see and an endless sky full of large, fluffy clouds. Far in the distance I could barely make out the mountains where we were headed. The Fire Temple was located at a large volcano on the other side of those tall peaks, and Auric estimated we should be there in two more days.
None of us knew what to expect when we reached the temples. Though the Gods were still worshipped in theory, most people had forgotten about them over the years, and instead had begun to worship and fear the Dragons. We knew the Dragons got their powers from the Gods, but the Gods were distant and immaterial, while the Dragons were things we could see, hear, and fear. Few people made the pilgrimage to the five temples anymore, though Auric said that there were still priests tending to each one. Hopefully they would be able to give us a little more guidance or offer some much-needed answers.
As we approached the mountains, the plains turned rockier and the sky turned dark with thick, black clouds. I pulled my hood over my head just as rain began to fall. The spring shower was cool and refreshing after a long day of travel, until it turned into a heavy downpour that soaked us all through.
“I thought the Fire Realm would be warmer,” Slade muttered, from where he sat in front of me.
“We need to get out of this,
” Auric said. “We should make for the town at the base of the mountains.”
Jasin frowned as he glanced in the direction of the town. “That’s Ashbury. Not a good idea. Someone might recognize me there. Plus, it’s a pretty large city, second only to the capital of the Fire Realm, Flamedale.”
Auric spread his hands. “We can’t exactly camp out in this.”
Jasin snorted. “Sure we can. What, not good enough for a prince?”
Auric glared at Jasin, while the rain continued to pummel us. The only one who didn’t seem to mind it was Reven, who somehow remained dry through it all, like the water simply flowed around him. Having his powers would definitely come in handy right now.
“It wouldn’t hurt to get supplies and a decent night’s sleep before we set off for the Fire Temple,” I said.
“More supplies?” Reven asked skeptically.
“Food, specifically. You guys eat as much as a small village. We’re going to need a lot of it since Jasin says the land around the volcano is basically inhospitable.”
Slade dismounted and placed his hand flat on the ground. When he straightened up, he shook his head. “There’s no other shelter around here.”
“To Ashbury it is,” I said.
We ducked our heads and headed deeper into the storm with the promise of a hot meal and a warm bed urging us on. None of us spoke as our horses plowed through the storm, as eager to get out of it as we were.
By the time we got to Ashbury my clothes were completely soaked through. This city was one of the larger ones I’d seen and had a massive stone wall around it, along with a wide moat and fiery brazier burning bright every few feet, even in this downpour. Not to mention, a whole lot of soldiers.
By some luck, the guards—who looked as miserable as we were to be out in the rain—waved us through the gate without even inspecting us. I tensed as we passed through the metal entry, worried we’d encounter some trouble, but we made it into Ashbury without incident. The city was full of great stone structures with pointed, sharp architecture, but the streets were nearly empty at the moment.
As soon as we made it fully inside the town’s walls, the rain fizzled out.
“Figures,” Jasin said. “Should we keep going or stop here?”
“I’m not sure,” Auric said.
“It could start up again at any moment,” Reven said, gazing at the sky.
“Not sure about you, but I trust the water guy,” Slade said.
“Let’s stop,” I said. It was still early and we were making today’s progress even slower, but if it started pouring again we would be caught in it. Besides, we really did need more food—I couldn’t believe how much these four men ate.
We found a quiet inn that wasn’t on a main road where we could stop for the night and not draw too much attention. We left our horses there, but it was too early to eat or sleep, so we decided to do our shopping now while the sun was returning to the sky and the city was slowly drying off.
We headed for the market, but were slowed by a large crowd forming around a raised platform in what appeared to be the town square. Soldiers in black scaled armor stood watch around the fringes of the crowd, while more walked out onto the stage. Jasin pulled his hood low over his head as we moved between the people looking at whatever was about to happen.
“What’s going on?” I asked, straining to see over the crowd around us.
Reven met my eyes, his face grim. “An execution is about to begin.”
29
Kira
My stomach dropped out from under me at Reven’s words. As I stared at the platform, I noticed something I’d first missed—a large pyre. They were going to burn someone alive. But who were they executing and why?
Jasin’s eyes darted around, his hand resting on his sword. “We should get out of here.”
“I agree,” Slade said. “Kira shouldn’t be here for this.”
A huge man stepped onto the platform and loomed over the crowd in his shining armor, the large dragon wings on his helmet flashing under the sun. Unlike the other soldiers, his armor and helmet were blood red.
Jasin swore under his breath. “That’s General Voor.”
“You know him?” I asked.
“I served under him for two years.” He gripped my arm. “We really need to go. Now.”
Auric glanced at the soldiers around the edges of the crowd. “It’s too late. If we run out of here now it will be suspicious.”
