Page 51 of A Lick of Flame

The rest are setting up camp. Night is falling fast. We are already out of the Hourglass, which means we covered plenty of ground. We’re not headed for my territory. We’re going the opposite way. To the land of snow. To the icefae. To…

“You’d better tell me what the hell is going on,” Maya hisses under her breath. “All I know is that you’ve been lying to me, Orion… Or is it Dante? Whatever the hell your name is. Who are you, exactly? A mercenary? A cage fighter? I think not. Why is everyone after you? Why is there such a huge bounty on your head?” She swallows thickly. “Enough gold for a lifetime.”

I look her way. Maya’s jaw is set. Her beautiful eyes are filled with hurt and anger in equal measure.

I sigh softly. “I am those things. At least, I was for a while, but before that, I used to be more.”

So much more. How am I going to tell her? I find that I don’t want to hurt her. When she hears the truth, she will feel betrayed. Perhaps she will hate me all over again. In fact, I know she will…and just as we were becoming friends.

Friends.

The word feels wrong.

Enemies?

No, that feels wrong, too.

I don’t know what we are, only that when I look into her eyes – eyes filled with defiance and anger – I feel something stir inside me. Something that’s best left alone.

20

Maya

How is it that I still find him attractive? Even now, when he’s shackled. His green eyes bore into mine. So vivid they take my breath from my lungs. His lashes are long and thick. His jaw is covered in a dark shadow, his chin smeared with dried blood, reminding me of the situation we are in. His chin is still held high, and his broad shoulders are back. He’s regal in his bearing. I should have seen it.

He lied to me. He isn’t who he said he was.

He lied!

My chest tightens. I know I’m being silly. I made it clear that we’re not friends. He promised to help me get rid of this curse. I told him I didn’t want to know anything about him, but…I can’t help feeling betrayed. He kept vital information from me; I know it, and with every passing second, the feeling of betrayal is growing inside me. It’s eating me alive. I haven’t known him for very long, but we’ve already been through more than most will go through in a lifetime.

He sighs softly, his gaze turning cloudy. “I am those things. At least, I was for a while, but before that, I used to be more.”

What does he mean by that?

“More? They say that you were human. That can’t be. How is it possible?” I heard Bard gasp. I sensed him recoil. I didn’t need my vision to know that the man was shocked to his core when he laid eyes on Orion. I could still see it when the sack came off my head. The anger rolled off the man. That and the same betrayal I am feeling.

“It’s true. All of it,” he insists, his voice a deep murmur. “I was a human with no recollection of who I was before. I believed myself to be a mercenary. Bard found me bleeding and beaten, barely clinging to life.” His eyes lift in thought; his mouth starts to tug into the start of a smile, but he catches himself and schools his emotions. “He often said that it was a miracle I survived. Either it was that or sorcery. As it turns out, the only reason I survived is because I am a fae.”

“It doesn’t make sense. You will need to explain it to me.” My voice is hard and filled with irritation. I have to work to keep from being overheard by the nearby guards.

“Bard wasn’t wrong. It was sorcery. Wicked magic at its best. I didn’t want to tell you the truth at first because I didn’t trust you and then later because I was trying to protect you.” He looks down for a few beats. When he looks back up, his eyes are filled with remorse. “I should have told you last night when I suspected that they knew about me. When I suspected that there was a bounty on my head.”

“Now you’re stalling. Who are you?”

“My name is Orion. For ten years, I thought I was Dante the mercenary. When you touched that dragon egg, you broke the spell that had been cast over me and the others. The spell that made me human, and took away my markings.” He looks down at his shoulder. The one that has a dragon on it. “And all of my memories from before. I didn’t know up until that moment. I was hidden away in plain sight. It’s so damned clever when I think about it. I was about to be killed in the pit when I turned back into a fae. When I remembered everything. It helped me escape. I spent ten long years thinking I was someone else.”

“Who are you?” I repeat.

He swallows thickly, looking away for a few long beats. Then he locks eyes with me. “Maya, I’m the Beastfae King. I’m that Orion.”

I gasp, feeling myself reel with shock.

“The mark on my back proves it. It’s the mark of royalty. The gold within the flames shows my rank, namely the highest rank there is.”

I shake my head slowly; my mouth has dropped open. My eyes have gone wide, so I blink them, trying to comprehend what it is that I am hearing right now.

“The king… No… It… No…” I stammer, stilled stunned.

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