A mysterious past, an unrequited love, and a desperate need to find himself, fifteen-year-old Kalyn has enough to occupy him without being on the verge of a massive societal upheaval. Join Kalyn and his friends as they explore what it means to come...
Dager is deposited on the mattress with an indelicate thump, and each of his limbs is bound to the posts. Köv volunteers to stand guard in case any villagers decide to come calling to question his authority, and Mab joins him. No longer can I resent their closeness. I sit on a plush couch (Dager's own house is rife with comforts) and recount my immeasurable luck while Ohna tends to my ailments. We fall asleep, side by side, until morning brings with it a knock at the door.
Paranoia springs instantly to the forefront. Ohna and I approach the door with caution, while Teak looks on from the kitchen. Whoever it is, they must have bypassed my dragon. The worthless beasts snores vibrate the very earth beneath our feet. I open the door a crack, my knife at the ready, and am knocked off of my feet by a force far superior to my own.
"You're alive," Corsa sighs as she constricts the air out of me. How she can still be so strong is one of life's great mysteries.
"Not for long if you keep squeezing me like this," I wheeze, and her hold loosens.
"I had so hoped you would be here. Thank the skies. I checked everywhere else. The twins did not want to come... here... of all places." For the first time, she takes note of our surroundings. The paintings, the intricately carved and stuffed furniture, the golden filigree. When she spits, it shocks me. I realize, though, that I cannot blame her.
"Despicable," she deems. "I bet he has no lack of food, either, while his people starve."
Teak confirms.
"An utter disgrace." While Corsa continues to heap on the unfavorable adjectives, the twins approach.
"It kept you safe," Arri observes. The knowledge in her eyes speaks of experience beyond her years. It breaks my heart to see such an expression in a face so young.
"What did, little mouse?"
She tugs at my sleeve to reveal the leather bracelets. One braided, the other knotted. I kneel to embrace her, and the tears that I have been holding since I left her pour out of me.
"What's wrong?" she asks, frightened.
"Nothing, Arri. You're right. It did keep me safe. And it brought me back to you, so that I could keep you safe, too." It is at this point that she returns the hug.
It is only in view of what is left of my family that I am reminded of who isn't. Corsa, too, seems to be thinking of him. Enos's presence is stronger than ever as we huddle together, grateful for nothing more than we are for one another. I feel Teak's hand, then Ohna's arm around me.
"He's awake," comes a voice from the end of the hall. Each of us looks up, startled and watery eyed.
"Dager," I mutter in explanation to Corsa.
"He's still alive?" Outrage shreds the edges of her voice.
"He needs to stand trial." The woman face each other. Mab confident, ready to explain. Corsa, daring her to try.
"Let me see him."
Uncertainly, we lead her to the bedroom. Dager's breath rasps. In the tatters of his clothes, the places where the fire has touched him is visible for all to see. It is not nearly enough.
"What happened?" Corsa demands of the room. When it becomes clear that Dager will not account for himself, we rush to fill in the details.
"He was going to kill her," I start.
"Had the noose around her neck," Agan adds tersely.
"And then... there was a fire."
"She started it."
"She was on fire."
"Completely."
"It looked like it was coming from her."
Corsa's eyes find Mab. Respect tempered by skepticism. This time, it is Mab who is sheepish.
"It's... a spell."
"The Unconsuming Flame!" I piece together at last.
"The what... what?"
"The Unconsuming Flame," I explain, embarrassed that I hadn't thought of it before now. "I learned it in Inte. The blacksmiths... they get tired of constantly having to haul wood, so they invented this... this spell. It makes the logs impervious to the heat. So they can work for hours and hours without having to chop wood." I had used it numerous times, either to keep the campfire going or a torch it. I had had no idea that Mab was listening. A sly smile overtakes my expression.
"So, you did learn something from them after all." Mab rolls her eyes, but something is still bugging me. "But that spell just saves you from burning. It doesn't start the fire."
"Yeah, that's the funny part." We look at her expectantly as she flushes.
"I may have had matches in my pocket..."
"Why would you have that?" Köv demands. From the look on his face, I suspect he already knows.
"I used to smoke." The shock in the room is more than it had been when she admitted to using the spell in the first place. Her indignation immediately springs into action. "So I'm not perfect! I never claimed to be!"
"Such a filthy habit, Mab," Köv derides.
"Don't lecture me. I've already stopped. The only reason they were in my pocket was because, well... Kal, you remember when you found me at the party? I was stressed out from all of the fanfare?" She looks to me for support, but I offer none. "I was just trying to get a break from it all. But don't worry. I'm done. I promise." She looks to Köv. "And don't ever lecture me." They meet eyes, and, surprisingly, Köv's is the first to fall.
Corsa, undistracted by the gossip, glares directly at the burned man. The distaste on her features is evident. She would have more pity for a slug.
"My father is dead, because of you," she accuses. Her tone wavers, but she forces herself through the emotion, her voice coming out in a snarl. "Both of my parents are gone. My house is ruined. These kids will grow up without a father." This time, the tears do come, but her words are fiercer for it.
"He was a kind and loving man. He was wiser and stronger than you could ever hope to be. And for what? Money? A perverted sense of power? I don't even know! You tell me. How could you do this to us?"
Dager's head shifts weakly on his pillow. Nothing. This lack of reason provokes the grieving woman. Her hand reels back and connects sharply with his cheek. Teak and I hold her back, but she makes no effort to strike again.
"You are weak. You are pitiful. You have no love for anyone in your heart but yourself, and you have made the world a poorer place for it." She sniffles. "I cannot say what I wish to happen—not in front of these kids—but whatever it is that they decide, it is not enough. You can never repay the evils you have done to us." She takes one final, derisive look at him before finishing. "But, you know what? I forgive you. Because you have been miserable your whole life, and you will be miserable for the rest of it. And the rest of us... we will get to go on and forget all about you. You'll be nothing more than a monster in a fairie tale, and I will go on forever in the love that I've given to these kids... and theirs... and theirs."
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