Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

The Fire Court walls look like amber, like they’re glowing alive with real flames instead of crystals. The crystals are designed within the very walls themselves, like the fire dragons flying outside the castle built the walls, the archways, and amber doors from the flames of their mouths. I run my hand against the smooth, cool amber walls, seeing the light making the crystals dance within it. It’s beautiful, unlike my dreams, unlike my reality. Everything is broken, including me. I couldn’t sleep, not for a moment. This time, my nightmare is not just about the commander, it’s about Arden and Lysander too. The hate that has built in them has exploded into this living thing between the three of us. I can’t fix them, I wouldn’t know how to start, and sometimes I feel like I’m going to burn trying to get close.

The Fire Court is now safe from Ares and Aphrodite, back in the hands of their king, who they openly adore. It turns out most of the Fire Court hid, protected by deadly fires that the gods couldn’t slip through. However, there were many, many deaths of nobles who chose to stay to keep the gods busy and their families safe. Their bodies are being looked after by the Twilight for now. I’m a stranger here, but I like how loyal they are to Arden. No one in this court was under Aphrodite’s magic; they were too strong willed. The Fire Court lost a few hundred people, including important nobles, but the majority of the Fire Court was safe. It was apparently hard for the gods to invade, to get into the court, and they didn’t have enough time here to do much in the way of ruling.

They were gone when we came back, and part of me wishes they weren’t—just so I could see Emrys and Grayson one more time. I feel like I’m living for seconds with them, moments where they don’t even know me. I don’t even know which court they’ve gone to next, but I hope Arden or Lysander have sent out spies to find out. I don’t think Lysander’s in the castle anymore. I didn’t look or even dare ask Arden, who was silent at my side, but I can feel Lysander’s not close. Arden is close, his emotions like a firestorm. I search for him in the castle, knowing I want to see him, even if he doesn’t want to see me right now. Sleeping is not happening either way.

“What are you doing out here alone? You’re in constant danger, and you should have guards. Where is Arden?” Hope demands, making me jump. I turn to see her storming down the corridor to me, like a wolf that’s found her prey. She looks at my face, and her expression morphs from anger to concern. I don’t want her concern. “You should be sleeping.”

Crossing my arms, I turn away from her and carry on walking. “No, I shouldn’t. I also don’t need guards. I have my powers. Today’s test wasn’t exactly hard work, so I’m fine.” I want to add that I don’t sleep much anymore these days, but I don’t. I hold that truth close to my chest, including how I slept for the first time when I had Lysander there and actually felt safe. “What are you doing in this court?”

“I came through the portal a few hours ago, from the Water Court, to see how things were going. Lysander is there, and I thought it was weird you weren’t with him,” she prods. “He also looked ready to drown his kingdom. What happened today?”

“You probably should stay in the Water Court. Drowning is easier than burning, so I’ve heard,” I mutter.

She raises an eyebrow. “Come on, spill. I’m trying to be a supportive friend for you. Something I’ve never even attempted before.”

“Is it because I’m rich and have a magic castle?” I joke. “Because, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be your sugar mommy.”

She shoves my shoulder with hers. “Piss off, you bitch,” she huffs. “But you are more likeable as a rich princess, I’ll admit that. Now tell me, what the fuck happened?”

I tug at the band of blood red fabric around my chest, which is too tight, and hope I don’t trip on the matching long skirt that falls from my hips to my feet. The Fire Court fashion is very revealing, so I’ve learnt, but it’s nice to be able to breathe in my clothes. Hope looks boiling hot in her short-sleeved black top and tight leggings. I tell her everything as we walk throughout the castle, a castle she clearly knows better than I do.

Eventually she leads me out to a balcony that overlooks the many lava pits, the looming massive volcano in the distance. I’m not sure where the people of the court exactly live—everything is just full of lava. Hope has been silent for at least ten minutes, a personal record for her, and I clear my throat as I breathe in the smoke scent. “Where is the city?”

“The city is behind here on the other side of the castle. There are a few villages, but most live in the city. It is spread out within the mountains,” she explains. “They live next to the lava, and they make food on the fires. They respect the volcano, which fuels their power.”

