Page 356 of A Flame of the Phoenix

“Fate may have stolen my mate, my family, and my life, but it has not stolen justice. You know who did this. You know what must be done. Do not let my death be the end of this story—let it be the reason Mordecai never knows a moment ofpeace. Find Zaiana Vesaria. She is the only one I trust to serve adequate justice, but you should be a part of it too. She’s violent, headstrong; she’s the shadow that lingers even in the dark. Please, brother, as my last wish, protect her. For she’ll try to take this path alone, and I fear this is one too dark for her to make it back to the light when vengeance is had.”

The wind blew over a wet trail Zaiana hadn’t felt rolling down her cheek until Theron stopped speaking. She was grateful for her hood and her face covering to disguise her slip of emotion.

“Maverick would never write something so…heartfelt.”

Theron’s smile was a partial wince as he folded the letter again. “Callen would. That’s why I’ve come to honor it.”

“If you cared so much about yourbrother,then where have you been?” Zaiana yelled. She ripped her mask down to spit her emotions violently. “Where were you while he died inmyarms! Believing he wasno one.Believing hehadno one!”

Misery fell over Theron’s face. “I’ve been in Salenhaven. After the Great Battles…I barely escaped with my life. I don’t recall much of who helped me, nor how I made it across the sea beyond Lakelaria. All I knew was that I wasn’t Theron Orison anymore. I couldn’t be. If I was to survive, I had to start again, and I believed my whole family was dead. Until this letter. I don’t know how Callen knew I was alive and where I was… I guess I’ll never know now, and it kills me. I failed him. But you…you saved him.”

Zaiana’s vision flashed with a white-hot rage. Her hand shook, clutching a blade she’d unsheathed to parry with Kyleer. “Saved him?” she said, her voice as sharp as a blade. “He’sdead.”

“That wasn’t all he said about you in that letter. He’s never spoken about anyone that way who wasn’t his mate. Callen died, but his heart lived on in Maverick…only for you.”

It was like he was giving her praise, and it crawled over her skin so treacherously she wanted to rip off her own flesh to be rid of it.

“You know nothing,” she said coldly.

Nothing of how cruel she was to him. Nothing of how many times she’d hurt him. Betrayed him. And then let him die.

“You’re right. But I want to know everything. You’re the only one who carries the story of Maverick Blackfair. The real story of the monster everyone saw, who had a heart so deeply buried that only you could reach it.”

“Only to tear it from his chest,” Zaiana spat. She may as well have.

“I don’t believe that.”

“I’m not interested in sitting down by a fire with you to exchange tales about themonsteryour brother became. You’ve wasted your time.”

“You’re looking for Mordecai. I want vengeance against him as much as you. He slaughtered my family and destroyed my kingdom. And I know where he might be.”

Zaiana was about to dismiss him again until that final sentence.

“How could you know?”

“Because he has no allies nor reputation in Ungardia anymore. Trying to conquer here would be foolish with the new alliance of the continent and the acceptance of the dark fae. Someone like Mordecai will seek the next highest power that aligns with his vision, and there’s been a tyrant on the throne of Salenhaven’s capital for too long. There’s been whispers of a new ally in his court, but no one has seen them. It might not be him, but it’s a good place to start looking.”

She considered everything he said, torn between wanting to cast him away and resume her mission in solitude, but if she were to go to Salenhaven…she knew nothing about those lands. Theron did.

Zaiana turned away from him to consider this new venture. Leaving Ungardia…she’d dreamed of it before. When thiscontinent felt damned and beyond redemption, she dreamed of flying far, far away. Perhaps beyond Salenhaven, to discover uncharted lands.

But now this continent was saved, and its prospects were bright. Zaiana didn’t want to flee to escape its terrors. She felt compelled to leave as she was only a dark stain on these lands that were moving forward while she was stuck in the past.

“Fine,” she said at last, turning back to her unlikely ally. The resemblance he bore to Maverick punched her in the gut again, but she focused on the differences that soothed her aching chest. “But I warn you, I won’t be kind, and you’re just a means to an end.”

“Understood.” Theron smiled, and Zaiana wished Maverick had smiled that way. So genuine andhappy.Nothing had given him reason to.

With the distraction of Theron, Zaiana had completely forgotten she was scouting for another irritating presence. Until he found her first.

She hissed when a body dropped from the skies behind her and a blade rested against her throat. Kyleer’s warmth seeped into her, and for a second, the threat of the blade was insignificant. His scent filled her nostrils, and she breathed it in. She would spend every month firming her denial that she ever wanted to see him again, but every time he came, it took seconds to obliterate those efforts.

Steel sang, and she found Theron braced with his sword, pinning Kyleer with a lethal look. The Firebird stirred too, its wings flaring and embers skittering off its feathers.

“New friend?” Kyleer said in her ear in a low, seductive tone.

“I thought it was about time I find better company,” she said.

Zaiana hooked her foot around his leg and grabbed his wrist holding the knife. In one swift movement, she slipped out of his hold, and Kyleer stumbled but didn’t fall.

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