Blue Flames

Chapter 74

Rami stood in the doorway.

Of course he'd be involved.

I stepped up beside Noah. He stiffened and moved to shield me by his shoulder. Persistent wolf.

The flickering light behind Rami gave him a halo. With his long hair, sharp handsome features and dark cloak, he looked like a fallen angel.

Several fae and witches stood outside the cell behind him. Too many for us to take on, especially when they had their magic and we didn't.

"Lady Elle, Alpha. I see you are awake."

"No thanks to you," I said. "Is this what you do in your time off, Advisor? Silver people and lock them in dingy cells?"

He stepped inside. His light eyes glowed silver in the darkness. "I apologize if the accommodations aren't to your liking, my lady. You may leave this cell, if you choose to."

Aha. And I would be seven feet tall, if I chose to.

"Is that why you're here?" I asked. "To let us out?"

He linked his hands behind his back and smiled slightly. The effect was chilling. "Indeed. I only need your help in a small matter."

There we go. "Which is?"

"I want you to summon the phoenixes."

I blinked. I should've expected it, really. Phoenixes were necessary to the ritual of opening a gate to the other realm, according to Kat's interpretation of my mother's sketches.

The thing is that a very select few knew I could summon the phoenixes. I racked my memory. My father might be in those select few.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I told him. "What do you mean, to summon the phoenixes? What phoenixes?"

His smile widened a fraction. He snapped his fingers, and one of the fae behind him stepped in.

A root shot out of the ground and impaled Noah in the stomach.

I stared at the root, Noah's pained groan drowned by my heartbeat. It had broken through the stone floor and took Noah several feet into the air. Blood dripped to the floor.

"It will be much easier on all parties involved if you work with us, my lady," Rami said in his cold, serene voice. The root retreated into the ground. Noah dropped, somehow staying upright. A dark spot slowly expanded on his shirt. Blood.

I swallowed my anger and the snappy response on the tip of my tongue. With silver in his system, Noah's injury would take much longer than usual to heal. But it didn't seem life threatening.

I faced Rami. He looked taller, somehow. More confident. In his element. The fae and the witches looked at him for orders.

"How do you know about the phoenixes?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Why do you want to know? It's not useful information right now."

"I'd like to know everything since I'm probably going to die anyway, won't I?"

He sighed. "If I'd thought you'd be interested in joining us, I would've extended an offer. Unfortunately, you and your savage of a mate are too narrow sighted to see the full picture."

Arthur would just love being called a savage. "You'd be right, I guess. So, who told you?"

He heaved a deep sigh, cocking his head to the side. "So different from your mother, yet so similar. It's a shame things had to turn out this way, truly. However, given my history with your mother and the respect I had for her, I would answer your questions. Your father knew about the phoenixes."