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

  That wasn’t embarrassing at all. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed, looking down at my boots. “Ah. I wouldn’t have worn these if I had known you’d show up in my throne room.”

  “You sound disappointed.”

  I was quick to reply, “On the contrary.”

  He smiled brightly. It was charming to see. “Want a drink?” He nodded back toward the village.

  I frowned. “Was it busy? I don’t typically go out.” At least, not when people were around while I was undisguised.

  He shook his head at my question. “Only a couple stragglers. It’s closing soon, but we have time for a couple drinks.”

  I wished I could shift, give myself some anonymity. We smiled at one another and he held out his hand, again asking to lead me somewhere. I should go back to my room. Go to sleep. Wake up with a fresh head before our palace tour. But he was intoxicating. And absolutely devastating lit up by the moonlight. And I was curious as to why I felt such a magnetic pull to him.

  So I took his hand.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Zeke

  ☽✧

  I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face as I left the throne room. Her heat was encasing her and her attempt at pretending like we had never met was endearing. She was toying with blondie, but I hadn’t sensed lust on her. It was all agitation. From him, though… my fingers curled into fists at my sides. He wanted her. He was envious at how we talked to one another, his eyes never leaving us and how she kept touching me.

  I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to see her, but I couldn’t push her. I needed to go about this the right way. If I were to come on too strong, she may ask that I return to Reales. I could tell by the way she interacted with people around her that she may not be close to many. There was something reserved about her, but a fierceness, too. I could practically taste it on her.

  I walked out of the castle back into the courtyard and nearly stumbled into John. “Fuck,” I spat out. I’d seen him twice already. “What?” I asked him, crossing my arms over my chest. I wanted to go to Duck’s and drink myself into a stupor until tomorrow.

  “You met Raven then,” he said.

  I lifted a bored eyebrow.

  “What do you think?”

  “I think she’s a spitfire.” And she was. I wasn’t lying. I just wasn’t telling him everything.

  John laughed softly at my words, looking back into the castle like he could see her.

  “Why does Mira want me to marry her? Why does she want her in Reales?”

  John didn’t look at me, contemplating something. “Make sure she doesn’t get suspicious about anything.”

  I still hadn't earned the right to know why I was here apparently, only that Mira’s intentions for Raven weren’t pure. I didn’t say anything else and left him standing there. I would have to figure it out on my own. I refused to hurt her, if that was the endgame. I wouldn’t play along with that.

  I needed a drink. I walked briskly to Duck’s, wanting my rum. When I entered the pub, it was a lot busier than it had been at the festival. Arthur motioned me over with a towel in his hand. I slid onto a stool, grinning like a cat when he filled my glass full of exactly why I came here.

  “I requested more bottles,” he said to me.

  I tipped my glass to him before I threw it back.

  ☽༓☾

  I was quiet for a while. Five drinks in and the thick liquid was replacing my blood. “I think I’m in love.” My words were slurred as they tumbled out. “She has purple hair.” Her hair was black, but I saw it when it was purple and it looked so real.

  Arthur chuckled as he cleaned out a glass left by another patron.

  “Are soul mates real?” I had never believed in them, having spent at least fifteen years fucking my way through the female population of three of the four kingdoms. Nothing I felt ever resembled love. Or like. More like tolerance.

  “Soul mates and twin flames are rare, and they’re both destined to be together.” He leaned his forearms down against the bar top and looked at me. “I think my wife was mine. I never looked at another woman like I saw her. It was something else.”

  “What’s the difference between soul mates and twin flames?”

  Arthur smiled at me, probably because he couldn’t understand what I said as I tipped back my sixth glass of rum. “Soul mates can be anyone. A friend, a lover, someone you met briefly.”

  Raven wasn’t anyone.

  “Twin flames are two halves of one soul. There’s an intense connection that can’t be replicated. There’s pain associated with flames, both people mirroring one another. When you find your twin, you can’t be apart from them without going a little mad.”

  Mad, as in getting drunk in a pub midafternoon because I couldn’t be with her? If so, I was mad.

  “How do you know so much about them?” He didn’t seem like the type who would believe in things like this. I didn’t think I could ever be one, either. Yet, here I was, getting wasted in a pub because I was wholly convinced that purple-haired demon was meant to be in my life.

  “My wife did,” he answered. “She read often. A lot about how magic used to live in our realm. Mates and flames are a rarity, and they used to be treasured. When they existed, there would be celebrations for days. At least, that’s what her books used to tell her. I haven’t met any, nor have there been any pairings in a very long time. It always intrigued her, so she’d sit on one of these stools every night and tell me about them, or anything else she read.” There was a sadness in his voice as he recalled time spent with his wife, whom I assumed he lost. “Do you think your girl with purple hair may be one of those to you?”

  I swished the rum around in my glass as I thought about his question through my unfocused mind, laden with alcohol. “Twin flame,” I said. “I think she’s my twin flame.”

  And if they were such a rarity, I was determined to do nothing but treasure her.

