Page 32 of King of Fire and Flames

Refusing to bow or beg for my life, I turned away from the royal family and let Esen lead me to a narrow metal gate set between moss-covered walls at the south end of the arena, its swirls and patterns stained with rust and age.

“Never thought I’d say such a thing to you, but good luck, human. Don’t fall down a fire hole and get your stubborn ass incinerated.”

“And I never thought I’d say this either, but I hope I see you again, Esen. These past days, your sour company has really grown on me.”

As she laughed, I put on a brave face and winked, then stepped through the gate into the shadowy forest.

A sudden wind sprang up, whipping my braid across my face.

But nothing moved. No bird, no shrub rat, no serpent creature.

Bracing my boots wide, I stood as still as a fire-garden statue, listening to my surrounds as if my life depended on it.

Because in all truth, it did.

Chapter 10

Leaf

Taking great care to watch where I stepped, I tried to quiet my ragged breathing, then walked toward the darkest part of the forest.

The air was humid and stifling, and every few minutes, I stopped and wiped sweat from my face with the sleeve of my tunic, wondering how in the dust I would find one tiny plant that didn’t want to be found in this chaos of greenery.

All around me, towering trees and twining vines climbed toward threads of sunlight, and a low mist wove through the undergrowth, wrapping mossy rocks in its damp tendrils. The lack of birdsong was eerie, depressing, and it took great effort to shield my mind from spiraling thoughts of doom.

I had to find the orchid. I needed to survive the next battle. Dying wasn’t an option. Whatever it took to make it out of Fen Forest and take down my opponent, I would do it.

I stopped walking and tuned into the soft rustling sound of leaves, noticing a subtle, irregular chime beneath it that sounded like distant music. Wait… no… was it running water? According to Esen, the orchid grew in damp locations.

Trekking downhill, I pushed aside low-hanging branches, crawling at times over the prickly undergrowth, guided by intermittent sounds of what I hoped was a creek tinkling in the distance.

I stopped a few times to catch my breath, finding the heat unbearable as I listened for the hiss of fire holes and made sure I was still on course to find the water.

Not long after, I arrived at the bottom of the hill where a willow’s graceful limbs swept the marshy banks of a creek. The air was cooler here, the soil beneath the swaying grasses soft and damp, ideal growing conditions for the blood orchid.

Swatting away insects, I crawled through reeds, around rocks, wet blades of grass and ferns tickling and scratching my skin. The pungent scent of rotting leaves and damp earth teased my nose as I carefully parted thorny vines and inspected purple-petaled flowers, a mix of anticipation, hope, and panic pounding through my blood.

After roughly ten minutes of searching, I hadn’t caught a single glimpse of any flowers with black or dark-red petals. The entire forest was a vivid palette of green and brown splotches and slashes, reminding me of Mydorian. A wave of homesickness rolled over me. I stood up to stretch my back, whacking my forehead on a branch.

How much time had passed since I’d entered the forest? Maybe half an hour, and hopefully not a minute more. If I found the plant, I still had to get back to the arena in time to fight an unknown opponent. Whatever species of fire fae Azarn matched me with, perhaps an orc or a jinn, I hoped they were as slow and lumbering as Dorn.

I longed to take off and run through the forest as fast as Quin and I had done when we were children, slashing and tearing at the forest until I found the magical plant. Or fell down a stupid fire hole.

So far, I hadn’t seen or heard a single one, and I was beginning to think Esen had made them up just to slow me down. I never should have trusted her. I was a gullible fool, fabricating a friendship with my prison guard because I was lonely. And pathetic.

After more careful probing along the water’s edge, I walked back up the hillside a little, and then down to the creek again, carefully scanning the lush landscape.

Where in the hells was this dust-damned plant?

A dark shadow passed over me, and I searched the tree canopy above, hoping I wouldn’t see the bone-chilling sight of Taln’s famous dragons bearing down on me with their jaws open. Nope nothing there. Whatever it was, probably a sleep-deprived owl or bat, had probably found a nice tree branch to roost on.

Standing still and panicking wouldn’t get me any closer to finding the orchid. I had to get moving before time ran out and the fire fae left me in the Fen Forest for dead.

Narrowing my gaze, I stared at what looked like a lizard moving through a water-logged clump of rushes a few feet ahead. I focused on the sounds around me, hearing no sizzling hisses. No roars from dragons. As I lifted my foot, ready to take a step, the stench of rotting flesh filled my nostrils.

Branches snapped nearby, and the air temperature rose several degrees.

“I wouldn’t step right there, if I were you,” rasped a voice over badly ravaged vocal cords.

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