Page 60 of Tales of Fire and Embers

“Oh, bab...sorry, Ansgar, it’s absolutely wonderful,” she immediately became excited again. “There’s always sunshine, no matter what you do and where you go, the rays will follow you until late evening, and even then, the sunset radiates warmth and wavy hues across the walls until the stars appear. One time, you took me to this plateau on top of a cliff. It was absolutely amazing, the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, truly a spectacle of light. The plateau is dashed with crystal, which turned smooth from the wind across the years and acts like a mirror to the sky. And we sat right in the middle of it, where the rays of sun connected. I remember being fascinated by it, and I tried to focus on the sunset rather than the way those rays interlocked with your hair and formed a crown on top of your head. I should’ve known then,” she breathed in, holding something behind. Something she did not want to say just yet.

“It sounds magical,” I whispered, grabbing hold of her tighter. I had experienced for myself how cold this cell could become, how the iron bars and columns drew chill from the surrounding ground and became a block of ice. The last thing I wanted for her was to get cold and suffer even more.

“It really is. Honestly, every waking moment I spent by your side felt magical,” the woman explained and I sensed a smile in her words.

“Even those choking parts?” I huffed.

“Especially those choking parts,” she giggled.

“We must have had some interesting encounters, you and I,” I added. From the way she leaned into me, that she did not jerk back at the contact with my injured skin, and the fact that she found solace from this place inside my embrace, I knew we must have been intimate.

“You just focus on getting out of here, and I’ll show you interesting,” she bumped her shoulder into mine, gently.

We continued to chat and Anwen told me more about the forest, about our first few meetings, and how she cooked for me one day, keeping the information cheery and light. It offered her an escape and as she spoke, a wave of calmness overpowered me at the realisation that I had someone to talk to. Someone who did not want to get information from me or discover my weaknesses so they can attack. Someone whowantedto be by my side.

Unknowingly, I let myself float with the sound of her voice, forgetting the pain, the press of the iron against my skin, the wounds, and the dreadful smell of decomposing bodies, and let myself drift into sleep, something I hadn’t managed to do in as long as I could remember.

I awoke with voices, approaching at a quick pace. My shaking awake must have done the same to Anwen, because I felt her jerk in the darkness and grab for me, for my face. She placed both her hands on my cheeks and shifted my head towards where she must have been, as though she could see me through the heavy blackness.

“Ansgar, please, I beg you, we need to get out of here,” she urged, squeezing my cheeks in between her palms with determination.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out,” I said, readying myself for another attack. My pulse started to palpitate, but it did not fill me only with the urge to kill. A new sentiment made way, more powerful than my initial urges had even been. To protect the woman. To do whatever I must to get her to safety.

Anwen sensed it, because she immediately rose alongside me, grabbing me by the arms and squeezing tightly. Or whatever she imagined tight to be.

“No, no, no, you will listen to me,” she adopted a motherly voice, explaining things as one would to an inexperienced youth. “I know they've done something to you to make you want to kill people, but the only way I am getting out of here is by your side. If you stay, I stay.”

I remained still at her words, a heart-breaking sensation overpowering my senses at the truth she spoke. I knew she would. For whatever reason, the woman would stay here with me.

“I don’t want you to do that,” I barely said, my voice rasping with emotion.

“That’s why both of us need to get out of here. You just have to stop killing people and they’ll let us out,” she said it like it was the most obvious solution.

I shook my head, even though she could not see it. “You don’t know what they’ve done to me.” I stopped. “I don’t know what they’ve done to me,” I admitted. “All I want to do is hurt them, destroy them all, until I reach their king and finish him off. There’s something inside me that won’t let me stop, no matter how much it hurts, no matter how injured I am. Even when I want to stop, give up and let them have me, when I want it all over, it forces me through it, overpowering my wishes. I can't control it, Anwen.” I said her name again, the softness of the sound offering temporary relief.

“Oh my god,” I heard her say in between sobs, and her body plastered itself across mine in a tight embrace. I returned it eagerly, pleased to feel the connection.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” she whimpered as her soft cheeks touched my chest. “We’ll get out of here, I swear, we have to.” Her determination felt overpowering, pouring some of her hope onto me. It felt as light as a feather, barely perceptible, but it was there. Another new sensation this woman brought into my heart.

The doors opened abruptly and widely as my entire body tensed, readying my muscles for another battle. The light splayed into the cell, illuminating the mangled bodies and gore across the walls and Anwen’s face along with it.

Anwen’s hazel eyes were wide, scared, and wet, her lower lip trembled and her hands squeezed me tightly.

“I love you,” she managed to whisper before soldiers started pouring in.

Chapter Twenty-One

Ansgar’s face tensed at the sight of the multitude of soldiers making their way inside the cell, an impressive number for the dimensions it held. Splayed along the wall, armed to the teeth and shields high, they formed a barrier. A shower of shivers passed through me at the thought. How many times had they done this before? How many times had they come in huge numbers to attack my mate and how many times did he have to fight them all off to survive?

I barely turned towards them and my instincts screamed to offer Ansgar some kind of protection, so Ishoved my back into his chest, trying to cover as much of his body as I could with my own, making myself a human shield. He must have wanted to do the same because he grabbed my shoulders and tried to push me away from him so he could step in front of me, but we both stopped frozen as soon as Rhylan made his way through the iron doors.

Now that light poured through the opening, I had a proper view of the size of the cell and realised that it was entirely made of iron. So last night, when I laid on Ansgar and he rested against the wall, he wasn't actually resting but frying his back against iron just so I could get more comfortable. My heart sank at the realisation and I immediately wanted to check his wounds, remembering how burnt his skin had been when I chained him on the sofa. I didn't even want to think about what had happened to his back at the contact with an iron wall.

I would do whatever it took to get him out of here.

Rhylan adopted a royal stance as he took a single step through the door, even though most of his body remained outside the cell, and only half of his face and torso had made it through. He looked different, better kept than ever, his dark hair gleaming and determined eyes piercing our minds. He adopted the kingdom’s attire, I assumed, a dark velvet tunic and ebony pants, knee-high black boots, and a cloak, adorned at the shoulders with plated ornaments. He truly looked like a king.

“Good morning,” he uttered with a wicked grin, shifting his gaze from me towards Ansgar and back. “It’s ...nice to find you both alive,” he spat. “Apologies if the reunion was not up to standard, here in the Fire Kingdom we strive to offer our visitors the most romantic of prospects,” he mocked, distaste splayed across his face.

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