Page 62 of Rising Out of the Darkness
Silence passed as my father swirled the wine inside his goblet, glaring at his pawn, waiting for her to choose her fate.
“Does this sound like something you would be capable of doing,LadyElena?” Alastor rumbled across the table.
“Y-yes.” Her voice trembled.
“Good,” he purred. “Then we will continue to provide aid to your town, as long as you continue to speak highly of our king and abide by our deal.”
Both men smiled toward each other and their glasses crashed together in a cheer. Elena, on the other hand, sank into her chair, burdened by the role that she was now expected to carry. All to ensure her town stayed safe.
“Elena,” my father grumbled, drumming his fingers against the marble table. “I’m curious, just how did you manage to defeat this dark beast?” As he spoke his fingertips around the edge of his wine goblet. “My son’s dynamis is the most powerful in the kingdom. There has never been anyone more powerful.”
I caught the slight flicker of disgust in his tone at that admission. Elena simultaneously winced then glowered towards my father. Discreetly dropping my hand to her thigh next to me, I squeezed. Her face shifted back to the bored, stoic mask she’d worn when she walked in this evening.
Good girl. Don’t let them get to you, Wildfire.Withdrawing my hand from her thigh, I lifted my whiskey glass to my lips. Father and Alastor wore a scowl at the lack of reaction from me. Sometimes I can’t control my anger, but I was trying my best to reign it in for Elena’s sake tonight. “Declan told me you have some sort of white flame dynamis. Please, enlighten me on howyour flame managed to accomplish such a feat where he could not.”
Blood boiled within me, my dynamis slamming against my skin. The taste of metal hit my tongue as I clenched my teeth. My lips parted as I prepared to snarl a response, but someone unexpectedly beat me to it.
“Well, Your Majesty, someone should probably reassess who’s the most powerful dynamis then.” Face bored, she continued to pick at her plate of food.
Gods, this woman never ceased to astonish me. A laugh threatened to rise from within me, so I shoved a piece of beef in my mouth to stifle it. A purplish-red hue painted their faces. My father’s mouth hung agape.
Obstinate behavior was not something that they were accustomed to, unless it came from me. Alastor was the first to lash out, and I leaned back into my seat, preparing for his inevitable tantrum.
“Why, you insolent little?—”
“Careful.” My voice boomed across the table as my fingers clawed at the chair’s armrest.
“How dare you speak to your king in such a manner. You must have had lousy excuses for parents if you come to us at your age lacking manners befitting the title we have given you.” Alastor paused, a devious grin tugging at his lip. “We may have dressed you in our finest clothes, let you stay in our finest accommodations, but you are still nothing more than an insignificant child parading around with stolen dynamis inside her blood.”
There it was. It was only a matter of time before their true prejudices spilled out. I wasn’t surprised that it was Alastor who’d cracked first. Alastor glanced towards my father, who raised his glass of wine in salute. Outside my face portrayed mywell-practiced glacial demeanor, on the inside I was seething hot.
It shouldn’t have surprised me that they’d attacked Elena’s spirit so fast. My nails pierced the ends of the armrests as a blast of emotions slammed into me. Prickling and burning pain shot across my body, all signs of anger, rage and shame.
Delicate fingers wrapped tightly around her golden fork, her knuckles white from the pressure. A flush of red stained her cheeks, and her beautiful eyes were overrun by the black of her pupils. Panic flooded within me. I needed to push some calming emotions her way before this dinner turned into an execution.
Maintaining my bored face the best I could, I reached down to my well of dynamis and thought of the most uplifting and cheerful emotions I could think of, like the memory of watching my mother tend to the flowers in her garden each morning or hearing my brother’s roaring laughter as we raced down the mountainside on our horses, or the way that Elena’s smile seemed to be the only one able to thaw my cold heart. Every happy moment I’d ever had hummed beneath my skin. In one quick blow, I used my dynamis to shove them towards her.
She let out an almost silent gasp. The fork tumbled onto the napkin below. Slowly, the redness faded away from her cheeks, her shoulders fell, and her body sagged back into the chair. Relief washed through me and I peeled my hands off the chair, swiping away the sweat that had taken residence on my forehead.
I was just about to take another drink of my whiskey when my Wildfire cleared her throat beside me. My dynamis sprang to life once more.
“Yes, it is true, Your Majesty, my lord.” Beautiful blue-green eyes full of daggers locked gazes with my father and Alastor. “I do come from outside your ‘Blessed’ bubble of powerful Elysians. However, the gods have chosen me to carrythe monumental power of the Light Phoenix. Not one of your ‘Blessed’ Elysians, or even your own sons, was given a dynamis like mine.”
An audible growl rumbled inside my father’s chest.
“The gods chose me, aninsignificant, meaningless child, from a town far away from here. The same insignificant child who managed to save the life of your most Blessed Elysian, the prince. The same insignificant child who was taken from her town and dragged across the land because His Majesty requestedherpresence.” She paused to take a deep breath before she continued, “So, you see, gentlemen, I believe that I am not quite as insignificant as you may want to believe. On the contrary, I believe that it is you who will be needing me to ensure your claim on this land and your title remain a little more…significant.”
Elena leaned back in her chair with the slightest smug smile spread across her beautiful face. “Oh, and Lord Alastor?” His blue eyes darkened. The glare bore into her face so viciously, I wanted to rip his eyes out with my shadows. “I am not a child, but in fact, as you said, a lady. You would do well to remember that in the future.”
In one breath, my Wildfire had managed to do something that I hadn’t been able to in my entire life. I watched with glee as my father and Alastor squirmed in their seats, stunned into silence. Proud was an understatement for the feelings that spread like fire in my tainted, cold heart over what Elena had just done. This woman continued to surprise me at every turn, and it was making it damn near impossible to restrain myself from her. She was unlike anyone I had ever met. An enigma that I couldn’t wait to figure out.
Alastor’s face turned several shades of red, where my father’s face suddenly seemed eerily calm and collected. It took me a moment to decipher that he was already beginning to schemeand calculate exactly what to do with my Wildfire. His face rose into a smug smile as he raised his hand to silence Alastor, who had begun stuttering a rebuttal.
“My dear, it seems that I have greatly underestimated you. I’ll be wise to ensure I don’t repeat my mistakes from now on.” His words were laced with more threat than sincerity. Shifting his gaze towards mine, he took a heavy draw of wine. “You have a month to train the Light Phoenix. I want her strong enough to give a demonstration of her exquisite dynamis in front of the entire court. See to it that you also teach her some proper manners as well.”
He lifted his glass to Elena before draining his drink. “If you want to be a lady, then you’ll be trained to act like one. First and only rule,LadyMorrigan—no one challenges the king. You’ll do well to rememberthatin the future.” I caught her slight flinch out of the corner of my eye, and my protective instincts roared within me.
“You start tomorrow,” Alastor seethed. With a snap of his fingers, the servant standing against the wall behind us jumped to his side. “Remove their plates, they are both dismissed.”
