Page 44 of A Blaze of Fire
Ansel’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “You’ll handle it? What can you possibly do, Alec?” he shouted. “If they think she’s—”
“Don’t say it!” I cut him off with a glare.
“You can’t even stand to hear it, can you?” Ansel muttered. “You never believed in it before, even when Father used to tell us stories when we were younger. Why does it have you so shaken now?”
I ran a hand through my hair and blew out a tense breath. “Because Isawit, Ansel,” I whispered. “I saw it with my own eyes. She breathed fire out of her mouth. It was … it was incredible.”
“Then you know it’s true, Alec,” Ansel whispered back. “She’s the dragon reincarnated.”
19
VIOLET
After dinner and a bath, I went straight to bed. I refused to wait up for Alec and find out whatever errand he had last night. After pestering Rook for information and repeatedly being denied, I finally stopped asking.
Rosemary dressed me in another skimpy fae garment and I headed to breakfast in the dining hall, forcing myself to stop fidgeting with the too-short-for-comfort hemline. I knew something was wrong when a chorus of gasps rang out the instant I appeared, followed by everyone parting like the Red Sea as Rook and Rosemary escorted me down the hall. Everyone whispered and pointed, making it obvious they were talking about me. I just wished I knew what was so interesting.
We entered the dining hall and I took my usual seat at the table, then waited for Rosemary to bring my meal. I felt extremely self-conscious with all the eyes locked on my every move. My skin itched all over and I wanted to rush back to the relative safety of my room.
A female Unseelie sat down beside me and leaned over to whisper, “So, can you really do it?”
I frowned. “Excuse me?”
“Come on, we’re all anxious to know.” She waved to everyone in the vicinity.
Jon, who was a member of our traveling party, plopped down across the table from me and smirked. “Of course she can do it!” he boasted. “I saw it myself. She did it right in front of me. The fire burned me all over!”
Another round of shocked gasps echoed around the dining hall and the whispers grew louder. My frown deepened, not understanding their conversation one bit.
“You have to show us!” another Unseelie piped in, glancing around at the others for support. “We should all go to the courtyard after breakfast so she can show us!”
A chorus of yes’s rang up and down the table as everyone animatedly agreed. I shoved my trembling hands under the table. I didn’t know what they wanted from me, and the idea of failing in front of an audience was too mortifying to imagine.
“There will be no show and tell after breakfast,” Rook interrupted from behind me in his deep voice. “Lady Violet is not an animal you can train to do tricks and gawk at behind a glass window. She’s fae, just like each one of you. Show her some respect.”
His tone was full of righteous indignation on my behalf, and I suddenly wanted to hug him. That was the most I’d ever heard him speak at one time and I sat there stunned, unsure what to say other than,Yeah! What he said!I looked up into the leering faces around me and saw they were slightly embarrassed.
“Correction: she’s a halfling,” Sage declared as she pushed her way through the crowd that had formed around the table. “She’s not a full blooded fae, so to put her at the same level as us, well … quite frankly, it’s a little absurd. Don’t insult us.”
Another round of murmurs buzzed around the dining hall, but I couldn’t tell if they agreed with her or not. And neither could Sage, from the annoyed look on her face.
Suddenly, Jon stood and faced Sage head-on. “She saved my life, along with my two companions. I don’t care whether she’s a halfling or a Low Fae; she’s my equal and I’ll ride with her into battle anytime.”
Sage scoffed. “You say that now, but wait until she uses those powers against you.”
Frustration bubbled through my veins. None of this made sense! I didn’t save Jon’s life, or anybody else’s, for that matter, and I didn’t appreciate Sage making me out to be a traitor. My head pounded, full of conflicting thoughts.
“Enough.” My voice was low, but it finally quieted the murmurs. I shoved my chair back and stood. “Whatever powers I have will never be used to hurt anyone. They’ll be used to protect. But you wouldn’t know that Sage, because you don’t know me. So I suggest you refrain from speculating things youthinkyou know.”
Sage’s beautiful face darkened as she stared me down, drilling holes into me with her piercing eyes. “I don’t know you?” she scoffed. “I knowexactlywho you are. That’s why the lost lamb act you got going on doesn’t fool me. It might fool everyone else, but not me. You’re nothing special. You’re just a halfling with a death sentence.” With that, she spun on her stiletto heels and stormed out of the dining hall, shoving others out of the way as she went.
She might have gotten the last word, but I got to her, which was a victory.
A very small victory.
“Don’t pay her any mind.” Jon motioned for me to sit just as Rosemary brought over my meal. “She’s just upset that Alec doesn’t pay her any attention anymore.” He rolled his eyes and sat back down to eat his food.
I did the same but leaned forward to ask, “Sage and Alec aren’t a thing anymore?”
