Page 59 of A Kiss of Flame

No idea. No idea what Leander planned? Or no idea what Elodie could do? He chose to believe she meant the former.

And he knew it was a conscious decision on his part. Hestia would do whatever suited Ilanthus best. He’d been a fool to forget that.

He continued packing the few belongings he had brought with him. ‘It wasn’t the kind of plan he’d share, was it?’ And if he had that was a whole new level of problem. ‘Besides, I don’t think he had what you might call a plan in the first place. If you’ve healed him, I suggest you pack him off back to Sidon as quickly as you can. Tie him up this time. Drag him behind a horse if you have to. You might buy a cage.’

He shoved the last of the formal tunics into the bag. The fine fabric would be crumpled and lined, but he didn’t care. He had no idea why he was even taking them with him. They were Ilanthian in style, gifts from his cousin, but he would never wear them except for here in the embassy or representing them, a kingdom which hated him. Something he would never do again. So why was he even packing them? Perhaps because Hestia had been so delighted to see him and had given them to him, along with that glass pendant, and for once he felt like he had family again. But his family? No. His father might have offered him the pendant by way of a gesture of reconciliation. It hung like a millstone around his neck now.

Of course Leander had to spoil that too.

Hestia was pacing, knotting her hands in front of her. ‘You’ll explain, won’t you? That we didn’t know. That he acted alone. The queen will listen to you, won’t she? I know the Grandmaster will, surely?’

Finn gave a brief and humourless laugh, little more than a snort. ‘I’ll try. But to be honest, our rapid retreat from Elodie was probably an indication enough.’

Hestia glared at him. ‘Elodie,’ she growled. ‘Since when did you refer to the queen of Asteroth by her childhood name? She has a title, Finn.’

Finn shrugged. He didn’t have the time or inclination to explain things to her.

There was something in the air, he decided, something unsettling. Ever since the scene at the trial when Elodie had channelled the Aurum like the queen she was, everything felt wrong, on edge. And it was getting worse. He could feel it under his skin, crawling like shadows with the sunset.

Was it Wren? Had seeing the Aurum fill Elodie unsettled her so much? But she herself had drawn on that power at the Seven Sisters.

Somewhere, shadow kin were stirring. They had no place in Pelias with all its wards and protections, with the Aurum awake once more and the queen back on her throne. But they were here. He knew it. Perhaps the wards in the palace weren’t the only ones breaking down.

That was when Gaius arrived, slamming open the door to Finn’s borrowed quarters without so much as a knock. Finn didn’t mind really. He wasn’t particularly attached to the embassy walls anyway. He was a prince of Ilanthus in name only as far as he was concerned. They had already squandered any goodwill he had towards any of them. Burned through it in fact like a summer fire through dry grass.

And Leander had left no goodwill at all. It was only Hestia’s promise that she could control him this time that had prompted Finn to stay and act as the intermediary with the palace here in Pelias this long.

Great light he was an idiot.

‘He’s locked up but we have another problem,’ the general growled. ‘Their sham of a trial isn’t over yet. That fool Sassone has taken the queen to conduct some kind of inquisition of his own. The Asterothians are going to blame us for this as well. I’ve secured the compound but it’s only a matter of time. Castel Sassone is a stone’s throw from here. Once they’re done with him, they’ll turn on us. We should all prepare to leave immediately.’

‘What do you mean, he’s taken the queen?’ Hestia gasped. Her carefully engineered peace plans were crumbling in front of her and Finn almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

She had actually believed it was possible, he realised.

‘He’s going to make her confess and burn her. There’s a full army of knights descending on him right now. I don’t see how they’re going to get through those walls in a hurry but they’ll break them eventually. As we’re right next to him, it’s only a matter of time until it’s our turn. Make ready to leave at once, my lady. This foolish enterprise is at an end.’

Hestia almost sagged, defeated. ‘Gaius,’ she protested. ‘We… we can’t…’

‘We have to, Hestia. It’s over.’

‘Then we have lost everything,’ she whispered.

Finn felt it again, the darkness surging beneath them, the undercurrent. The Nox was here. He could feel it, loose in the city and gloating at the chaos it had unleashed.

Leander had unleashed it. Great light, he would kill the bastard himself if Hestia didn’t do it first once she recovered herself. But that was all secondary. The queen of Asteroth had been taken, the queen he had sworn on his life and soul to defend.

‘The Earl of Sassone took her?’ he asked Gaius. It sounded like madness, but at the same time… Sassone was a law unto himself. The general gave him a curt nod.

‘Hideous little man,’ Gaius said. ‘Whether he kills her quickly or not, it’s his death warrant, I would think. Your father would never have let such a?—’

‘That doesn’t make sense,’ Finn said, uninterested in what his father may or may not have allowed. Alessander had spilled more blood in his court than anyone in history. ‘Why would he?—’

‘Why do any of them do anything? Sanctimonious fools, each and every one, and their Grandmaster is the worst of them.’ Gaius stalked to the window, leaning out as if it might offer him a better view. ‘This embassy was a terrible idea, Lady Hestia, pointless and weak. A disaster from beginning to end. The sooner we return home the better.’

‘We’ll only be returning to war,’ she snapped. ‘And I realise that would suit you, but I am trying to give us a better future. You saw her, Gaius. You saw what she can do. With Aeryn on the throne again?—’

‘Maybe her own people will take care of her for us. That would solve everything. With the girl on the throne instead?—’