Page 48 of A Kiss of Flame
Levian’s stomach lurched when the orb finally paused before a simple iron door. Much like last time, memories of her childhood overwhelmed her. She’d left The Prison the previous year, swearing she’d rather have her limbs torn from her person than return, yet here she stood. She clenched her fists and looked over her shoulder into the black, feeling Barith’s absence to her rattled bones.
Levian’s chest tightened painfully, her heart twisting in turmoil as the vivid memory of him lying asleep before the fire back at Ember Hall pushed away all the others. Barith had been a solid force to her for so long, and now—Levian shook her head, setting her jaw. She had to do this alone. Barith wasn’t always going to be there to comfort her and push her when she needed a nudge.
“You must do this yourself,” she whispered, steel in her tone. “He isn’t here, and you can do this alone.” Levian turned, her hand trembling, and reached for the door’s iron handle. The cold bit into her fingers, her grip wavering. With a grumbled curse reminiscent of Barith, she forced her nerves down and pushed the door open.
Merlin’s cell was a spacious oblong room with old wooden furniture and hundreds of books piled high. They were everywhere—stacked on the floor, crammed into sagging shelves, spilling from tables, and even peeking out from under his unmade bed in the corner. Levian loathed her father, but to her chagrin, there was no denying where her love for books and learning came from.
The cold air was heavy with the scent of parchment, damp stone, and incense. Merlin sat slumped in a worn-out wingback chair by the hearth, one socked foot propped up on a rickety table, a book resting on his stomach. He was asleep, his breathing soft and even. Levian’s lips curled into a bitter smirk. Merlin was commanding and intimidating, but watching him nap cut some of her anxieties down a few degrees.
The door shut behind her, echoing through the room. Merlin’s breath hitched, and he tensed, his eyes opening but still fixated down on the book in his lap. He remained utterly still for a moment, then his eyes snapped to hers.
Levian had been given a blessed moment to prepare herself and didn’t flinch when Merlin’s icy blue gaze locked on her, even if her stomach did churn. His eyes sharpened like a predator fixing on his prey. Levian crossed her arms, holding her ground. He might unnerve her, but she’d learned some lessons after her last visit. “Forgive me for interrupting,” she said with vicious sarcasm.
Merlin sat up slowly, swinging his foot off the table and shutting his book. He was gaunt—skin ashen, eyes hollow—a mere ghost of the man she remembered. His long, tangled beard was threaded with grey. His dark robes were ragged. And yet, his keen crystal blue eyes had not dulled in the slightest. “I hadn’t slept in three or four days,” he grumbled.
“Plotting how to escape?” she snarked in an attempt to ease her nerves. Levian forced herself to shift a step further into the room.
A smirk twitched at Merlin’s lips as he set his book aside. “Cercana’sNotes on Universal Magickal Streams, the 6th volume,” he said.
“I’ve read it,” she replied. “It’s quite dense.” The series spanned twelve volumes, each more unhinged than the one before. They were fascinating and challenging to understand butfoundational to anyone studying the sources of magick in the cosmos.
Merlin’s gaze sharpened, lingering on her. “I’ve read through the entire series in a single sitting at least six times. I must be getting old.”
“You are old,” she confirmed flatly. Her tone had been a touch petulant, but she didn’t care.
Her father settled deeper into his chair, tugging at his threadbare robe, a smile playing at his lips. “Now that the pleasantries are behind us, might I ask… what became of that Star you were so interested in last time?”
“It’s none of your business,” she said curtly. Levian had ventured here to visit her father the year prior because she’d been desperate to help Gwendolyn. They’d feared she’d been used as a vessel to hide a dark source of powerful magick, and Merlin knew more than anyone about shadow magick. Through Merlin’s odious counter-speak, Levian had determined that Gwen had likely been used by her father, a vile mage, to hide the Star of Umbra as a babe. It hadn’t been until she’d been reborn part-vampire thanks to Sirus that Levian’s suspicions had been confirmed.
Umbra was the Celestial Star once protected by the Dökk and said to have been cast into the Abyss to save the city from total ruin. It was power itself. A source written about in Cercana’s odious books—and now it was hidden away in one of her dear friends, where she hoped no one would ever find it.
Merlin’s smile faltered at her stark refusal to indulge him. “Then out with it. Why have you come?” he grumbled.
Levian squared her shoulders, moving just a step further into the room. She hated being here again but could almost hear Barith’s growl, telling her she was just as clever as Merlin. All she needed to do was get what she needed and get out. “The Eldreth.”
Merlin cocked a brow at that. She hated how, in one look, he could make her feel like a child again—stupid, insignificant. “You’ll have to elaborate,” he drawled, reaching for a piece of stale bread beside his chair. He tossed it into his mouth, chewing slowly.
Levian’s frustration and frayed nerves boiled to the surface. “What did you steal from them?” she demanded.
For a heartbeat, Merlin stilled—then those cutting blue eyes swung back to meet hers. Levian tilted her head, daring him to deny what she already knew. His eyes narrowed.
“The Eldreth can barter no deal with you,” he said coolly.
Levian drew out a small purple book from her jacket. His gaze locked on it, his posture shifting ever so slightly. Merlin never gave without getting, a fact she’d been reminded of during her last visit. This time, Levian had not come empty-handed. “Tell me what you know, and the book is yours,” she offered.
Merlin’s gaze lingered hungrily on the book. “What is it?”
Levian smirked, feeling triumphantly clever. “The journal of Ylvania, the old Spring King’s daughter. It details her secret love affair with one of the Dökk Lords during The Fall. It is the original and only copy.”
The journal had been a gift from Abigail on one of her birthdays. ‘A rather dark romance with a tragic end’is how the witch had described it. It had been that and more—a glimpse into another time. Another world, long lost. And another example of two creatures from different worlds whose love was not enough to endure their differences.,
Merlin’s eyes narrowed once more; suspicion mingled with curiosity. He leaned back, tapping his fingers together. “So the pixies sent you to me,” he drawled. “But what is it that brought you to them?”
Levian kept silent, letting the question hang unanswered. Merlin’s lips twisted in a half-smile. “It must be rather importantto force you to deal with the likes of the Eldreth.” He shook his head. “They are beneath your dignity.”
Levian’s jaw clenched. “Is that so?”
Merlin sighed, running a hand over his unruly beard. “You are indulgent, Levian, but your heart is pure—like your mother’s.”