Page 53 of A Blaze of Fire
“You’re … you’re doing a public showing?” she repeated.
I nodded. “Yeah, so there’s no need to jump the gun and get me riled up. You’ll see it all for yourself sooner or later.”
My appetite gone, I stepped away from the dining table and bumped into Rosemary. Ansel had stood and was looking my way as if he was about to follow but I quickly shook my head, letting him know to stay put. He got the message and slowly sat back down.
I turned to Rosemary and asked her to pack up the rest of my meal and bring it to my room, then stormed out of the dining room with Rook hot on my heels. I was so angry, steam wafted off my fists. I wasn’t stupid – I knew I was no match for Sage. Even so, I’d love to pummel her face. I knew when to choose my battles, and right now wasn’t the time. She was a seasoned fire elemental. She could smoke me in seconds.
“You did good, Lady Violet,” Rook complimented me.
I sighed. Yeah. But why was my stomach twisted in knots?
21
ANSEL
“Did you hear? There’s going to be a public exhibition!”
“No way! I can’t believe the King would allow that.”
“Believe it. She said so herself.”
“I can’t believe the dragon is here!”
The whispers tumbled around the castle all afternoon. I tried to finish my meal, but the food tasted like ash in my mouth. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Violet said. Why didn’t she tell me she would take part in a public showing? If that was true, it would go one of two ways: Either she would prove she was the reincarnated dragon and find her way onto the King’s hit list, or she hid her abilities and would become a target for every Unseelie in the court. Either way, she was a goner.
Leaving my food at the table, I stood to leave when Sage cut in front of me.
“Leaving so soon?” she asked with a raised brow.
I sighed. “What do you want?” I wanted to rip her to shreds for what she did to Violet.
“Is it true?” she asked. “Will there really be a public showing?”
I shrugged. “How would I know?”
She scoffed. “Because Alec is your brother and you’re secretly in love with the girl.”
I furrowed my brows. “Wow, Sage,” was all I could say because I couldn’t lie.
“That’s not a denial,” she smirked. “I wasn’t sure, but the way Violet glanced over at you when I baited her about Alec convinced me. You two have something going on, don’t you?”
I kept quiet and refused to answer. Instead, I looked at her as if I was bored to death with this conversation.
She rolled her eyes. “Be careful, Ansel,” she added thoughtfully. “You know how your brother is. He likes to take what’s yours.”
“Enough, Sage,” I gritted between my teeth. I didn’t need her to warn me about Alec. I knew my brother better than anyone.
“They spend an awful lot of time together. Time that the two of you cannot spend, I’m guessing,” she whispered as she prowled closer to me, trailing a finger across my chest. “I’ve seen the way he looks at her, Ansel. It’s more than just—”
I snatched her by the neck, stopping her tirade and cutting off her air flow. “I said,enough,” I growled. Fortunately we stood in a corner away from the others, so they didn’t witness our sparring. If they had, I would have been in a heap of trouble.
The vixen laughed and instead of being scared, reached out to caress the hand that gripped her neck. “I knew you liked it rough,” she growled. “Has Violet had a taste of you yet?”
I grimaced and flung her away from me.
She laughed again and regained her footing, then rubbed her neck and straightened to face me. “I’m guessing she has.” She tapped a red manicured fingernail against her pointed chin. “Now, which brother do you think she likes more?” She raised a questioning brow. “I’m rooting for you, but it’s hard to compete against Alec.”
I’d was through with her baiting. I pushed her aside and stormed out of the dining hall, ready to bring down the walls of this castle. I knew better than to listen to Sage, of all people. She was poisonous and probably bitter that Alec wasn’t paying her any attention, which alone worried me. Why wasn’t he warming her bed? It was out of character for him. Was Sage right? Had he lost interest in her because of Violet?
