Page 96 of Wild Flame

He sighed. “As I told you before, my father was a complicated man, but I idolized him while growing up. My stepmother was perfectly kind, even though I wasn’t truly her son. She never treated me any differently than Amir. But Amir and I were at odds even when we were young, and we never became as close as I wished. Zara didn’t come along until much later, and so I felt like my father was my only true family for a long time. He was a harsh taskmaster, especially after I bonded with Azrun and began training to be a rider. All I cared about was proving myself to him. Then the war with Baldor started, and it became more and more apparent as the years passed that my father had a cruel streak and could also be underhanded and unaccountably ruthless at times.”

As he spoke, he began playing with my hair, easing it out of the braid as his fingers worked through the strands.

“Eventually, he made me one of his generals, and I fought for my country and my king, as was expected of me. I had to do things in his service . . . follow or pass down orders I didn’t agree with. I told myself it was war and war is complicated.” He paused. “Amir, on the other hand, did anything my father asked without question or conscience. I reigned him in when I could, but . . .

“As the years went on, I tried to convince my father to maneuver a peace with Baldor, but he wouldn’t hear of it. I never learned what my father’s true motives were for starting the conflict. I think it had been going on for so long, and there was so much animosity on both sides, that people had forgotten the true reason as well. But then, a few years ago, he left and refused to tell anyone where he was going. He was gone for a month, and when he returned, he was different. I knew he had something up his sleeve he wasn’t sharing with me.”

“The Moonstone?” I guessed, then groaned. His fingers had finished working through my hair, and now he had begun massaging my scalp. It felt so good, I couldn’t help the sound that had slipped free.

“If you keep making sounds like that, then I’m going to take you all over again,” he growled. “This story be damned.”

“Keep doing that and I might let you,” I sighed.

He chuckled and kissed the back of my neck. The sound stoked the low hum of arousal smoldering just beneath my skin, and I felt him hardening against my lower back. That, combined with the fact that it still felt so intimate to have my hair completely down in front of him, made it difficult to concentrate. But neither of us acted on it, and after a few seconds, he continued.

“To answer your question, yes. I found out my father had been stockpiling Moonstone. The Nine only knew where he had gotten it all from. He never told me. He planned to use the Moonstone against Baldor to neutralize their dragons during keybattles. It would have turned the tide of the war and would have been devastating to their forces. Thousands would have died, not to mention scores of riders and their dragons. I couldn’t condone that, especially not using such underhanded methods. Moonstone is usually so rare that it had never been used in such a manner.”

I turned back to face him, and his hands dropped from my hair. “So you stole it?” I guessed.

He nodded curtly. “I organized a raid with my Fangdar and made it look like the Baldorians were behind it. My father was furious, but it was only after he thought they had the Moonstone and could potentially use it on our forces that he agreed to a treaty.” He brushed a strand of hair from my cheek. “It was only after my father died that I had the Moonstone moved and hidden in the mines.”

“That was nicely maneuvered.”

He only shrugged those broad shoulders.

My mind spun. “So the Baldorians have you to thank for ending the warandfor protecting them from a potentially catastrophic outcome,” I summarized. “And they have no idea?” I couldn’t help thinking of the meeting with Commander Rakim and how he so obviously despised Malik. He had basically outright accused him of being like his father. If he only knew how wrong he was.

“They don’t need to know,” Malik said. “I could not in good conscience allow such an atrocity to occur. Call it atonement for all the battles I didn’t prevent.”

I stared up at him, taking in the sharp masculine features and dark line of his brows.This man.He kept surprising me, and I wasn’t altogether prepared for the swell of pride and affection that overwhelmed me in that moment. I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him. His hand cupped my jaw as he returned it.

“You have nothing to atone for,” I said when we finally pulled apart. “Nothing.” I contemplated him for a moment. “You should tell Commander Rakim. Perhaps it would alleviate some of the animosity between the two of you,” I said carefully.

His lip quirked. “Noticed that, did you?” When I didn’t respond, he sighed and shrugged again. “Truthfully, I’m not sure it would matter if I did.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Rakim is my half-brother.”

I blinked in shock. That was definitely not what I had been expecting him to say. “What? How?"

Malik began tracing his finger up and down my arm. “My father had a Baldorian mistress he kept in the city after my mother died. Rakim is the result of that union. He and his mother returned to Baldor when he was still quite young. I only learned of his existence much later when I was already leading my father’s armies, and he and I had already faced each other in battle.”

“Do Zara and Amir know?” I asked, still shocked at the revelation.

He shook his head. “I wanted to wait until Zara was older to tell her, and I’m not sure if my father ever told Amir.” His finger stopped moving on my skin. “It hardly matters, though. I would have a friendship with him but . . . Rakim wants nothing to do with me and probably never will.”

I still thought telling Rakim what he had done would make a difference to the rider, but if Malik didn’t want to tell him, it was hardly my place to intervene.

Chapter Thirty-Five

The trip back to Taveran was much more pleasant than the one there and much less eventful. Malik and I were onmuchbetter terms this time, and no deadly creatures decided to attack us as we camped.

We had two weeks of bliss once we returned to the palace. We made no further discoveries as to who might be behind the theft at the mines or who was behind the supposed attack on Henevar, but there were no further attacks and no more assassination attempts. Things were relatively quiet, and Malik took full advantage. We couldn’t justify leaving the city when so many things were uncertain, but he did his best to give me something of a honeymoon. Long walks followed by elaborate picnics in the gardens, more long flights on Azrun, and performances at the theater, followed by nights filled with delicious, passionate lovemaking that always left me breathless and aching for more. Malik, I learned, was all a woman could wish for in a partner, and then some.

Our blissful haze was only shattered when word arrived one morning that the party from Halmar would be arriving by thatevening. My elation and excitement over seeing my sister again was quickly smothered by the prospect of having to deal with my mother. They were both coming for the Halmarish wedding ceremony that we would be holding in a week’s time. I had told Malik that I only wanted something small, since we had already had a Zehvitian ceremony, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Even if we were already bound in the eyes of his people, it was still a celebration, and they never did anything by halves.

Zara had taken over planning the event with me and was thoroughly enjoying learning about all the Halmarish customs.

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