“I hope Arden wants to show me it in the future,” I whisper, a bitter sting in my chest.

“Lysander fucked up, and you fucked up by not telling Arden everything before you were forced to,” she states, stepping to my side. “But I’ve annoyingly learnt you love them, really love them, and you should fight for that. You have been through so much together.”

“It’s my fault.” I pick at my nails. “And how could Arden want me after this?”

“Insecurity is overthinking gone wrong. Ask him. I’m certain he will want you.” She wipes a hand across her forehead. “I really prefer the Water Court.”

I know I shouldn’t speak about Lysander with her, but it slips out. “And Lysander’s cut himself off from me, from our bond. I can barely feel him, but I know he’s in pain. I should go to him too.”

Her shoulders tense for a second. “Let him stew about what he has done. It’s strange without Grayson and Emrys to make a wall between them, like they always have. They always had rivalry growing up, and I always thought they were less friends and more just acquaintances, but they had each other’s back. I never thought Lysander would want to kill him. Arden called Ly a brother. It surprises me that he did this. Even for him, this is bad.”

I nod. “It surprised me too when I got to know them. I don’t think he actually wanted me to kill him. Deep down, I think he would have stopped me if I had gone through with it. He would have stopped himself, too. As bitter as he makes himself out to be, he’s not. I mean, I can literally feel his emotions, feel his soul. I know it’s not all made with cruelty.”

She sadly smiles at me. “I know that too, but he doesn’t, and that’s the problem. He wants himself to be the villain so badly that he won’t possibly let anyone see the light, see the goodness that he got from his mum, not just the wickedness from his father.”

“I’m sorry. You’re the last person I should be talking about Lysander with,” I mutter.

Hope touches my arm. “It’s fine, really. I’m growing as a person, or trying to. I’m going to sleep and then train in the morning if you want to join me. We can get even over training as I kick your ass.”

I laugh. “I was trained by the god of nightmares about how to fight. You might not want to train with me now. It won’t be just muscle memory kicking in.”

“Sounds like I want lessons from you then,” she says with a wink, walking to the door. “As for Arden, his father’s laboratories are down those stairs. Whenever he’s angry, he usually goes there to think. No one else goes down there. It’s pretty terrifying.”

I look at the stairs. She is right; he is down there. “Thank you, Hope.”

“It’s annoying that I like you,” she replies, walking away.

I laugh again. “I find it annoying too!” Her laugh echoes to me as she heads down the pathways, and I’m left alone with the bright orange lava, spitting fire, and endless night skies. I’m starting to realise that Hope is becoming my friend and I care about her. It’s really strange considering I hated her when we met. If Hope and I can become friends, then anything is possible, and I have to face Arden.

I walk down the steps. I feel Arden closer with every step, knowing he must sense that I’m here too. At the bottom of the steps are two glass doors, thick glass that’s heavy to open, but I pull on one and step inside. It’s a laboratory, full of desks and smothered with strange potions on lined shelves, twisted tubes, and bubbling fires. There’s a strange smell of chemicals in the air, and he is here. Arden. He has his back to me, every single one of his muscles tense under a dark red shirt as he works at the desk. His sleeves are rolled up, his black hair tied at the base of his neck, and he goes still. “Can I come in?”

“Considering you’ve already stepped through the door, my answer is kind of a moot point.” I smile at his joke, but he doesn’t look back at me. “I know you’ve been through a lot of shit recently, so it’s really best you just don’t come any closer while I’m mad. I don’t want to say anything to upset you, and I need to calm my thoughts down. My dragon…it’s not happy. You’re our mate, princess, and you lied to me.”

His words cut deep. “I don’t want that.” I walk closer. “I want us, a genuine relationship, the reality of it all. We can’t hide from each other when it gets messy.” He pauses what he was doing, placing his hands on the desk and bowing his head.

Running my hand over his back, I slide in between the desk and him, my ass touching the cold metal desk. My heart is racing as I look up at my mate, my fire dragon king. He looks down at me with his fire red eyes, just so utterly beautiful and so hurt. “Talk to me. Please.”

He watches me as I place my hands on his chest, messing with his buttons, breathing in his firewood scent. “You chose him over me. You chose to protect his secret, his mistake, over telling me the truth.”

