Page 159 of A Flame of the Phoenix

“Why?” Faythe asked. “Why do you care for him?”

Zaiana’s mouth opened, but her words faltered. She didn’t know herself.

At the sound of a crack behind her, Faythe spun, catching a flicker of cobalt hurtling toward her. She managed to defendherself, her gold magick swallowing his fire. In the same breath she sent a spear of his own fire power back to him, striking his chest. Faythe used Shadowporting next. He was not getting away from her.

Appearing at his feet while he used the wall to push himself back to standing, Faythe swiped a shard of glass from the ground and lunged, cutting her palm, which bled crimson while the edge she pressed into his throat started dripping black.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” he groaned in pain.

“Do you regret anything you’ve done?” Faythe snarled.

Maverick was far too composed. Accepting. He didn’t stare at her with loathing or anger. There was nothing. Absolutelynothingin those onyx eyes.

“No,” he said calmly.

Faythe’s teeth gritted harder, the glass cutting them both deeper.

“Why did you do it? All of it? Marvellas and the masters took everything from you, and yet you did their bidding.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Gods,she wanted to kill him so badly her whole body vibrated with violence. But something was making her hesitate. Perhaps a desperate need to knowwhy.Staring into his eyes was like staring into the dead. Yet she refused to believe his actions were mindlessly evil. Therehadto be a reason, and if she killed him without knowing, she wondered if she would ever find closure over why her father had to die.

“I told you to stay away from her,” Marvellas’s sharp voice bellowed from behind.

Maverick’s jaw twitched in reaction, slipping his sight over Faythe’s head.

“It was an unfortunate crossing of paths,” he lied.

“I’ll take her back.”

Faythe stiffened at the sound of Captain Daegal approaching. Of Rainyte Ashfyre coming to retrieve her.

Faythe sliced Maverick’s neck before she felt the clamp of Magestone around her wrist, causing her to drop the shard of glass. Maverick clutched his neck, which spilled with black blood—not deep enough to kill, but she hoped it would scar.

“I hope you never rest a day knowing I’m going to kill you. Doing so now would be too damn merciful for all you’ve done,” she said venomously.

“I look forward to it,” was all he said.

Faythe couldn’t hate someone more than she did Maverick, but for now, she let Nyte restrain her other wrist and lead her away.

They stopped before Marvellas, and the Spirit looked down at Faythe’s hand bleeding onto the floor. Reaching for her, Marvellas examined her deep cut thoughtfully.

“Your anger is understandable,” she said calmly. Then her blazing gold eyes flicked up to Nyte wearing Daegal’s face. “Dress this properly and leave the Magestone out of her flesh. It seems she might be ready to try to break the ruin again sooner than I thought.”

Faythe’s heart was in her throat for the seconds Marvellas stared at her son, but not even a flicker of recognition disturbed her placid face. It was pure tragedy but a relief.

She couldn’t fathom what Nyte would be feeling.

He pushed her, keeping in character as Captain Daegal. They passed Zaiana, and once again Faythe couldn’t relax with the look she pinned on Nyte, as if he were a puzzle she couldn’t figure out.

Back at the cells, Nyte led her inside then locked the door, with himself outside it.

“What now?” Faythe asked him.

She was aware there was no telling what Nyte would or could do now. She’d made the choice to give him the power of a physical body, and what he did with it was entirely his own control.

“Now, you’re still trapped, and I’m free.”

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