A Kingdom of Flame and Fury (The Four Kingdoms Book 1) Read online

  I rolled onto my stomach, my chest heaving from how hard and quick I came from only the thought of her. I pulled my memories forward, the ones I experienced when I locked eyes with her. They were mere frames, never fully forming, but all I saw was her.

  In worlds that had never existed, wearing things I had never seen, odd fabrics and cuts, but she was beautiful in all of them. I had no context to any of them, but I knew my sole purpose in every life was to love her. I regretted spending thirty years of my life never knowing her, finding relief in other women. I couldn’t imagine ever touching someone else again. I wanted all of her, inside and out, only her.

  I buried my face into my pillow. I had a mission. I was sent here to bring her back with me to Reales. That didn’t sound bad, except for the reasoning involved Mira and nothing good could ever involve Mira. I couldn’t let Raven fall into any trap. I needed to keep her safe. I could complete my mission and keep her to myself. I could keep her safe. I would.

  Streams of sunlight pushed through the cracks in the latched door and I rolled over again, throwing the blanket off of me. I needed to clear my mind before I saw her again. I pulled on a loose pair of pants and a short sleeve shirt, stepping into my canvas boots that I laced up quickly. It would be cold as fuck, but I would work myself into a sweat quickly.

  I pushed open the door and stepped on to the deck, extending my arms above my head. The bones in my back popped and tugged. I grabbed my ankles one at a time, bending my knee behind me to stretch my legs. The cold air bit into my skin and I jumped a little before I began a light jog off the dock and onto the snowy ground.

  I circled around the caves of the spring and ran along the water’s edge, listening to the sound of snow crunching under my boots. I ran until I could see more caves farther ahead, but larger. Something small and black stepped out from one of them and I slowed my run back to a jog, squinting my eyes at the small creature.

  It stared at me, its eyes green. I slowed down to a walk, approaching the small cat. It trotted to me and rubbed its back along my legs. I leaned down and scooped it up, its head falling against my chest as I petted it. It purred at me and I smiled, setting it gently back on the ground. It was odd to see a cat living on an island, but I wasn’t expecting to find Raven, either.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I told the animal, though I hoped it wouldn’t be because I was back on my ship. I wanted to be in the castle near Raven.

  I turned and jogged back toward the spring. I was sweating and pulled off my shirt as I approached it, throwing it to the ground. Stopping, I kneeled to remove my boots and shoved my pants off as I stood. I walked into the cave, seeking out the waterfall and ducked under it, letting the cold water cool my skin and wash off the sweat.

  I placed my palms on the cold stone and hung my head, inhaling slow breaths. My heart was beating wildly inside of my chest - not from the jog, but from seeing Raven soon. I rubbed my hands over my hair and stepped out of the water, shaking my head free of the cold droplets and then I crouched, lowering myself down into the hot spring.

  The change in temperature made my jaw clench and I drew in cold air through my clenched teeth as my body adjusted. After a moment, I settled and relaxed into the water, leaning back against the stone wall behind me.

  As much as I may want to, I couldn’t tell her who I was — what we were to one another. I definitely couldn’t tell her why I was truly here. She would have to fall in love with me naturally. I wasn’t going to try and force it. I would get her back to Reales, but it would need to be on her terms. She would have to want it.

  I put my hands on the edge of the wall and lifted myself out, standing to gather my discarded clothes and boots. I ran to the ship, the cold air biting my skin again. Never once had I ever wanted to impress a girl or needed to. They usually flocked to me, but I actually stood in my cabin, staring at the clothes I brought with me and felt the need to look good for my girl.

  I pulled on a long-sleeve black shirt and a heavy leather jacket that had a hood sewn inside to pull over my ears so I didn’t lose them to fucking frostbite. I tugged on a pair of black pants and tucked them into my canvas boots, one of the only two pairs of shoes I brought along on the trip.

  I trembled with a mixture of excitement and sleeplessness. I left the hull and stepped back onto the wooden dock, adjusting the hood of my jacket and shoved my hands into my pockets. Maybe I could get an invite to the castle today so I wouldn't have to continue staying miles away from her.

  ☽༓☾

  The castle came into view and I nodded to the guards as I approached the gate. “I’m here to have an audience with Queen Raven. I am from the kingdom of Reales with horrible news.”

  The guards looked at one another. One of them nodded while the other disappeared through the gate. I waited, ignoring my urge to pace. Or just rush in.

  The door to the steel gate opened and the guard came back, along with a blond guy. I recognized him from the festival. Jeanine’s fuck.

  He tilted his chin up in greeting. “You’re here to see Raven?”

  Raven. They were familiar. The way he said her name was dominating. Intimate. It annoyed me.

  I clenched my jaw as I nodded. “I’m here from Reales. I have to share some news with her.”

  He waited for me to say more, but I didn’t. I kept my mouth shut, appearing indifferent. I wasn’t going to tell him in case he offered to deliver the news instead. “Queen Mira is insistent that Queen Raven is the first one I tell.”

