Page 3 of Wild Flame

“Leida?” His voice stopped me just as I rested my hand on the door handle. I turned back to him, valiantly ignoring the dragon glaring at me from over his shoulder. “Do not fail me in this.”

Gripping my talisman tightly in my pocket once more, I simply nodded. Then I opened the door and fled.

Chapter Two

After the conversation with my father, I actually did go walking in the garden to clear my head and had just returned to my room when my chamber door burst open.

“Finally, you’re back!” my sister cried as she entered. Though Helene was my twin, we looked nothing alike. Today her long, white-blonde hair fell loose down her back in smooth waves, with only a small braid above each ear to hold it back from her face. Mother would never let me get away with such a casual hairstyle, but Helene could. My sister’s eyes were a bright azure blue, and she was tall for a woman. Her gray Halmarish riding leathers fit like a glove to her lean muscular frame.

I, on the other hand, was small with more feminine curves than my sister, though I still had some lean muscles from my own training. I had inherited our mother’s russet hair, though my pale gray eyes were all my own. I hated them, but Helene said they were striking and almost appeared violet in some lights. Helene was my contrast in almost every way. She always had been. But I didn’t begrudge her for it. I loved her too much for that.

“Father told me he’s sending you to Zehvi for the funeral and coronation,” Helene said, before I could even get a word out. As she approached, her talisman—a beaten metal disc engraved with The Warrior’s symbol of a sword and shield—gleamed from a delicate chain at her throat.

Helene’s golden dragon sauntered in on all fours behind her. Nova’s minor form was smaller than Tarook’s, closer to the size of a cat, and her delicate gold wings were tucked in primly at her back. She leapt up on my bed and greeted me with a soft chuff in my direction before finding a spot amongst the furs there.

Helene had bonded with Nova during the celebrations only a few months after our eleventh birthday. Dragons usually only bonded with humans while they were both young, before the dragon or the human reached maturity, and the dragon’s age often mirrored that of their human counterpart. So, I had grown up with Nova as much as my sister had and loved her almost as fiercely.

There had been a time, especially when we were young, that I had wanted to be a dragon rider as desperately as my sister. But that hope had died in me the night I had gotten my scars—the same night my life had taken a different path. A darker one.

“I wish you were coming with me,” I said, just as my eyes caught on a small, inconspicuous roll of parchment on my bedside table. I froze. Though the parchment was entirely blank on the outside, I knew what I would find within.

The Assassin’s familiar seal. A fist grasping a bloody dagger.

My heart dropped as dread filled me.It had been years since . . .I sucked in a breath. Maybe he wasn’t summoning me for an assignment. Maybe it was for another reason. Maybe—

“Leida?” Helene’s clear voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. I quickly turned from the offending piece of parchment.

I gave my sister an apologetic smile. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

Helene studied me for a moment, then seemed to shrug it off. She threw herself on my bed and stroked Nova’s head. I leaned over and did the same. It was usually frowned upon to touch a rider’s dragon unless given permission, but Helene and I had never had those boundaries.

Helene sighed. “I was saying that I wish I could come too, but Father has me running flight maneuvers with the trainees. Then he apparently wants me to go with him to The Summit with the Elders.”

“Oh, the joys of being the heir,” I teased her. “Poor baby.”

She tossed a pillow at me, but she was smiling. “Yes, while I’m stuck in some dusty tower with a bunch of old, stinking scholars listening to them complain about everything under the sun, you get to travel to Zehvi and spend time surrounded by gorgeous Zehvitian men and going to parties every night.” Helene sighed dreamily up at my stone ceiling as she lay on her back. “Realms, imagine spending a night or two with Prince Malik or Prince Amir.” She shot me a wicked grin. “Malik especially has a reputation for being a gifted bed partner. And for a Zehvitian, that’s saying something.”

“Helene!” I scolded, thoroughly scandalized by my sister’s words.

The Zehvitians were known for being a much more . . .opensociety than we Halmarish were when it came to their sexuality, dress, and manner, though the topics were rarely discussed in polite society. Where had Helene even heard such things?

“This trip is about attending their father’sfuneral,” I emphasized.“They are no doubt still grieving. Lovemaking will be the last thing on their minds.”

This time Helene rolled her eyes at me. “You don’t understand men like I do, little sister. Lovemaking is almost always on their minds.”

I grimaced. She was probably right. Helene commanded men and was around riders and soldiers on a daily basis. She had even had a brief interlude with one of my father’s commanders until he was reassigned outside the capital. She had been discreet, of course, as sexual relations before marriage—at least for a woman—were frowned upon in our kingdom.

I had never even been with a man before. But Helene had shared every detail of her affair with me, so I wasn’t completely naïve on the subject. Though I had to admit to being utterly shocked when I learned what the act of sex entailed.

“Besides,” Helene continued, “I seriously doubt they will be mourning anything. Malik and his father supposedly weren’t even that close. Constantly arguing over the war and other political matters. And I heard Amir has drifted apart from the family in recent years.”

“How do you know all this?” I asked skeptically.

Helene shrugged. “People talk.”

“Well, personally, I would rather visit the Dark Realms than go,” I muttered, sitting on the bed beside her. I had come to this conclusion during my walk. Even if I was excited by the opportunity to see some place other than Halmar, it felt poisoned by what my father had asked of me.

Helene laughed. “It won’t be that bad. Zehvi is actually a beautiful country. Don’t let Mother’s opinions spoil it for you.”

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