Fragile Reign (Mortal Enchantment Book 2) (18 page)

“You will order no such attack. Even now I question whether your army will stand by you.” I spoke as loud as I could. “I will prove to you that I am the true king. I will stand in the eternal flame, and when I return unscathed, you will give me your allegiance.”

“By all means, Rowan.” Valac waved his hands, urging me toward the doorway. “I will be happy to watch you die.”

Obviously, my mother had told Valac the same story she told me—the flame could unmake a fire elemental. That was the only way to explain his confidence. It didn’t matter to me either way. There was something about the inferno urging me forward. It was as if it somehow sensed my presence. There wasn’t much known about its power. The history books told us very little. The eldest members of our court decided the information was best kept a secret, even from our own kind. I did know that the soul of the fire elemental returned to the flame upon death. I started to make my way over to the door when Marcus stepped in my path. He was still in his hound form, but the worry in his eyes told the story for him.

I put my hand on top of his furry head. “You have to let me do this.”

He whimpered, lowering his head.

My voice turned stern. “You need to make me a promise. No matter what happens, you do not go in there after me. I want you to swear on my life.” The hounds had been breathing heavy from the moment they set foot in this cave. The closer Marcus got to the flame, the more he fought to breathe. If he went in after me, I doubted he would survive. I needed to know he’d be okay before I could step in there.

Tears welled in his eyes as he nodded. A second later, he moved to let me pass by.

There was nothing left to do except enter the eternal flame.

With each step I took, the temperature increased. If I had to guess, I would say it was about as hot as the surface of the sun. A rush of heat blew against my face. Although it didn’t bother me, I still sensed its presence. Hot steam pressed against my skin. The inferno pulsated with energy. Fireballs spit out from the doorway, hissing as they flew by. I had to duck a few times or else one would have smacked me right in the face.

When I reached the rock doorway, I glanced inside. Fire filled every crevice of the room that seemed to go on for miles. Round, flat surfaced rocks made a pathway between the pools of smoking lava. I had no idea where the path led, but there were no other options. I stepped onto the first rock. It didn’t sink, which was a positive. Then I stepped onto each additional one like I was a frog leaping on lily pads. I unsheathed my sword, preparing to throw it out of the room before it melted. To my surprise the handle was cool. Apparently, the eternal flame was not made of the core fire element. It was something more, something magical.

The rock pathway led to a massive flat surface in the middle of pools of lava. I leaped onto it and circled around, taking in everything around me. There were no caves in sight. The only sound I heard was the crackling of the flames. I was surrounded by endless walls of fire. Minus the ocean of lava, the inferno was everywhere. The yellow and orange burning light increased as if someone had added fuel to the flames. It got so intense I had to cover my eyes with the back of my hand. Something seemed to be happening. Everything around me pulsated like a heartbeat.

It felt alive.

A voice whispered in my mind. At first, I only heard my name repeated. Each time the voice was louder, clearer. Brita spoke to me the same way—telepathically. Were the spirits within the flame trying to communicate with me? I rubbed the back of my neck. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. There was no script for this. I decided the voice was waiting for me to answer back. I bent on one knee. “Yes,” I said, out loud. “I am Rowan, son of Prisma from the House Djin. I came here—”

A deep voice answered back from within my head.
“We know who you are, son of Prisma, and first queen of the court of fire.”

I kept looking around, expecting someone to come out of the fire. “Do you know why I am here?” I asked.

“You have come to be remade.”

I suddenly had visions of myself as a piece of Play-Doh. “No, I think I’m made pretty well.” I waved my palms out in front of me. “No complaints here.”

“We have watched you for some time, Prince Rowan of House Djin. We know of your struggles, the pain you endured to save another, the risks you took to secure the safety of your court. You have exhibited strength, knowledge, and selflessness. Are these not the characteristics of a true king? Rise up young king and accept our gift.”

I stood.

