Page 113 of By the Flames of Her Fury

He laid down next to me and propped his head on his elbow, his fingers running lazily up and down my forearm. The motion made goosebumps rise to the surface. “Then let’s untangle it. Talk to me, Vera.”

“You think it’s that easy?” I turned onto my side to face him.

“It’s a dream. Anything is possible.”

I slowly raised myself so that I was above him. “Anything?” I murmured, skimming a finger along the hard line of his jaw, the rough scrape of his scruff, the scar beneath his eye. His breath caught as I traced the curve of his mouth. I drifted closer until our noses brushed. My heart swelled painfully against my ribs, full of longing and everything I still didn’t know how to say.

His eyes fluttered shut. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want to talk,” I whispered. “If I can’t have you, let me have this dream.”

My lips found his. Sparks exploded across my skin, as if my light magic had burst free. A moan of relief slipped out as I wound my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. His hands gripped my waist and flipped me to push my back in the soft grass. I ran my tongue along his lips, and he instantly parted for me, fingers clawing up my tunic and pressing into bare skin. Another sound escaped my throat, and I arched my back at his touch. His hungry lips moved to my jaw, then my neck, tongue swiping along skin in a way that made my entire body tighten.

I opened my eyes to see him hovering over me, and beyond that, the cloudless blue sky shining down on us. It was so beautiful that for a second, I couldn’t breathe. The air caught in my throat as reality slammed back into me.

This is just a dream.

The backs of my eyes stung. A tear slipped free and rolled down the side of my face. His lips stopped moving. He raised himself on both hands to look down at me. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

I swallowed and took a shuddering breath. “I just want this to be real.” Another tear slid out. “I don’t want to wake up.”

His forehead fell to mine. “I’m sorry, Vera. I’m so sorry.”

I pushed on his shoulder so he leaned to the side, and I propped myself up next to him. “You don’t have to be sorry. You’re perfect,” I said with a watery smile. “It’s just that, eventually, I have to wake up.”

He slowly tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “But not right now.”

Closing my eyes, I curled into his side, taking one last moment of peace. “No. Not right now.”

54

Vera

“This is the third place we’ve searched today, and all I’ve got to show for it is centaur dung on my boots,” Tessa huffed as we were thrust back onto the main street.

“Better than dragon dung,” Everett added. I glanced between the two of them with raised eyebrows, and he shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”

Villagers passed by on either side of us, making Everett step closer to me. His arm brushed mine, and I sucked in a breath. My dream from last night flickered at the edges of my mind—his rough fingers trailing up my forearm, scruff biting into my skin, the false version of him whispering everything I wanted to hear. Heat crawled up my neck, and I shuffled farther away, earning me a confused glance before I tore my gaze from him and back to the street.

The same magical light fixtures hung in the air to cast light onto the city, and we passed dozens of villagers going about their day. Many of them bowed reverently to the High Elders as we walked by. I could’ve sworn I was starting to recognize some of the people, even after only a couple of days. It was nice to be greeted by their smiles and waves everywhere we went.

“I assure you, we are not enjoying this any more than you are,” Julius said stiffly, flinging a clump of spider venom from his shoulder. “But every location we cross off the list brings us one step closer to finding the true amulet.”

We’d been hunting all day, trying any place the Elders said held value to their people. The first sacrificial altar built to the Fates, the hilltop where the original demithes had lived, the Bridge of Fire where they had given their lives to forge the amulets. We were met with one mythical guardian after another. First the centaurs nearly impaled us with their arrows, then the giant arachnids and their poisonous fangs, all creatures I would be promptly adding to my “do not disturb” list.

I was trying not to panic. This was only our second day—we still had two more before Odessa’s fate was sealed. But I was beginning to wonder if the Fates had made it impossible for us to ever raise this kingdom.

“Let us try one more,” Maeve said encouragingly.

“Fine, but tomorrow, I’m on Odessa duty,” Tessa mumbled, tossing her black braids over a shoulder. We followed Maeve and Julius as they headed south down the dark street.

Everett snorted. “I think you secretly love this, Tessa.”

“Yeah, almost being killed five times a day is a riot,” she shot back.

“You two must be used to it,” I said. “The Ashen Order isn’t exactly rainbows and butterflies.”

“Maybe not.” Tessa shrugged. “But they were the best years of my life.”