Page 86 of A Lick of Flame

“Hello, Maya. It is good to see you,” the farmer says, drawing my attention to him. Only, he isn’t as I remember him. His eyes are brighter…bluer than any human’s eyes can ever be. His ears.

I gasp.

“You’re…you…I…” My mouth gapes open. “What did they do to you?” I whisper.

Orion laughs. “Alexander is the Bloodfae King. I didn’t end up having to find him since he found me. Can you believe it, Maya?” His face is radiant. His smile is infectious.

I smile, too. “Really? Is that true, Xander? Are you a king, too?” I can’t believe it. I’ve known the farmer for years. A Lost King was right under our noses all this time.

He nods. “It would seem that I am, and all it took was a single drop of blood to turn me back into a fae and bring back all of my memories.” He and Thesha share a look that makes me feel strange inside, like I am intruding.

“You were right, Maya.” Orion dismounts. They all do. “For me, it was when Raila hatched. For Alexander, it was a single drop of blood passing his lips. It will be the same with the others. At least we are further along in finding a solution. There is a good chance that with this knowledge, we will be able to find the rest of the kings.” He smiles at me. “Are you going to stay up there all day?”

“I thought we were leaving,” I say, still in shock.

“If you don’t mind,” Thesha says. “We’ve had a long journey and could do with a rest.”

I dismount. “Of course.” I still can’t believe it. “How did you find us?”

I’m sure it would have been like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“We arrived at the orphanage the day after you left. Mother was worried about you,” Xander says. “Apparently, you had been having these strange episodes and had left to seek help.”

“Then we went to the farm, and Franny told us about your visit. She told Xander about the items she gave you, including two of his horses,” Thesha says, taking the saddle off her horse.

“I see that they are being well taken care of.” Xander strokes Copper’s neck. “You told Franny that Mother sent you, which she hadn’t, or she would have told us.”

“We knew that something was going on, so we went back to the orphanage. Your friend Louisa soon told us everything. Please don’t be upset with her; she was very worried about you. She told us all about the fae you had met. That his name was Orion.” She glances at the fae in question.

“And all about the egg and the tether with the whelp. I knew right then that there was a good chance that Orion was the Orion, king of the beastfae,” Xander says. “We knew we had to find you. We suspected that you might need our help,” he says, looking at Orion and then at me. “You need to find a witch to break your tether with the whelp, or you will get sick and die? Do I have that right?”

I nod. “That’s correct, but it is already done. My bond with Raila has been broken.” My throat clogs a little, but only Orion notices. His gaze softens, and he gives me a sad smile.

“Oh, so you found the witch,” Thesha says, her eyes lighting up. “That is good news.”

“Yes. It has been taken care of,” Orion says, giving me a look that tells me not to say anything more about it.

“Actually—” I start to say anyway, wanting to set the record straight.

“It’s done!” Orion cuts me off, speaking in a sharp tone that gets my back up.

“Wow! Already?” Thesha says. “That was fast.”

“Yes,” Orion says. “Indeed.” He doesn’t meet my eye.

“Oh!” Xander looks my way. “Was it painful, Maya? When the bond was broken?”

“It was terrible. I hated every moment. I’m just glad it’s all over,” I say in a flat voice. I can feel Orion’s eyes on me, but I ignore him. Why did he lie? I don’t get it.

“You poor thing,” Thesha says. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

Orion coughs, and when I glance at him, he is red and looks upset.

“Needs must,” I say, looking away again.

Is he ashamed about what happened? About us? About me? That he bedded a human? It’s clear from his reaction that he doesn’t want anyone to know about it.

I know that we were over before we really began, but he insisted that it meant something to him, and now he is acting like we never shared a magical night together.

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