I blink. “I didn’t choose him over you, Arden. At first, when he blackmailed me, I said yes because I didn’t know you as anything but the kidnapping dragon who burnt a man in front of me. Can you remember that I didn’t know you, not at all, and for me, it was easy to pick my grandmother over a stranger? I didn’t do what he asked. I chose you over my family. I picked you, my love for you, over what my destined mate wanted me to do. The thought of hurting you is sickening to me. I hate that I hurt you by trying to protect you. I should have told you with the riders, when I had many chances, and it was wrong of me not to have done. I thought I was protecting you, because I knew the truth would hurt.”

“Like I did to you, sending you to Earth?” he whispers.

“We have both fucked this up,” I mutter, leaning up to him. He doesn’t need any more encouragement before he kisses me deeply, passionately. Any space between us is gone, washed away. We might both be broken, but we can fix each other’s cracks.

I moan into his mouth, pulling at his belt, and he places his hands over mine. “Are you sure, after⁠—”

Pushing away from the desk, I slide to my knees. “I know what I want and what I want to forget.” Arden is still as I finish undoing his belt on my knees. He digs his hands into the desk as I pull down his trousers, boxers too, until his cock is in front of me. The desk groans with how hard he grabs it when I wrap my hand around the base of his cock and suck the tip into my mouth. I know we should talk. We shouldn’t be doing this to solve our problems, but I need him close. After everything, I need him to show me that I can have him.

“Princess, fuckkk,” his moan echoes around the room. I don’t make him wait before I sink my mouth down his cock, as far as I can go, but damn, he is long, and he hits the back of my throat far too quickly. I use my hand to stroke up and down the base of him as I work the top of his cock with my mouth, feeling him tense with every stroke, noticing his every move. I barely get to suck on him for a minute before he is pulling back, lifting me up, and turning me over the desk. He pushes up my long skirt, rips off my underwear, and pulls my legs apart. Leaning over me, he strokes his hand up to my core. “You’re soaking my fingers, Ellelin.”

“Then do something about it,” I suggest, looking at him over my shoulder. His eyes flash with the challenge, and he lines his cock up. In one thrust, he is inside me, and he feels so perfect. I moan as he ruthlessly fucks me on his desk, every thrust moving the entire desk across the floor until it hits the wall and it has nowhere else to go. Neither of us notices the desk much, and I can only focus on the feel of him inside of me, the need to come so badly that it almost hurts. “Arden, please. I need⁠—”

“I know what you need. You’re mine,” he growls, biting down on my shoulder, his hand sliding between the desk and my core. He rubs my clit fast, and I’m crashing into an orgasm within moments.

“Arden!” I cry out his name as I come around his cock, tightening around him, and he thrusts two more times before going still, coming hard inside me. He lifts me, turning me on the desk and holding me against his chest as we both calm down.

I draw circles on his chest, noticing the grooves in the metal of the desk. “I think we broke the desk.”

Arden chuckles and holds me tightly. “It’s just become my favourite desk. Those are marks of honour to me.”

I shake my head, grinning up at him as he lets me down. “Are we okay?”

After I finish pulling down my skirt and tidying my top, he pulls me into his arms. “I love you, Ellelin. No more secrets. We are okay.”

I clear my throat. “Lysander⁠—”

“I don’t want to talk about Lysander with you. Not yet,” he interrupts, and his tone makes me stop. We have pushed enough today.

“How about you show me your rooms here? What’s your favourite place of yours in the court?” I change the subject. “The Fire Court is so beautiful.”

“Like you are. This is my favourite place, second to being inside you,” he states, waving his hand around, making me chuckle. “It was my father’s place, but it’s now mine. I feel closer to my parents when I work in here. The door is spelled to scare unwanted visitors.”

I look around. It didn’t scare me away, so he let me in. Even upset with me, he wanted me to find him. God, I love him. Science was never a strong subject for me at school, or even one I understood well. “What do you make in here?”