  ☽༓☾

  I didn’t have to wait until tomorrow to see her again. Her hand was in mine, trusting me to guide her back into the village. I had been walking back from Duck’s when I saw her stomping toward the castle, more irritation seeping out of her.

  She always seemed so conflicted about something, unable to process through all of the emotions that raged through her. I could practically hear her heart beating through her chest when I approached her, but my presence calmed her. And she looked absolutely radiant in the moonlight. It suited her.

  She seemed relaxed, but she was chewing on her bottom lip. She was worried about a lot of people seeing her. According to Arthur, she frequented his pub, but I wondered how, or when. Or with whom. I pushed that thought back.

  She stopped and dropped her hand from mine. I immediately wanted to grab it again, but she was removing the diadem from her hair and handing it to me. I looked around the village. It was dark and empty. No one was going to see her.

  She bent over and threw all of her wild mane over with her, gathering it in her hands. Swinging up, she put the messy blob on her head. I couldn’t help but grin, shaking my head a little. She was trying to blend in, but she didn’t realize that she looked like no one I had ever seen before. Her green eyes alone could bring a man to his knees, and I would readily fall to mine for her.

  I pulled open my jacket and placed her diadem in one of my larger pockets before looking back to her. “I am not sure what you’re hoping to accomplish with that.”

  She gave me a small shrug, self-doubt creeping across her skin. How this alluring creature could ever doubt herself was beyond me. “It makes me uncomfortable when people feel like they have to treat me differently because of my title.”

  I wanted to scoop her up. She was so pure.

  “But you are their queen.” I extended my hand out to her and she took it.

  As I led her in, she muttered, “It’s just a title.” She was so desperate to be part of something, to feel welcomed.

  She looked around the room and all I could do was watch he
r. That was all I wanted to do. I was perfectly content to just be in her presence. When she noticed Arthur, I followed her gaze. He stopped wiping down the bar and a smile erupted across his face. Her attempt at a cover was already blown.

  “If it isn't the queen walking into my pub.” He came out from behind the bar and bowed to her, grabbing the hand I wasn’t holding and kissed it.

  I flinched as I stopped myself from pulling her away, not wanting to see anyone’s mouth on her but mine, even if I did like Arthur.

  “Hello, Arthur.” She beamed at him like they were familiar and then she tilted her head to me. “I want to introduce you to my friend, Zeke.”

  We were way more than just friends.

  Arthur laughed and whipped my arm with his towel. “I have gotten to know Zeke well. He visits my pub daily lately. I’ve had to send out for more rum because he’s cleaning me out. He was just in here earlier, going on about some girl with purple hair.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose as he ratted me out.

  “Purple hair, Queen Raven. I don’t think I believe him.”

  She stared at me as my cheeks heated. “Just call me Raven, Arthur. And no, I wouldn’t believe him.”

  What a wicked woman. She dropped her hand from mine and I watched her climb onto the barstool. Her feet couldn’t fully touch the floor and I grinned, sitting down on mine and stretching my legs out. I rested my elbows on the bar and shook my head at Arthur who started to laugh at me, whipping my arm again with his towel. “What can I get you two? My treat.”

  Like hell, his treat. He’d had to restock already because of me.

  “Rum for him, obviously,” Raven said.

  I chuckled at her.

  “I’ll take an ale, or two. As long as you promise to keep my secret.” She winked at Arthur.

  He gave her a subtle nod. “You wouldn’t believe how many secrets I have, Raven.”

  I glanced at him. He said her name like they were old friends. He did hold some of her secrets. She had visited here.

  He turned from us and grabbed my glass, setting it down in front of me and poured my favorite rum. “Last bottle,” he warned me.

  I grabbed my glass, circling it around in my hand. I’d had way too many of these, but a couple more couldn’t hurt.

  He set down a frozen glass in front of her full of a golden ale. She nudged me and I set my glass down, knowing what was coming. “It’s a little too soon for you to start telling people about me.”

  She laughed as I hung my head between my hands, my cheeks reddening again. “This is why I don’t talk to people.”

  That made her laugh harder. It was giggly and wonderful to hear. She held up her glass and turned slightly toward me. “Cheers me.”

  I grabbed my glass and knocked it to hers. “To girls with purple hair.” I threw my drink back while she and Arthur both laughed again. I watched her as she drank her ale, sensing the tranquility that settled on her shoulders as she took another draw.

  Arthur refilled my glass before he left us at the bar alone to wipe down his tables.

  “Tell me about Reales,” she said.

  I stared down at the rum in my glass, swirling it around before taking another sip. What could I tell her that wouldn’t turn her off from visiting? “It’s big.”

  She snorted. “Descriptive. Thanks.”

  A small grin tugged at the corner of my mouth. I needed to give her something. “Ah, let’s see.” I thought of the things I loved about the Reales I used to know. “It spans out for miles, stretching so far back that it would take weeks, maybe months, to see all of it. There’s a forest, like yours, full of pine trees.”

  I heard her inhale through her nose.

  “It’s always dark, even in the warm months.” Or had been lately. The sun didn’t want to witness the horrific crimes happening in my town.