Before I could guess the meaning of the words, pain shot through my entire body. Searing pain unlike anything I had ever experienced. This was even worse than having Marcus tear my wings from my body. Definitely not the gift I was hoping for. “What are you doing to me,” I cried out. My teeth clenched, my eyes squeezed shut. The pain shifted almost entirely to my back. The scars felt as if they were opening while the skin stretched. Bones in my back shifted, relocating into different positions.

Was I being remade into a Gabriel Hound?

My knees buckled and I hit the ground with a hard thump. I felt something tugging at my wrists as if it were caught in the brisk wind. When I opened my eyes, I realized it was my shirt. Whatever was happening to my back has ripped my shirt in half. Something feeling similar to a knife sliced down my spine. I screamed out, unable to hold back. My back bowed. A moment later, I fell forward. My face hit the hard ground. Blood dripped from my nose.

I took turns panting and wailing from the sheer agony. Sweat trickled down the back of my neck. When I reached the point where I thought I could take no more, the pain ended. The sudden change took me by surprise. I continued to lay on the hard surface for another minute. I needed to make sure the pain wouldn’t return before I attempted to stand again. After a while, I managed to get onto all fours. But something was different. There was a heavy weight on my back. Reaching back, my fingers landed on something soft.

Feathers.

I rose to my feet. Black feathers stretched out on either side of my body. I ran my hand over them, still not believing what I was seeing. The feathers were exactly how I remembered them: soft on the edges and course at the tip. The cartilage and bones connecting them to me expanded. They were part of me, attached to my spine. I shook my head in total astonishment as happiness overwhelmed me. It was like Christmas and Birthdays and Disney World all wrapped into one. I had never imagined in all my dreams that I would know this feeling again.

Wings. The eternal flame had returned my wings.

I fell to my knees, tears bursting from my eyes. My heart was beating a million miles a minute, yet it didn’t feel real. It was as if I were dreaming. “Thank you,” I said, out loud.

I didn’t wait for a response. I had a certain elemental on a power trip that needed to be dealt with. I backed up on the flat surface, giving myself some running room. I took off, hitting full speed after about five seconds. Leaping up, I spread my wings as far as they would expand. Air rushed between the individual feathers, tickling me. Hot wind whipped against my face. I was going fast, allowing my power to flow through my new wings. Soon, I had the doorway in sight. I shot through it like a rocket.

The cave was crawling with fire elementals emerged in war. Bloodied bodies lined the floor. The hounds were taking on multiple rogues at a time. Valac was likely responsible for this. He must have assumed I was dead. I truly had no idea how long I was in there. The pain made it seem like an eternity. I swooped down, clutching my sword in my hand. I twisted in between the clusters of fighting elementals.

I needed to get their attention.

“Enough! Put down your weapons.” I flew only a few feet above the fighting. Using my sword, I sliced in between the warriors to interrupt their attacks on one another. Slowly, the battle came to an end. Most stood with their mouths open, total shock appeared to be their reaction. I was going for a big entrance and judging by their looks of astonishment, I would say I succeeded. I landed on top of a broken pillar. From this height I could see them all. Marcus appeared from out of the crowd and relief spilled over my shoulders. Blood dripped down from his mouth, but otherwise, he appeared to be okay.

I sheathed my sword. With my fists on my hips and wings flared at my sides, I said, “Now you have the proof you need. Swear you allegiance to me. This is the last chance you’ll get.”

The Gabriel Hounds were the first to bow, lowering their massive heads. Rogue elementals lowered their weapons, letting them clank against the hard ground one at a time. Each of the remaining elementals bent on one knee. This was what I had been waiting for. I had finally managed to unite the fire court. Only one thing left to do: find Valac in the crowd and rip his throat out. “Where is Valac?” I asked. “Show yourself, coward.”

A bogie stepped forward, covered in blood. I wasn’t surprised to see them involved in the skirmish. They were well-known for their love of a good brawl. The creatures were half the size of a full-grown mortal, but extremely dangerous. They were covered in coarse body hair with large noses and pointy ears. “I saw Valac leave some time ago,” he said. “A few elementals followed him.”

