Heart of Flame: The Fires of Aileryan by Kate Schumacher

Author:Kate Schumacher [Schumacher, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black-Kat Press
Published: 2022-11-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter thirty-five

He had dreamed of the power that would come to him.

Gedeon examined his face in the polished mirror in his office. His skin had healed well enough, the burns and blisters no longer weeping and oozing vile liquid. He touched his cheek tenderly, feeling the puckered and ruined flesh. He touched his eyelid and ran his finger over the place where his eyebrow used to be. All in all, it wasn’t that bad.

It could have been much worse. The pain had been dreadful, even with Senan messing around in his head. Air magic was not enough to ease the agony, and the weeks he’d spent in bed were fuzzy, his thoughts a clouded mass of bandages and crying flesh. He’d refused the opium, choosing instead to let that pain fuel and inflame him.

Darian was sitting on the other side of the desk, waiting while Gedeon smoothed his hair back from his twisted face. He wouldn’t hide his disfigurement.

A monstrous face for a monster.

‘Bring me the Bloodstones,’ Gedeon ordered. Darian collected the metal box from the desk, carrying it over gingerly and holding it out; Gedeon flipped the lid, reaching in and withdrawing a Bloodstone.

It was warm, and it thrummed with power. He let a snippet of his air magic free, shaped into a needle-thin thread. He stroked the stone – the fire inside sighed and purred, rubbing against the edges of its prison.

‘Beautiful,’ Gedeon cooed. ‘Shall we let you out?’

Darian took a step back.

Slowly, Gedeon coaxed the fire free from its cage. It came hesitantly, like it was scared, as timid as its true owner. Only he was its master now; he needed it to be strong, fearless. With his magic encouraging it, the fire rose in a cloud from the stone, hovering in the air in front of his face. His ruined skin tingled with the memory of that fiery kiss. With his mind, he commanded the fire to halt, and it did. He ordered it into shapes, Darian watching from the other side of the room. Gedeon had the fire performing tricks like a well-trained animal, putting it back inside the stone, the flame obedient and compliant.

His.

How he would make them cower.

He slipped the Bloodstone back in the box and beckoned Darian. The Spirit Rake followed wordlessly as they left Gedeon’s office and headed from the Keep, crossing the short space to the palace, where the Queen lay like one dead. Gedeon ushered the servants away, approaching the grand bed. For a moment, he considered hiding his disfigured face from the Queen – she would ask questions – but he decided it wouldn’t matter soon anyway.

Rowena blinked at him, at the scarred flesh and the unsmiling face. ‘Gedeon? What has happened to you?’

‘The fire caster happened.’

Her eyes widened and she broke into a violent coughing fit. Darian did his job well.

‘Gedeon …’

‘I’m truly sorry, my dear, but you see, Merawuld needs strength. It needs a ruler that will lift this country to its glorious potential. It needs someone who will not bow to our enemies, who will act without hesitation,’ he said simply.

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