  Her knee knocked against my thigh and the smallest touch had me itching to pull her to me. She took another sip and nodded at my words. I assumed she was trying to picture it. “I like dark,” she said as she put her glass down. She started on the second one that Arthur came over to pour. “I can’t imagine anything bigger than here. I’ve been to Perosan and Thoya, but I was young. I don’t remember much of it.”

  She deserved to see the world.

  “Not much of a traveler?” I asked her, unable to peel my eyes away from her as she inhaled her drink quickly.

  So many questions I wanted to ask her. What was hurting you, Raven? Why were you always so deep in thought?

  “Not much time.” Her voice was low and there was sorrow to it. She was young, but there was such an old soul within her. How could she have already lived so much life?

  I wanted to take her sorrow, let it rest in my bones instead.

  “Do you want to see more?”

  She nodded slowly, circling the rim of her glass with the tip of her finger. “I want to see it all. I’ve never been to Reales. It’s the one kingdom in our realm I haven’t visited.”

  I knew that — only because I would have noticed her if she had visited. “I can show you around when we get there.” She wouldn’t be leaving my sight, anyway. Not with the kind of people who walked around there.

  She smiled at my offer, pulling the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth. I grinned at her blushing, and then finished the last of my rum and pushed the glass to the edge of the bar, signaling that I was done.

  Arthur came back to us, nodding toward our empty glasses. “Do you two want another?”

  She looked at me. I didn’t want this night to end.

  I didn’t want any of them to end with her.

  I shook my head at Arthur, but kept my eyes on her. “We have another excursion planned after this.”

  She tilted her head at me, confusion skating across her face. But it was quickly replaced with curiosity. She hopped down from her barstool. Giddiness was not an emotion I was used to, but that was what I felt when I realized that she didn’t want to be done with me yet, either.

  I dropped some gold coins on the bar as Arthur came around. My eyes narrowed slightly as he pulled her into his arms for a hug. “We love our queen, young man.” He released her, but kept his arm around her shoulders.

  My jaw ticked.

  “Bring her back in one piece.”

  She started to giggle and I needed her in my arms. I reached over and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from Arthur and to me. “I promise to bring her back as good as new.” I dipped my chin to Arthur and he waved goodbye as I led her out of the pub and back onto the crunchy snow. I pulled her close to me and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, peering down at those green eyes. “I have one more place to show you.”

  She nodded. Good girl.

  ☽༓☾

  I walked the familiar path toward the forest and she was quiet beside me, lost somewhere in her mind again. I wanted to search her memories to try and figure out why she was so mangled and drawn into herself.

  “Where are you taking me?” As we neared the border that led to the forest, she glanced at a cottage that shared it.

  I followed her gaze. Who was there? “I saw a place when I docked here a couple days ago. I planned on coming back down here at night to see it lit up only by the moonlight.”

  She stopped when twigs snapped under her feet and I glanced over my shoulder. She looked a little dazed. I worried she downed her drinks too fast and wondered if I needed to escort her back to her room and let her sleep it off. “Need a break?”

  She looked at me like I asked her if we needed to go back and get her a cane. She snorted and that sound again made me smile. “No, I don’t need a break. Do you know what this is?”

  I raised my eyebrow at her question and looked back toward the forest. “A forest?”

  Her eyes rolled and I had to hold back a laugh. “The Black Forest.”

  Ah, it had a name. Made sense with how dark the trees were.

  “Do you not like this place?” Please say you do, I pleaded silently. r />
  “I love it. But, no one ever goes in here.”

  That explained the lack of disturbances I had when we first docked here — except for my friend: the black cat.

  I threaded our fingers and pulled her flush against me. Fuck, I wanted her. “And why’s that?”

  She sighed softly and I loved how nervous I made her.

  “Magic.”

  I stared down at her, my fingers loosening around hers. Magic. Right. The whole reason I was sent here. She possessed magic. The men she burned. “And do you believe there is?”

  She contemplated something before she answered. “I know there is.” Not a confession.

  I dipped my chin to her and leaned closer, our mouths only inches apart. I could taste her breath. No one ever came in here; I could take her here. My dick hardened at the thought. But I wanted to show her the spring, make it our own. “Let’s go make some magic then.” My voice was low, only for her ears.

  I took a step backward, tugging her over the border and she smiled. I turned from her, begrudgingly, because all I wanted to do was stare at her, and weaved her through the trees.

  “You said you saw something when you docked? The docks are pretty far away from here.” She didn’t know about mine then.

  I shook my head. “Not the dock I found.”

  She looked around as she tried to figure out where I could be taking her, but I didn’t sense fear in her. Only curiosity. She had the same taste for adventure as I did.

  “We’re almost there.”

  I smiled as her fingers wrapped around my wrist, pulling herself closer to me. She trusted me. And then I frowned. She shouldn’t. I was here for reasons that I couldn't tell her — for reasons I didn’t want to tell her.

  The castle had faded from view, but she looked more at home here than I had seen since I met her. She looked more… alive. I led her through the last of the trees as the clearing opened up in front of us, revealing the spring that looked more like black sand in the moonlight. The only thing that gave it away was the steam rising from the water.