I don’t know why I was surprised. Valac did exactly what I said he would do. There was never a plan for him to fight his own battle. He expected his army to do the dirty work. I would bet money he left when the fighting began. Little did he know, his luck was about to run out. “Now that I am king, I command that Valac be found and made to stand trial. He will be accountable for his crimes.”

I will end him and finally bring peace to the court of fire.

Kalin

I had reached the pinnacle of frustration.

No matter what I did or how hard I concentrated, I could not summon my power. Nothing. Not even the slightest glow of my aura. Zero. I put my hands over my face, shaking my head. There couldn’t be a worse time for all of this to happen. Too much was at stake. I reached a point where I was checking in on Dad every few hours, probably driving him nuts. He hadn’t made any improvement. His power was there—which was more than I could say for myself—but it was weak. Mom worried. I could tell by the creases across her forehead. As always, she kept her feelings to herself.

No matter how bad things got, she never wanted to burden me.

Pulling my knees to my chest, I stared out into the clear skies. It was another beautiful day in Avalon. The temperatures were in the lower seventies without any hint of rain. It was a perfect t-shirt and jeans weather day, which was what I wore. I had been outside since the sun rose. For the last few hours the castle had been bustling. Air elementals prepared for the big engagement party hosted by the woodland court. The party I couldn’t talk them out of—no matter how hard I tried.

Orion and Marlena promised a lavish affair, and it looks like they were not exaggerating. The party invitations—engraved onto thin slices of twenty-four carat gold—were delivered by tiny will-o’-the-wisps. All of the elementals from each court had been invited. Dread ached in my chest. This had ‘bad idea’ written all over it. Many members of the fire court had come to despise the air and woodland elementals. How easy would it be for a war to start right there at the party? Too easy. But Orion thought the party might bring the courts back together.

His view of the situation was about as far away from mine as possible.

Bash’s response shocked me the most. He knew better than anyone that our engagement wasn’t real. It was his suggestion after all. Why would he want to parade around as my soon-to-be-husband only to reveal the big lie later on? Those exact words came from Rowan. He hadn’t trusted Bash from the beginning. But he had never met him. Since he first arrived at the castle, Bash had been there for me. From his words of encouragement to his unwavering friendship. No, it was unfair to doubt him. Rowan would realize that once they met.

“Princess Kalin.” One of my guards called out, awakening me from my thoughts. “I am sorry to disturb you, but Ariel insists that you are needed in your quarters. She said it is an emergency.”

I packed the akasha journals back into my bag, hoisting the handle over my shoulder. “Thanks.” I said, giving the knight a two finger salute. After all this time, they still weirded me out. Having someone watching me all the time felt pretty stalkerish, but I got it. That was their job.

I made it back to my room in no time at all. When I opened the door I had to step over piles of fabric and sewing equipment. Apparently, the seamstresses had been busy in my absence. The evidence was all over the floor. Ariel sat slumped in a chair, her fingers tapping the armrest. This wasn’t the cheery elemental I was used to seeing. And the scowl across her face told me it was about to get ugly in here.

“Do you know what I’ve been doing all morning?” Ariel asked, voice full of agitation.

“Perfecting your twerk?” I joked, unsuccessfully attempting to lighten the mood.

It looked as if steam was about to come out of her ears. “I’ve been trying on dresses.
Your
dresses for
your
fake engagement party. They’ve all been fitted for me because
you
were gone.”

I cringed. When I went out this morning, I asked not to be disturbed. I told the guards to say that I wished to be in private, no matter who came asking. I had forgotten all about the dress fitting. I grabbed her hands, pulling her up and out of the chair. “I’m so sorry, Ariel. I genuinely forgot.” I glanced over to the bed. A stack of dresses lay on top in a rainbow of colors. “I can see you’ve worked really hard on this. I’ll find some way to make it up to you. I promise.”

Ariel rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah you will.” She said, crossing her arms. “But for right now, we need to get you ready for this party.”

Oh right, like I could forget. Instead of focusing my time on regaining my powers, I was only hours away from my big fat fake engagement party. Where was Bash and his awesome wine when I needed him? “You know this is going to be a total disaster, right?”