  My blond nuisance stood there, cocking an eyebrow. He was protective of her. I pushed into his recent memories and clenched the fabric of my coat pockets between my fingers. He hadn’t spent the night with Jeanine. He spent it with Raven, sleeping beside her, his arms wrapped around her. I glimpsed her in his shirt and I pulled out, unable to stomach anymore.

  Were they together? They couldn't be. Not with how she was with me last night. All over me. Desperate for more.

  My new enemy motioned for me to follow him. I pushed down the thought of killing him and followed him inside, sensing his hesitation with me. I inhaled and smelled her on him. Pears and jasmine. Fuck, I hated whoever this was.

  I needed to keep my composure.

  He ushered me inside and led me down dimly lit hallways until guards pulled open large red doors that led into a throne room. It was much brighter than ours back home and warmer, even with the chilliness outside.

  “She’s getting dressed for breakfast and then I’ll bring her in.”

  He nodded toward a bench against the wall, but I didn’t move to sit. Instead, I straightened. I was at least two inches taller than him. I didn’t feel threatened by him. But why was her scent all over him?

  “It may be a couple hours. We’re meeting with advisers over breakfast.”

  We. He referred to them as one. He was staking claim of her.

  “I’ll be here,” was all I could reply, because if I had to hear him talk about her like she was his one more time, I would lose it.

  Blondie didn’t say another word as he left me alone. I would have to wait a couple hours to see her. I couldn’t explore the castle in case I missed her. Instead, I paced, finally alone.

  I sifted through the memories I pulled from his mind again, how he watched her as she slept beside him, rubbing her hair — which was black, not purple. Or red. How they laughed, how her cheeks were stained with tears. How his nose touched hers.

  But there was never anything more. Their touching ended with her wrapped in his arms, fast asleep. They seemed comfortable together. Close. Maybe that was all it was. Friends.

  I had to hold on to that, stopping my pacing. I inhaled an impatient breath as I took a seat on the bench and waited.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Raven

  ☽✧

  Luisa’s gasp filled the dining room. I looked to Cade, who stared back at me. Magic had become a curse word around the kingdom. I kept a cool exterior, even though my fire was once again pooled in my stomach, itc
hing to protect me against the mental daggers being shot at me by my own court.

  “And?” It was my only response as my gaze traveled to John, pressing him to challenge me again. This was the worst way he could have gone about this.

  “And,” John began, looking at Cade. “Word has gotten out. They know she possesses darkness. If other kingdoms learn of this… I am not sure what that could mean.”

  Cade straightened in his chair, a low growl erupting from his throat. “There is no darkness in her. She’s never harmed anyone with her abilities, nor has she wished to.”

  I winced at that, biting my bottom lip as I averted my gaze from John and looked back to Cade. That wasn’t entirely true. While the thought of harming any of my people made me feel ill, there had been times when I would become so angry at someone that the thought of burning or blinding them made me ache for their ashes at my feet. But that wasn’t something I had ever shared with Cade. John was correct. There was a darkness inside of me and it had become harder to shove down.

  “You knew about this,” John said.

  It sounded like an accusation, but there was something else behind it that I didn’t have time to digest before Cade growled. “Of course I fucking knew,” Cade responded, his voice like ice.

  I had to agree with that. Of course he fucking knew. He’d known since I was ten years old. I stood with a sudden need to protect him, taking a step closer to him and he wrapped his hand around mine.

  “It is still something that people around every kingdom have long feared. The return of witches. And if words starts to spread that one may be the very leader of this kingdom…” John trailed off, standing upright. He took a step around the table, crossing his hands behind his back. He knew he was getting to Cade and he was egging it on.

  At his words, Cade stood quickly, his chair nearly toppling over behind him as his fists balled at his sides. “She is no witch and it would do you well to remember your place as a member of this court that serves our queen.”

  I supposed I could be a witch. We weren’t really sure.

  But, this was getting out of hand and I needed to take control before something was said between my advisers that couldn’t ever be taken back. Luisa was either in fear or shock, her eyes moving back and forth between Cade and John. This was certainly not how I wanted my morning to go. I wanted solutions, not more problems, and certainly not to be outed during breakfast at my own table.

  I slowly took a step away from Cade, clasping my fingers together and rested my hands against my waist. I contemplated what to say next, how to explain to the others why I had kept this secret.

  “I do possess dark magic. I had a feeling it was something King Leonidas knew about, because I’ve never been able to figure out why he gave me his throne and kingdom.” I was addressing all three of them, my gaze never staying on one face long. “And while I do apologize for not being forthcoming about this, it’s never been something I’ve wanted to advertise about myself. I’ve read the texts in our libraries. I’ve heard the rumors about the Black Forest. I, too, understand that dark magic may have lived there once upon a time.”

  “But I can assure you that I am no more of a danger to you than a knife you use to cut your steak.” My movements were heavily tracked as I moved around the table. “I love this kingdom, I love our people, and I am grateful to all of you here at this table who have taken me as your queen and never questioned my judgment.”

  I turned and stood directly in front of John, my exterior remaining relaxed while inside, I felt choked. “You served our king loyally and knew of his secrets. I would never ask that you share those with anyone else. But, I do ask that from now on, if you learn something about me, you talk to me directly instead of announcing it at my breakfast table. I have, after all, earned the same respect as your queen.”

