Page 29 of A Blaze of Fire
“Maybe you’re just not a good teacher,” I retorted.
“Or maybe you’re just not a good student,” he countered. “You’re lazy.”
“I beg your pardon?” I said in mock horror.
“You’re pardoned,” he deadpanned as he started walking across the shore.
I jogged to catch up to him, my shoes making squelching noises. “Fine. So I’m lazy. I guess I’m in no rush to be used as a weapon.”
Kazimir stopped and whirled on me, his face an impassive mask. “You will be used to benefit the Unseelie Court. It is a great honor.”
“Right,” I muttered. “Sorry, but I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid.”
He furrowed his brows and considered my words. “Is that what’s stopping you?”
I shrugged. “I suppose so, yeah.”
“What if I made you a promise that you won’t be used as a weapon?”
I threw my head back and laughed. “I’d ask you what kind of fae trickery is this? I know why I’m here.”
“You won’t be used for anything bad, Violet. I can guarantee it.”
I narrowed my eyes. I was definitely missing something here – some turn of phrase, an omitted word. I just didn’t know what.
“How can I trust your word?”
He raised a brow. “Didn’t the Alec boy already tell you? Fae can’t lie.”
Oh, duh. I knew that already. But they could evade and trick. I had to be very careful.
“Fine, I accept your promise,” I said reluctantly.
“Good. Can we truly begin training now?”
* * *
With that promise in place,training went much smoother. With minimal effort, I could ignite my entire hand in crackling flames and coax it to spread up my arm. I still wasn’t happy with Kazimir. The bastard threw me off a cliff, after all. But I couldn’t fight him on it, and he actually made some progress, so maybe his weird teaching methods actually worked. Whatever. I was still pissed.
Later, we strode into the throne room and did a little show-and-tell for the King, which he was delighted to see.
“Excellent, excellent, excellent!” he cheered from his throne. “And she produced air as well? Can I see?” His eyes were alight with glee.
“That’s still in development, Your Highness,” Kazimir replied diplomatically.
The King deflated and pouted.
“I assure you, Your Highness, she’ll be ready soon,” Kazimir promised.
I peered over at him in shock. Was he truly that confident, or was he planning to toss me over cliffs until he saw results?
“Well, since she’s definitely a fire elemental, why don’t you take her with you during tax collection?” the King suggested.
This was the first time I’d seen Kazimir’s perfect façade crumble just a bit. “Your Highness!” he exclaimed. “She can’t come on the road! She’s … she’s … afemale.” He looked over at me with mild disgust.
There was no way he was gay. The man made me! Well, I mean, he could be bisexual.
I looked at Kazimir with a new light. “Do you like men?” I blurted.
