Page 92 of Beneath the Flames
“Doesn’t the dirt need to gointhe pot?”I asked as Maren rose from the ground, crossed the room to the barren fireplace, and grabbed the metal poker, dropping clumps of soil with every step.She started poking at the dirt, swirling and mixing everything together—even though she’d just done that with her hands.Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, the corner of her tongue sticking out of her lips.
A chuckle bubbled up my throat, but I bit it back lest she think I was laughingather and quit dirt mixing.
I couldn’t help but think she was…cute.No, not cute.Beautiful.Even covered in smears of soil and ash.But I couldn’tadmit that aloud.Then I’d have to confess to feeling something for a human.
Centuries of the curse had passed, and I’d been plagued with a deep numbness, unable to feel.But the moment I chose to save Maren’s life, and then brought her here, something deep, deep inside of me started to unfurl, like the petals of a blooming flower.It was a small ember at first, but the closer I got to Maren, the more it flared, burned, grew.
I was a fool.I couldn’t have feelings for a human.Especiallythishuman.
One way or the other, she would die.There was no future for us.There was nohappily ever after,as the humans liked to call it.
No, Eroth was onlydeath and dying ever after.
“It needs to all be thoroughly mixed.The pot was too small to do that,” Maren explained, her voice cracking through my thoughts and bringing my focus back to the dirty room, bits of ash floating in the air and tickling my nose.
A streak of dirt was smeared across Maren’s cheek and nose, and I bit the inside of my lip.As much as I enjoyed the look of concentration on her face as she slowly started shoveling everything back into the bucket, I couldn’t help but take pity on her.
It took longer than it should have to call on my magic, but it finally heeded me and, with a swirl of my hand and a light flick of my fingers, the ash and dirt mix swirled into the air before neatly depositing itself back inside the bucket.
Maren stared, blinking repeatedly from where the pile used to be to the now-filled bucket.Then her brow furrowed as she glared at me.
“You mean you could have done that the whole time?”she demanded, smearing more ash on her face as she swiped ahand across her forehead.
“Simple Magic,” I said in explanation, unable to keep the corners of my lips from curling up.
Maren’s darkening glare had me barking out a laugh.
“Sorry, darling.It was fun to watch you tackle a pile of dirt, but I couldn’t take the ash floating in the air any longer.”
Both of us froze as the term of endearment slipped through my lips.I hadn’t meant to call her such a thing, but it felt so natural coming out.What is happening to me?The old Rhydian never would have used such a term, even before the curse.
Maren kept looking at me and then the floor, a distinct blush coloring her face.I couldn’t tell if she liked that I had called her that, or if I’d made her uncomfortable.There were too many emotions roaring through her for me to get a grasp on what she was truly feeling.
Now that I’d said it, I had the sudden urge to do it again.What was happening to me?I was Rhydian Malathar, Prince of Eroth.I didn’t say things like that.I didn’t call womendarling.
Finally, with a shake of her head, she shoved whatever she felt down deep and pushed to her feet, lifting the bucket with a quiet grunt.She carried it over to the balcony where the moonlight was the strongest.
“Do you have the seed?”she asked, turning to me with hands on her hips.
Nodding, I crossed the room to the little credenza situated against the wall, pulled the key from my pocket, and unlocked the top drawer.Inside was the relic Maren had retrieved from Mount Kharos.It was warm to the touch as I held it between my fingers, though it wasn’t glowing like Maren had said it had in the cave.I waited, wondering if it would do so now, but nothing happened as it sat in the center of my palm.
My shoes thudded on the floor as I walked back to Maren, giving the relic a firm twist.It split into two pieces, and I dumped the contents of it into her waiting hand.
A tiny golden seed landed in her palm.
My heart stuttered a beat at the sight of it.
If this didn’t work, there were no other options.
The hope that Eroth wasn’t completely dead, that I could be freed from this curse, was housed in this tiny kernel.
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Maren wasted no time and lowered to her knees, gently pressing the seed into the soil.Down, down, down, until I could no longer see it.She brushed the dirt from her fingers, then grabbed the pitcher of water and poured a healthy dose on top.
When she was finished, Maren just stared at the bucket with her eyes narrowed, as if the seed would instantly sprout.Minutes passed, and I didn’t know what to do.Did I leave her here to tend to the seed?Or did I wait?My thumbs twiddled together uncertainly.
This infernal human had me second-guessing myself at every turn and I hated it.
But also, kind of…didn’t hate it.
