Page 37 of Wild Flame

I reached out blindly as I felt his warmth pulling away. “Stay,” I mumbled, hardly conscious of the plea before it left my lips.

There was a pause. I felt myself beginning to sink down into sleep—the heavy, dark sleep that came from drinking too much wine—before the reply came.

“Soon,isholet. Soon.”

But I was already lost to heavy oblivion.

I woke the next morning to a throbbing head, a dry throat, and desperately in need of a drink of water. When I finally had the ability to open my eyes in the painful shafts of sunlight, I glanced down to find my fingernails were chipped and dirty, almost as if I had been—but that was absurd. Surely I hadn’t been climbing?I remembered sitting in my room, feeling like I would come out of my skin if I didn’t do something . . . then I retrieved the drink.

Then . . . everything was hazy.

What had I done last night? Vague images of Malik’s face swam in my mind’s eye. I was confused, then horrified as I realized he had been there last night. Not only that, he had brought me here and put me to bed. Humiliation boiled through me and I laid back in the bed with an arm thrown over my eyes.Curse the Nine!Malik had seen me drunk.I cringed to think what I might have said or done. I never drank. So the possibilities were endless.

My headache was slow to abate, and my stomach was unhappy, so I stayed in bed for most of the morning. Leif had already come by to check on me. I had no plans to go out tonight since it was the Unari celebration, and I would definitely not be attending. Hilde would no doubt have something to say about my missing the celebrations two nights in a row—and a holiday besides—but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going. And as far as Malik was concerned, once again, I vowed to simply avoid him as much as possible.

That plan was foiled, however, when Astrid informed me that it was tradition for the nobility to participate in the city celebrations rather than those in the palace and the prince had requested that I accompany him. There was an excited twinkle in her eye when she told me. She had been rather subdued all morning, and it was good to see a spark of her old self returning.

As yet, no answers had come to light regarding what exactly had happened to her the other night or if she had in fact been drugged by someone. I still wanted to suspect Salim, but knew I couldn’t act on those suspicions unless I had more proof. And Astrid’s memories were murky and unreliable at best.

“Requested?” I asked her. “Or ordered?”

“Does it matter, my lady?” she asked, looking uncertain. “He is the future king.” When she took in my frown, she continued carefully, “But—I am sure you could refuse him if you truly wanted to.”

“You should refuse,” Hilde advised. “It is not appropriate.”

“How will it not be appropriate?” Astrid asked in true confusion. “They will be attended by guards and in full view of the entire city.”

Hilde merely huffed.

Ididwant to refuse Malik’s invitation. Aside from the fact that tonight’s celebration would mean hundreds of bonfires would be lit throughout the city, which sounded like my own personal nightmare, I had no doubt that Malik was only doing this because he wanted to discuss what happened last night or at least tease me mercilessly.

The man was too arrogant by half. He knew I could not really refuse his invitation. What possible reason could I give? Nothing that wouldn’t be seen as a slight from my kingdom to his. Even if I pled a headache or some such thing, I wouldn’t put it past Malik to come to my rooms and check on me. So I might as well go with him. He had really left me no choice, and he knew it.

Trying valiantly to ignore the flutter in my chest at the thought of seeing him, I looked back at Astrid. “All right, I’ll go.”

Her smile appeared, and she clapped excitedly. “Excellent. Now, what will you wear?”

Chapter Fifteen

The moment the sun set and darkness began to fall, I found myself standing with the other residents of the castle in the large courtyard at the entrance of the palace, surrounding the largest unlit bonfire I had ever seen. Everyone in attendance had taken special care with their appearance tonight, but not in the way I would have expected. Everyone was dressed simply—the women in beige or cream gowns and very little adornment or jewelry, while most of the men wore simple pants and tunics, or were altogether shirtless. Their black tattoos and Zehvitian markings gleamed on tanned skin. The restrained form of dress was to represent baring yourself before the Nine and laying everything before them.

I felt entirely overdressed, much like I always did, though Astrid had helped me choose a pale blue gown with shortened sleeves and made of a thinner material. But based on what some of the other women were wearing, I could have just worn my shift.

Malik, of course, looked magnificent, and I couldn’t deny it, not even to myself as he stood in the center of the courtyardbefore the waiting pile of wood and kindling. He wore dark flowing pants, with a white sash around his waist, and his broad, defined chest and muscular arms were bare. The black markings up and down his arms glimmered in the firelight of the torch he held. Heat pooled in my gut at the sight of him and the thought that he wanted to spend the celebration with me.

What could he ever see in the likes of you?

I shook off the errant thought and took in the large dragon beside Malik. Azrun looked as huge and intimidating as ever as he sat back on his haunches, regarding those assembled with gleaming yellow eyes.

I glanced away and looked around, feeling the quiet anticipation that seemed to permeate the air. The torch Malik held was the only light in the entire city, save for the fading light in the sky and the stars that were just beginning to emerge.

Zara, who stood next to me with Mesmera on her shoulder, must have guessed my thoughts. “It’s customary for there to be no fires or lanterns lit tonight, save those birthed from one initial flame. It’s in honor of an ancient tribal tradition signifying rebirth and change.”

Several red-robed priests and priestesses, many of them no doubt Hollow Ones, stood near Malik at the front of the crowd. As the last of the weak light faded from the sky, they nodded to Malik.

He stepped forward without hesitation and lowered the torch. The kindling caught almost instantly, and then Azrun added his breath to the flames. The bonfire burst into blazing life. The heat from it was intense as everyone cheered.

Runners approached with torches and quickly lit them in the flames, then took off to share them with the rest of the darkened city. Many of those assembled were also holding candles and began lighting those as well.

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