  He flinched.

  I stopped myself from smiling at his discomfort. “You made a promise to protect me, and before we proceed any further, I need to know if you intend on keeping that promise.” It wasn’t a threat, but it was a warning. Since John knew of my abilities, he was an enemy until he proved otherwise. He picked an odd time to reveal this to everyone and with the new threat looming outside of the palace, I didn’t need this seeping into my home.

  I saw the contemplation behind his eyes as he weighed my words, but I didn’t back down and remained still as I waited for his answer. Cade’s presence crept up behind me as he, too, waited. “I will always protect my queen,” John muttered, barely loud enough for me to hear as he took a small step back and bowed.

  I cocked my head at his words, watching as he turned to his chair. I turned to Cade and locked eyes with him, silently asking where to go from here. He gave me a small shrug. We had held this secret between us for so long that it seemed like an invasion of privacy for others to know. I swallowed and drew in a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves.

  I turned back to face my advisers. “I guess… you should all know what I can do. What I’m about to show you cannot leave this room. Now, more than ever, it’s important that we protect this secret. If John is correct and we could possibly face a war, what I possess could end up being our greatest weapon.”

  Nods of agreement followed my words. I had no choice but to trust them, as they had never given me reason to doubt before.

  I looked around the table for something I could use and grabbed the apple I took a bite out of earlier. Using my free hand, I reached up and removed the diadem from my head and set it on the table. I inhaled deeply and extended my palm flat, the apple balanced on my hand. “Frost,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

  The change on my skull happened first, my shoulders tingling as the tips of my shortened white hair skimmed across them. My eyes opened, changing from dark green to a light blue that seemed to sparkle with snowflakes that fell down my irises. In my hand, the apple on my palm was covered in a dusty snow before it grew a thick dome of ice around it, encasing the apple inside.

  Audible murmurs filled the room at my changed form and the magic that was just witnessed.

  “She’s not done,” Cade muttered before nodding to me.

  I closed my eyes once more, hesitating as I double checked that all of my emotions were in control. “Blaze.”

  The feeling that washed over me was like coming home as my entire body lit up at the command. My white hair turned its fiery red and shortened to my chin, cutting right at my jawline. I rolled my head back as the feeling of fury overtook me. It was like awakening a dormant beast after years of being locked up. My eyes opened to reveal red with flames behind my irises, burning, flickering. Free.

  I blew out a hot breath on the apple, the dome of ice immediately melting around the fruit. I stole a glance at Cade, whose mouth had dropped open slightly, taking all of me in. It was a rarity to see Blaze in full form, since I was always hesitant to bring her to the forefront. This was where I felt most threatening, most deadly. How good it felt to become this dark part of me made me panicky and there was a part of me, and I didn’t know how dominant that part was, that itched to stay like this.

  I rolled my head to the side and bit down on my bottom lip as heat began to build in my stomach and coursed through my veins. Cade sensed the change in me and nudged my leg with the toe of his boot. My eyes snapped to him, his assertive stare being the only beckoning force in the room that could bring me back to reality. My tongue skated across my lips as I rolled my head slowly back to the apple, fire forming in my fingers as I turned it to ashes in my palm.

  Not giving anyone a chance to speak yet, I closed my eyes again and tears pooled in them at the demand to push Blaze back down. “Terra,” I growled through gritted teeth, my fire hesitating and screaming inside of me as it was overtaken by the force of earth.

  I transformed into Terra, my violet hair copying the style from the festival in a braided bun at the top of my head. My eyes changed from red back to gold that gave me a goddess-like glow.

  With my free hand, I made a spinning mo
tion with my fingers, and the ashes of the apple began to dance in the air before they landed on the table to form a tiny tornado that spun across the table, weaving in and out of plates laid in front of my advisers. When I snapped, the ash disappeared, only small particles of dust remnants left to float and fall still.

  While everyone’s eyes were focused on the dust, I closed my eyes and shifted out of my form, my long black hair returning, along with my green eyes.

  They all lifted their gaze to me, mouths hanging open. Luisa looked a little whitewashed at what she just witnessed. I looked at Cade and watched as he scrutinized the others, looking for any sign of a threat.

  “So… you inhabit the elements?” Luisa’s voice was soft as she wrapped her fingers around mine, giving me a small smile.

  Relief washed over me. “I possess earth, fire, and ice. The very wind that gives you chills on a blustery day is the same one that runs through my veins. I am the elements.”

  I was not ashamed. It was a head-scratcher, but the universe entrusted these to me. “My abilities are harmless toward the people we serve and protect. They only come out when they need to.” I didn’t give any more details than that. They’d heard the rumors of why our crime was so low, though they had never asked. “Cade has known about it since I was ten years old. He’s kept my secret as a favor to me.”

  John looked to Cade then, a grin tugging on the corner of his mouth. Cade’s brow furrowed at it, seemingly lost in thought.

  I continued, “I promise to continue protecting this kingdom with my life. That’s all I've ever wanted to do. Please continue to do the same for me,” I pleaded, feeling more exposed now than I had ever been.