Page 1 of A Blaze of Fire
1
VIOLET
His cold stare shook me to my core and I was frozen in place, unable to move from utter fear. Dark, marble-like eyes stared back at me, devoid of any shred of humanity. His shoulder-length black hair looked silky to the touch and his neatly trimmed beard made him seem fierce. I tried to see what similarities we had but couldn’t find any.
Kazimir—my sperm donor, or so they say—stood before me as the representative sent by the Unseelie King, which was certainly an unexpected move. Alec was wound so tight, the muscles in his shoulders looked like they were about to pop.
“Why would the King sendyou?” Alec asked as he shut the door behind Kazimir and turned to face us.
Kazimir’s full attention was riveted on me. The Unseelie General shrugged. “You’ll have the chance to ask him yourself once we return to the Fae realm.”
My eyes widened slightly, eliciting a smirk from Kazimir. He knew I was nervous about going.
“Before we go anywhere, I want to know the King’s response to my letter.” Alec moved between us, cutting off my view of Kazimir. “She’s not going anywhere unless she feels safe.”
Kazimir chuckled. “And you think you have the power to promise that?”
“Imay not … butshedoes.” Alec jabbed a thumb my way.
A quiet stillness engulfed the room before Kazimir said, “The King will offer her asylum … for now.”
Alec nodded in agreement, but I wasn’t stupid. I caught the underlying message. The hypothetical sanctuary was temporary. The Unseelie King could change his mind at the drop of a hat and my asylum would go out the window. I didn’t care for the thought of travelling to another realm with only temporary safety.
“But I’m also here to estimate her worth,” Kazimir said calmly. “If one is to believe she is what you say she is.”
At that ominous statement, I grew nervous. Alec was insinuating I had power, when in reality we didn’t know if I hadanything. He’d just removed my iron anklet; we hadn’t had a chance to experiment yet, and right now didn’t seem like the appropriate time to find out. This could all be for nothing.
I stepped aside to get a better view of Kazimir and cleared my throat. “And what gives you the authority to estimate my worth?” I asked with as much confidence as I could muster.
Kazimir tilted his head to the side and scrutinized me. “Why do you look familiar?”
I gulped and shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve never met.” But he had met my mother, of whom I was a spitting image.
Kazimir straightened and smirked, pleased by my discomfort. “It’s really a shame that Alec did not prepare you as he should have, but a halfling such as yourself shouldn’t question the will of the King, much less talk back to one of the High Fae such as myself.” He turned his inscrutable gaze back to Alec. “I see things have been rather lenient here. That will be remedied once we return to the Fae realm.”
“No!” I said adamantly, straightening my back and holding my head up high.
“Violet,” Alec whispered, but I ignored him.
“I won’t be silenced just because I’m what you consider a halfling. I’m stronger than you and the King combined. Don’t treat me like the gum beneath your shoe,” I bluffed. I really didn’t know how strong I was. It was all a guess. But for now, I was going to run with it.
Kazimir took a step toward me. “Is that so?” He raised a brow.
I nodded.
He smiled wickedly. “Very well. I expect great things from you, Violet De La Rosa.”
* * *
After Kazimir leftand Alec shut the door, he stood there a few minutes with his forehead resting on the door. I waited patiently for the explosion I knew was about to occur. I didn’t have to wait long.
“Are you insane?” he yelled as he whirled on me. “How can you make those kinds of threats, Vi?”
I shrugged and tried to pretend I wasn’t shaken by Kazimir’s unwelcome visit. “You made them first.”
Alec sighed. “I could’ve taken the punishment for it if I was wrong, but if your powers don’t pan out, you just put a target on your back!”
“Then let’s make sure I didn’t lie,” I said calmly as I pointed to my bare ankle. “You took it off for a reason, didn’t you?”
