Page 107 of Burning Heir

Before I could respond, he turned and left, his footsteps fading as he disappeared to shower. I stared after him, the words he’d left behind lingering in the air like smoke from a fire long extinguished.

We spent that afternoon at the estate. Kian gave me a full tour of the Lynch family home, besides one room I assumed to be Damien’s. Was it untouched for the isolated years he spent in boarding school?

Seven bedrooms were fully decorated with beautiful paintings of Ravensla. A hand-woven mat carried my feet along the long halls, string and cloth made from the same rich golds and reds that decorated the city. A wine cellar, made to withstand war, held a hundred bottles, some aged from when Veravine reigned.

“Was that Veravine?” I asked, passing by a portrait of a woman. The face was smudged, unrecognizable over the years.

Kian nodded. “This was her home. Most of her belongings were gone when my father claimed the title, but Father kept thisone, although her face was only a reminder of the destruction her death caused.”

“Veravine… it is a beautiful name,” I said.

Kian shrugged. “I heard she was hot, but she’s dead, so that might be disrespectful.”

I swatted his arm. “Do you even have a filter?”

He leaned against the stone wall. “Life is too fast, Sevy. I speak my mind.”

I stared at that smudged portrait once more. It was a love that could crumble city walls. And it wasn’t the Forgotten who stripped this land. It was the stain her blood made on the king’s heart.

After my tour, we ventured into the Grimswire Night Market. Overhead, floating paper lanterns waltzed through the ashen sky, painting delicate veins across the clouds. Along the canal’s gentle waves, candles swayed in harmony. Masquerade masks concealed the faces of the townsfolk, featuring beaks, snouts, and feathers in hues of silver and gold, all swirling through the bustling streets.

Above us, a clan of baby dragons performed an intricate dance in the sky, playfully chasing one another. It was impossible to choose where to look.

Archer rolled his shoulders once, eyes scanning the slowing, beating sun. “What do you say, Blanche? Are you ready to show the people of Ravensla how much you burn?”

“Are you calling mehot?”

“Maybe a bit of a hothead,” he teased, glancing at my hands. “May I?”

“Yes,” I said, a bit too fast.

A swift nod before a cool hand led me to a cluster of people around the bridge. “Do you enjoy it here?” he asked. “The heat must feel different.”

“I think I’d have to see it without the glamor.” I glanced at Kian, gazing at his palms, anticipating that surge of power to manifest. “I wonder what kind of quell Kian will have.”

Archer draped his arms over the bridge, eyes nearly matching the crystal-clear blue water below. “My father will not be happy if it’s shadows. The past Serpent of Night used my mother as a pawn and stole power from Summer so the Night realm could have heat and sun in certain parts. That is why Grimswire looks different than the rest of Ravensla. There is always a silver lining to all barters, bribes, and even deaths. My mother died for Night to have light and sun.”

And she wasn’t even a Serpent, but she’d laid her life to protect her home. “How does one steal the sun?” I asked.

“Daylight quells can trap light. There are a lot of alliances between Serpents. Good and bad. I try to keep mutual with all the realms.”

“Are you and my father on good terms?”

His face stilled like he was about to get into a political ramble with me. “Your father is sitting on one of the wealthiest plots of land in the entire Continent. Whoever becomes his heir must make wise barters.”

Not with the Winter storms growing worse. Not with his wards breaking. I feared if no one claimed title… North Colindale would become another barren land.

“I wonder if Bridger hated me so much because he knew the people did not have to suffer. It felt as though there was never enough food to go around. My father chose to starve his people,” I hissed. I didn’t blame Bridger—it wasn’t forgiveness I felt but understanding. I understood his hatred for my father.

“You love your father. The man you know is his truth.”

“I suppose he could have married me to a Serpent in exchange for seeds.”

“As I said yesterday, you are priceless, Severyn. It would take much more than a rich man of title for your father to use you as a bribe.”

“Why are you not married?” I blurted out. Archer likely had a hundred women throwing themselves at him. I could only imagine those marriage offers he received from across the lands. Beautiful females who’d offer their bodies to him and birth him an heir.

“I spent the last two years understanding what a Serpent is, and most of that time, I was weak from Klaus’s death. I believe in love, Severyn. My parents got married out of a barter. I couldn’t accept that, knowing my mother had given her life over one. Sometimes, I believe that there is more to this world than power. You must fight for what is right, and sometimes that is your breath and your heart.”

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