Page 22 of A Kiss of Flame

Now, she was a woman, in her own right. She had held off the Ilanthians, and whatever they had called down to destroy her and Elodie. She was powerful.

And she had saved Finn.

Speaking of whom…

Finn hadn’t told her. Her joy and openness told Roland as much. Roland guessed that he wouldn’t have been able to. Which left him with the dubious honour. Wren might be delighted now, and he wanted to savour that. She was going to hate him again in a few minutes.

‘The knights who will instruct you have also been charged to form a protective guard for you. You know Anselm Tarryn already, and Olivier Arrenden is no less a knight. They have been brothers-in-arms since they first became squires. I hope that the bonds of comradeship and brotherhood will?—’

‘You want me to be their brother?’ She smiled as she said it. It was the first time he thought he had ever seen her smile in actual amusement or make a joke. He schooled his face to stone. This was serious.

‘No. I expect you to be their princess.’

She glanced over her shoulder, couldn’t help herself.

So, Finn was definitely waiting outside. Roland would have had to be a blind fool to not see the affection between the two of them, more than affection in fact. He didn’t need to encourage it. But at the same time, Finn would do anything to protect Wren. He would encourage the others to do the same. She would wrap them all around those little fingers of hers, exactly the way Elodie had when they were the same age.

‘Anselm and Olivier will be in command of this new unit. They will choose your guards, see to their rotation and… Wren, you will obey them. Their word is mine.’

Her smile twisted a little, as if she was trying to hold back a laugh. She was far too like her mother. Trouble. It shouldn’t charm him the way it did.

‘I see,’ was all she said. That didn’t sound like agreement, not really. Roland struggled not to give a growl of frustration.

‘I mean it,’ he told her. ‘It could save your life one day. And theirs. They would die for you, each of them. Don’t waste that.’

The seriousness of the statement reached her and the smile faded. ‘Yes, I-I really do see.’

Her reply was solemn, and humble. That was good. That was necessary. She understood the weight of this. He couldn’t put it off much longer. He needed to tell her about his plans for Finnian as well.

‘I saw her today,’ Wren cut in before he could say anything else. The words stole all sense from him.

‘Elodie?’ He blurted out her name, or rather the name he had always used for her in his heart of hearts. The name she had chosen to go by when she fled with Wren. That meant something as well, but he couldn’t put a label to it. Elodie blamed him, loathed him, was rightly furious with him for bringing her back here and putting their daughter in danger. For putting his duty to the Aurum and the crown first.

‘Yes. She… she’s so sad, Roland.’ She paused after using his name and he realised she had never used it before, not to his face anyway. It hung strangely on her tongue, like she was testing it out. When he didn’t correct her, she drew in a breath, blinked and went on. ‘They’ll find her innocent, in this trial, won’t they? They have to.’

He could lie, tell her everything would be all right, that Elodie would win through this like she had won through everything else in her life. But he wasn’t so sure himself. There were people in this city who hated her.

Those who loved her too, but… she had made enemies. Too many of them.

He didn’t have an answer. His usual self-assurance, all the ways he had cultivated his stony exterior, failed him.

‘I… I hope so.’ It sounded weak and helpless, something he had never allowed another soul to hear since she had left.

Wren stared at him in horror. ‘You won’t let anything happen to her, though. Will you? You can’t.’ He glanced away, aware of a sharp pain in his chest which should not be there. ‘Roland!’

The snap of his name made him look back. Her outrage shamed him. ‘I… I’ll do what I can. I’ll speak for her, stand for her. But I can’t predict what will happen. I don’t want to make false promises to you, Wren. The Aurum will judge her, and then the maidens, and finally the council will resolve her fate. I’m just one man. I have duties and responsibilities. The law must apply to all of us equally, Wren. Even Elodie.’

‘You are the law here, aren’t you?’

Was that what she believed?

He shook his head. ‘I’m its servant. That’s how it has to be.’

‘I thought you loved her.’

It was no more than a whisper but it sounded so loud in his head, cutting into him like a hot blade.

He drew in a breath, fought the screaming in the back of his mind and the urge to throw her bodily from the room, and let the air out again in a long slow hiss. ‘That was a lifetime ago.’