On the platform soldiers began dragging out a row of people who were all tied together in a line. They stumbled forward, at least ten of them, both men and women, young and old. One of them couldn’t be more than twelve or thirteen, while another looked closer to her sixties.
“These people have all been found guilty of being part of the Resistance,” General Voor called out, his voice oddly metallic from behind his helmet. “By order of the Black Dragon they will pay for their crimes. With fire.”
I watched in horror as each prisoner was moved toward the pyre and tied to stakes rising out of it. The young boy stumbled and fell, and a woman I assumed was his mother jerked toward him to help. A soldier pushed her back hard, while another one roughly shoved the child toward the fire pit. The crowd remained hushed the entire time, although I caught a few people silently crying into their hands, while others nodded in support at the General. The soldiers glared at us from the sidelines the entire time, ready to step in if anyone got out of line.
“We have to help them,” I blurted out, surprising even myself.
“We can’t,” Jasin set, his jaw clenched. “I don’t like this any more than you do, but if we get involved we’ll only put ourselves in danger.”
“But we have to do something!”
“We can’t. We’ll expose who we are and likely get ourselves killed in the process.”
“I’m with Jasin,” Reven said. “We need to stay out of this and lay low. Besides, it’s not our fight.”
“Of course it is!” I turned to Slade and Auric. “Surely you don’t also think we should just stand here and watch these people die?”
Slade stroked his beard slowly as he considered. “I agree we should help them, but only if we can get you out safely first.”
I huffed. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His green eyes met mine. “Kira, I don’t like this any more than you do, but my responsibility is to protect you first.”
“I’m going to help them whether you join me or not. So if you want to protect me, I suggest you stick by my side.”
Auric eyed the platform as if it were a puzzle to solve. “Is there a way to rescue them while making sure we all get out alive and don’t reveal our powers?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But this is why we were given these powers. To stop the Black Dragon and her followers.”
Jasin ran a ragged hand through his short, damp hair. “Maybe so, but we’re not strong enough yet, and there are too many soldiers. And trust me, we do not want to get General Voor’s attention. ”
“We need to create a diversion,” Auric said. “Jasin can set something on fire to distract the soldiers, and then we’ll go in.”
“This is a really bad idea,” Reven muttered.
I gave him a sharp look. “Then come up with a better one, because we’re doing this with or without your help.”
“Fine.” Jasin glanced around, as if checking where we were. “This city has underground tunnels that the Resistance use to get around. There’s an entrance behind that shop over there.”
“Where do the tunnels go?” Reven asked.
“To different parts of the city, but also beyond the walls.”
“How do you know all this?” Auric asked.
Jasin hesitated. “That doesn’t matter right now.”
Determination crackled within me as the plan came together in my head. “So we distract the guards, free the prisoners, and get them to the tunnels, where we should be able to escape?”
“Exactly,” Jasin said.
<
br /> “Oh, is that all?” Reven asked sardonically, shaking his head.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Slade asked me.
I swallowed and glanced at the prisoners on the platform, who were now all tied to the stakes and awaiting their fate. All my life I’d stayed out of trouble and kept my head down in order to survive. I’d never wanted to fight for a cause or overthrow an empire, I’d just wanted to survive another day. But if I was supposed to save the world from the Black Dragon, I couldn’t hide in the shadows forever. Not if I wanted to fight for what was right.
My back straightened with resolve. “Yes, I’m sure. The Gods chose us so we could bring balance back to the world. It’s time we started doing that.”
“If we’re going to do this, we need to hurry,” Slade said, his face grim. “They’re lighting the pyres now.”
“Cover your faces and get to the prisoners. I’ll cause a distraction.” Jasin ripped some fabric off his shirt sleeve and tied it around his face to cover everything below his nose. Then he raised his hood again, so that all I could see were his eyes.
I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a quick squeeze. “Be careful.”
He rested his forehead against mine briefly. “You too.”
“We’ll keep her safe,” Slade said, resting a hand on my back.
Jasin gave him a nod, before slipping into the crowd. We covered our faces like he’d done and started toward the stage, weaving around the people in front of us.
Someone shouted as an empty cart in the middle of the crowd went up in flames. Panic spiked in my chest, even though I knew it was Jasin’s distraction, and I forced myself to stay calm. People around us began screaming and pushing to get away from the fire, while soldiers rushed forward to investigate. I prayed Jasin could get away safely.
Unfortunately, the soldiers on the platform barely paused. General Voor instructed a few soldiers to deal with the blaze, but that still left half a dozen more, including the one setting fire to the pyre where the prisoners stood. With the twitch of his hand, Auric created a heavy gust around the pyre which repeatedly put the fire out, while we continued forcing our way through the crowd. But the soldiers were relentless, and eventually they got a true blaze going.
Stroke The Flame Page 12