“Cures, potions, changing elements from one thing to another.” I can feel the excitement in his every word. He shows me a load of rocks, some of them absolutely dazzlingly beautiful. “We mix magic and elements together here to fix things too, like this, for example.” He shows me a small purple potion. “I invented this. About twenty years ago, there was an outbreak of a deadly virus. I’m not sure what you call them on Earth. It spread fast and killed dragons, young and old. No one could figure out what it was. My father worked on it for years. Two years ago, there was another outbreak, and I figured out this cure. It took me a while, a lot of experimenting, but no one died. I kept the ones that had caught it alive and stopped the spread across my kingdom. I regularly trade cures with the other courts and mix their knowledge with mine so we can keep disease at bay.”

My smile is wide. “That’s amazing and⁠—”

I pause mid-sentence, hearing Terrin shout a warning in mind: “Danger is coming for you.” Terrin. I miss him and wish I could simply just take myself to the Spirit court to be near him, but I can’t do that. Not yet. I know going back to the Spirit Court will be different, meaningful to my people there, and I want to be able to have a way to permanently fix what my father did. It doesn’t make it any easier not to be with Terrin, doesn’t push the ache away. He is my mate, and our bond is strong even with the distance. Even with the Spirit Court magic hanging between it. Speaking to him in my mind is like shouting at a great distance, underwater, and even then it’s hard to hear.

“Terrin just said⁠—”

“I heard him in your mind,” Arden interrupts, taking my hand and leading me towards the door. “You can hear in my mind, too. Just reach.” I hear a dragon roar, echoing loud above the castle, calling for us. “I’m used to dragon roars, but that sounds nothing like anyone in my court.”

“Let’s go outside and face this,” I suggest. There is no point ignoring whoever it is. Terrin is annoyed at whoever it is, but we are too far apart to communicate well. Arden goes out and jumps off the balcony, shifting into his massive black, red-tipped, scaled dragon before swinging around and floating near the steps. After climbing the banister, I get onto his back, and he shoots off into the sky.

Suddenly a dragon slams straight into us, going straight for Arden’s throat, and I can’t see anything but darkness. Before it can dig its teeth in, I throw my shadows at the dragon’s face and it roars, falling off and into the sky. Arden spins so fast I barely manage to hold on before he straightens in the air. The black-scaled dragon, slim and fast, reappears, flying directly in front of us. I know this dragon. It’s the commander’s dragon. My blood runs cold as I look across to see Tsar Aodhan on her back. For a moment…I thought the commander would be sitting there.

He’s dead.

He’s dead.

Aodhan shouts, his voice reaching me through the wind. “You took my army of dragons! You killed my brother. You’re a stealing fucking witch!”

Arden roars, flames spitting between us in a clear threat. I shout right back. “He deserved to die for what he tried to do to me. Do you know what he did?”

“I heard rumours. It’s not like him, he didn’t do it. You’re a liar, sent to my army to kill and steal,” he snarls. The sky is quickly filling with Fire Court dragons surrounding him. “You even spelled my dragon into breaking our bond and leaving with the army. The only loyal dragon left is my brother’s.” She snarls at me to make a point.

“I do not lie. And they’re my army now!” I shout back. It’s quiet enough that he hears every word. “They’re my people, my court, and they always have been. Whether they ride or not, they do not belong to you.”

His look will haunt me, the pure anger and promise of revenge. “I don’t know what’s going on in your courts, but I’m coming for you. One day, one time, when you don’t expect it, I will ruin your life.”

Arden’s voice fills my head. “I can kill them. They won’t touch you.”

“No, let him go. He has a wife and a child. Time will make him forget and move past this,” I answer, watching Scathitine fly away with my new enemy.

Arden grumbles, flying in the other direction, back to the castle. “If he comes back to the courts, he’s dead. No second chances.”

Something about the look in that dragon’s eyes tells me I will see them again and I will regret letting them go. She is Terrin’s sister, and I can’t help the swell of disappointment I feel knowing she didn’t choose to fight for Terrin and me. She chose the tsar and his lies. Terrin will have to speak to his sister, make her see sense. I will ask him about it when I see him next.

We land back on the balcony, Arden shifting back. There is a guard waiting for us, and he bows to Arden. “We have news. The Earth Court is under attack from the gods.”

Grayson.