Page 21 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
“So even with all this power, you won’t use it to help us?”
She cocked her head like a curious lioness. “Who’sus? You and your court? No. Me and you? Always.”
A flicker of excitement flashed through me at that. She was still willing to fight for us. I still meant something to her, even if it wasn’t the same. But if she had no loyalty to anyone outside of me, then she wasn’t the same person I knew at all.
“What about Olmdere?”
“What about Olmdere?” she echoed. “It seems to me your twin has bit off more than they can chew.” It both surprised and comforted me that Maez still used Calla’s correct pronouns, unlike Sawyn. Even filled with a magical bloodlust, Maez was no monster. “Nero is prepared to destroy them, the Onyx Wolveshave a pack to avenge, and now even the Ice Wolves are after Calla since they stabbed the Ice Wolf Queen in the heart in this very castle.”
I sat up ramrod straight at that. “Here?” I pointed to the floor. “This is where the battle happened? This is where I was taken?”
Maez nodded. “It’s safe here now,” she said. “Everyone is far too busy pulling their courts back together after the chaos thatyourtwin instigated.”
“They didn’t instigate it. They only reacted to what Nero is attempting. Calla only wants to be a good ruler to Olmdere,” I protested and Maez looked annoyed at the statement. “Is there really no hope that you will help them? You used to be loyal to the Golden Court...”
“Used to be. Now I am loyal only to myself,” Maez replied, and I waited, hoping she’d say and also to me. But she didn’t.
I shoved the covers off and stood, my hands balling to fists at my side. “You can’t expect me to just stay here and play house while my twinand my Queencould be going to war.”
I moved forward, and instead of retreating, Maez took a step toward me, her proximity a rush. “I told you: you’re free to leave. I don’t expect anything from you,” she said. “Although a little gratitude for saving you from Nero’s dungeon would be nice.”
“Thank you,” I gritted out, and Maez laughed, the laugh I knew so well and wondered if I’d never hear again.
It was killing me. She was right there, right beneath the surface, but I couldn’t reach her, couldn’t pull her back above water.
“Calla hasn’t lost the Ice Wolves yet if they play their cards right,” Maez offered, following me out the door. She kept her hands in her pockets, casually strolling after me as I stormed down the hallway, not knowing which direction to go. “Then again, the Golden Queen may not need them at all if Sadie and the Songkeepers learn how to control those monsters.”
I paused and looked back at her. “What does that mean? What monsters? And what are Songkeepers?”
Maez’s lip tugged to one side as her static eyes looked me up and down. “Have breakfast with me and I’ll tell you everything,” she said. “Then if you still want to brave days of solo travel through the court that your twin just killed the reigning monarch of, I’ll gladly conjure a horse for you.”
I blinked at her. “You’ll conjure a horse for me?” I asked incredulously.
Her eyes sparkled with electric green again. “That isn’t even a speck of my true power, Princess,” she said with a wink. “If you come eat breakfast, perhaps I’ll show you some more.”
I COULDN’T FATHOM IT. I STARED OUT THROUGH THE SNOW-covered window, my mind whirling with all the information Maez had shared with me over the past few days. There was a whole secret sect of humans—ones who used the power of song to conjure monsters and cast smaller magics. It seemed farcical, like something out of a storybook. I wondered if Maez had just dreamed it up on the spot.
I needed to talk to Calla, needed to figure out what I could do to help my court. Help mytwin. I felt Maez’s looming presence watching me as I stared at the cloudy sky. The best way to help Calla was probably standing behind me right now. If I could get Maez to use her new magic for us, the tides of this war would surely turn in our favor. Dare I say, it would be an easy win.
IfMaez would fight, maybe all wouldn’t be lost. Maybe we could find a way to rid the world of tyrants like Nero with a sorceress on our side. The irony of that wasn’t lost on me, but if we were already trying to harness monsters...
No. She’s not a monster. She’s powerful, yes, but she’s still Maez. Or at least, she stillcouldbe. And Maez would help. She just needs to be convinced.
If anyone could sway her, it would be me.
I’d spied the spark of intrigue in her before. Shewantedme to play her games. Maybe if I knew the right way to tempt her, she’d be willing to play mine, too.
“Time for that horse?” Maez asked, misreading the way I stared out at the snow-covered stables. Was that... eagerness? Was she still trying to push me away?
I didn’t turn to look at her, my breath fogging the glass as I asked, “You’re not worried about me going alone?”
“You’re a big girl, Briar.” Maez let out a derisive snort. “You don’t need an escort.”
“What about the snow snakes and the Ice Wolves?”
“I don’t know, you fight them and win, or you die,” she said, bored.
I finally turned to look at her. Clad in all-black attire, she cut a menacing figure, but one that still sent a thrill down my spine, my eyes clinging to muscled curves. “Why won’t you die if I die anymore?”
