Page 127 of Golden Queen
Io let the flames retreat as he slid his fingers up to the mellitrium cuff on my wrist. I now knew definitively that it bound me. However unlikely—nomatter that it defied explanation—I was a mage. Had some part of me always known that and been unwilling to acknowledge the implications of it—the question of my parentage, who I was, and how I ended up in Windemere?
"When these come off," he said, a note of pride in his voice, "I think evenyouwill not believe how powerful you are."
I huffed a laugh. That seemed like a bit of a stretch even if I did have this mysterious golden power.
I wondered suddenly if the magic was what drew me to him;likecalling tolike.
I didn’t care for the thought. Even in my own mind, the concept filled me with indignation. I loved him—me, not my magic. I would never accept that anything else was responsible for how dear he was to me.
As I considered it all, though, I could not shake the feeling that the fates—those fickle forces—might have had a hand in us coming together. After all, if I did have the golden fire, what were the chances that two people with the same seemingly unique form of magic would come together out of all the people in all the world?
Twenty-Three
We flew all day across uninterrupted godsgrass, keeping the northern road in sight so that we didn't miss the city of Cosdam. We took short breaks to relieve ourselves and eat the meager rations from Io’s pack—mostly hard cheese and bread.
We didn't linger anywhere long. There seemed to be some unspoken directive between us that we limit the time we spent together on the ground.
Not that anything might’ve happened with Aben and Britaxia always on the periphery. But even when they stayed in the air while we stopped, there was nothing in me that tasted of desire. There were only ashes where there had once been fire.
Iwantedto want him. The knowledge of that burned me as much as the rest. I remembered what that pleasure had been like—how his lips had tasted—what his touch alone had been able to do to me.
I leaned into his warmth as we flew, the pleasure of being close to him still somehow undiminished by the misery of my thoughts.
As the sun began to set, Veles banked, angling down to the ground. I could see the Godsway below us, but something else had caught Io's attention. He pointed. "Dragon riders."
I followed his gaze to see beasts of every size and color lazing in the godsgrass. They surrounded a single large canvas tent.
Someone had cleared out circles in the grass to prevent them from catching fire, and soldiers clad in dark leather and scale armor were gathered around three small fires.
Io hopped down from Veles and turned to lend me a hand to descend. Aben and Britaxia were still angling to the ground, their dragons making slow circles to come in for the landing. My dragon was nowhere in sight.
I followed Io as he strode across the distance to the central circle. The riders all stood at attention and bowed as he passed.
As we reached the tent, a beautiful, brown skinned woman ducked past the flap, her black hair braided back from her temples in intricate warrior's braids.
Her face split into a wide grin at the sight of Io. She rushed forward to wrap her arms around him and press her lips to his cheek.
Anger and hurt surged in me—even as I told myself I had no right to the emotions. Justified or not, though, blood rushed into my head, stinging my cheeks with heat. My fingers curled with the unreasonable urge to punch her stupid, beautiful face.
The woman pulled back from Io. It had only been a quick kiss—one that could easily have been shared between family or friends, but the smile was an intimate one…and the way her arms lingered around his neck was much too familiar.
"Well met, my Lord," she said, letting her arms slide from around his neck. One hand trailed across his chest, lingering there for another heartbeat before she turned to study me.
"You must be Aelia of Windemere!" she said, her voice just as friendly as it had been with Io. I should have liked her immediately. I could already tell she was the kind of person who was impossible to dislike.
But I did not. I wanted her to catch fire and fall to ashes at my feet—preferably before she pointed those long, dark lashes and that perfect fae face back in his direction again.
"Indeed, she is," Io said, looking back at me. If he noticed my discomfort, he made no indication of it. "Queen Aelia of Windemere, this is General Radella Galakhin, Commander of the Helios Battalion of Darkwatch."
"I'm honored to meet you General Galakhin," I told her, holding out my hand and forcing a smile.
She took my hand in hers, and I felt the unnatural heat of her skin. Just as with Io, she was warmer than she should have been, nearly feverish.
"Likewise, Your Majesty. But please call me Radella." Her warm, brown eyes flashed with pleasure.
"Well, then you must call me Aelia," I replied as she released my hand.
"Very well, Aelia," she added, clapping her hands together and raising her perfectly sculpted brows. "Please tell me you are both as starved as I am for good food, good whiskey, and better company! We have only just set up camp."
