Page 264 of A Flame of the Phoenix

“Jakon killed him,” Faythe said quietly.

Thinking of that had her reflecting painfully on another loss from that venture.

“Atherius was long past her time,”Reylan said through their bond, trying to soothe her guilt.

Faythe knew that too. The Firebird deserved her peace after thousands of years, many in solitude and suffering. Reylan’s hand slipped over her shoulder, and she relaxed under his touch, but the thoughts of Atherius had her mind turning.

With a careful glance behind him toward Nyte, she said,“We need to be vigilant with him. He can’t be trusted, but he’s valuable.”

“If he tries to leave through the mirrors, do you want him stopped?”

Faythe contemplated.“No. We can’t afford another enemy, and we’ll win without another ally we didn’t hope for anyway.”

Reylan gave a firm nod, pressing his lips to her head before they rejoined the others in discussion.

Faythe slipped out of the room when they’d discussed enough for one night. Everything they had to prepare for and set in place would take many of those long sessions of planning. For now, she trusted Reylan, who was already leading charge to position their armies according to the information Tauria had gathered in Valgard.

Izaiah called her name before she could escape anywhere. She didn’t forget what Reuben had told her about his attempts to wield the Light Temple Ruin. That was his reason for staying behind when Rhyenelle fell, and he was the only one she’dentrusted with its safekeeping. Now she was stung with betrayal, but his dropped look of sorrow kept her lips tight if he came to explain.

“Can we talk?”

“I think that would be wise, yes.”

They occupied a small study, and Faythe waited patiently as he paced the floor.

When he didn’t start, she did.

“Why did Malin trust you?” Faythe tried, as gentle as she could.

Izaiah left a pause of heavy silence. “Malin trusted my allegiance to him because Marlowe showed him it. What he didn’t know was that it was an alternate fate where my allegiancewastrue to him. She never told me what events would have turned my heart—she said knowing would only cause an echo of the damage the real fate would have brought. She was so brilliant, so considerate, and kind, and—” Izaiah paused, pressing the heel of his palms into his eyes with gritted teeth. Faythe didn’t try to fight her tears that fell freely. “I should have protected her better, and I’m so fucking sorry, Faythe.”

“Could you have stopped it?” Faythe barely choked out the words.

“Maybe…if I’d acted sooner. It was my error that I didn’t think he would go as far as to kill her and risk your wrath for it. But also…Marlowe told me I would need the Phoenix Blood at the darkest hour. I thought she meant in battle when she knew I would never be able to wield the ruin, and this was at least a smaller advantage to transform into something bigger. But I was wrong, wasn’t I? Did Marlowe ask me to save her, and I…I failed her?” Izaiah’s voice cracked at the end, and Faythe couldn’t resist the need to embrace him.

He’d come to care for Marlowe dearly, and despite the answers she still needed from him, his genuine loss andheartbreak over their mutual friend was genuine. Izaiah clung to her desperately.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Faythe said. “Marlowe’s knowledge has many interpretations, but only the person her riddle was meant for could truly know,feel,when they have the right meaning at the right time.”

They let each other go and fell into a sorrowful reflection.

Faythe said, “I need you tell me why you wanted to wield the ruin.”

Izaiah slumped onto the arm of the chair by the dull fireplace. “It feels completely foolish to admit. I hoped I wouldn’t have to explain—I would justshowyou when I achieved it.” He huffed a resentful laugh at himself. “Could you imagine me of all people swooping in as the savior? It was a stupid fantasy.”

“You can transform into many incredible things that can tear through masses. And as I hear, you can achieve a Phoenix form with the blood potion. What else could you have hoped for?”

Izaiah’s eyes slipped up to her. “Have you ever heard of the Black Phoenix?”

Her mouth fell open. “Of it, yes. Nerida once mentioned it, but…what can it do?”

“It’s a Phoenix that was never meant to exist. It came to being when a fae with a morbid curiosity discovered how to resurrect a Phoenix that was slain, right before it would die permanently. It created a breed of Phoenix that was touched by Death itself. They say its flame can resurrect the dead temporarily. It can raise an army of the undead.”

It was a concept so morbid and inconceivable she couldn’t believe what Izaiah wanted to become.

“Death-touched,” she breathed.

Then her fear for him triggered an impulse to push him for his recklessness. Izaiah lost his balance perched on the arm ofthe chair, falling back into the seat and staring at her like she’d lost her mind.

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