Page 70 of A Blaze of Fire
“You might be in the clear with the Unseelie,” Alec whispered, “but I still don’t trust the King.”
I nodded.
“Be careful what you say and how you act. Anything can be taken out of context and perceived as a threat,” he murmured in my ear as we walked closer to the throne room. He sighed. “I don’t even trust Ansel right now,” he admitted.
“Ansel doesn’t trustyou,” I said.
Alec snorted. “Well, Ansel is a little too chummy with the King for my comfort.”
I frowned. That didn’t sound like Ansel at all. Or maybe it was all part of his plan. A plan I hoped he stopped the minute I made my decision in the arena.
The closer we got to the throne room, the more fae we noticed milling in the hallways. Many stopped us to offer greetings and well wishes for the dragon, several wanted to touch my hands, and others just wanted to express how excited they were that I was there. Many Unseelie had traveled to the castle from the far reaches of the realm just to see me.
“Lady Violet!” someone called out from behind, and Alec and I spun around to see who it was.
Jon, the one from our traveling party.
He jogged to catch up with us, a big smile on his face. He bowed when he reached us and I nodded awkwardly, unsure how to respond.
“I knew you were the last dragon; I just knew it!” he said animatedly. He reached for my hands and kissed my knuckles. Alec swatted him away and glared, but the fae was undeterred. “Everything’s about to change, Lady Violet.Everything.”
I smiled tightly, flummoxed about what to say. I wasn’t the big revolutionary they were expecting. I barely knew the rules of their world. Besides that, I fully intended to return home to the human realm one day. When I did, it would be a huge disappointment to them.
“Easy there, Jon. You don’t want to overwhelm her.” Alec pushed him back a few steps.
“Right, right. It’s just … I remember when you stood up for that Unseelie in the village who had just taken that lashing. We should’ve known then and there who you were,” he said in amazement. “It’s all so surreal.”
I peered over at Alec in shock. Anyone with an ounce of humanity would have reacted the same way I did. It was nothing special. But that was the problem – the fae didn’t have any humanity in them. Compassion was a foreign concept.
“Jon, listen,” I said as calmly as possible, heeding Alec’s warning to be careful about what I said. “Don’t gettooexcited. I mean, I might not be what you’re all hoping for. I could disappoint you in the end.”
Jon’s smile faltered. That certainly wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Then he shook his head adamantly, his eyes shining with hope. “No. You won’t disappoint us. You’re the dragon, and you have all the elements inside you. You’re more powerful than we could’ve imagined you’d be. You’re better than we ever dreamed the dragon could be.”
I sighed. He still wasn’t getting it. It sucked that I was born with the stupid orb in me. Instead of being a detractor, it made me like, a million times more attractive to them. Nothing I said to dampen their spirits mattered. They didn’t care.
Alec placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and shook his head, silently telling me not to argue.
We parted ways, leaving an excited Jon to his own devices as we entered the throne room where the party was in full swing. Elemental magic was on full display, bouncing across all corners of the room. The party atmosphere felt like a cross between a circus and a rave, with dancer-filled cages hanging from the ceiling and bone-numbing music playing, enticing the assembled Unseelie to dance to the pounding rhythm.
We were weaving through the crowd on our way to the King to pay our respects when a hand darted out from the crowd, grabbing my arm and tugging me away from Alec.
“What the—!” I shrieked and Alec lunged for me until we saw who it was.
Sage.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I shouted over the music and raucous laughter of fae who jostled us from all sides, oblivious.
“I have to warn you.” Her voice and face were so deathly serious, I paused for a second.
“We don’t have time for games, Sage.” Alec tried to pry her grip from my arm, but she held on to me tightly. “Sage, let go!”
She didn’t bother looking at him. Her eyes were glued to me unflinchingly. I’d never seen her so serious since I’d met her. “Look, Violet – I know we don’t get along, and most of that’s probably my fault, but you shouldn’t be here.” Her feverish gaze darted to Alec. “Take her back to the human realm.Now!”
I didn’t understand if this was some kind of threat or if she was actually trying to help. With Sage, you never knew.
“What’s going on?” Alec demanded.
Sage grimaced. “You don’t know what your brother has done …”
