Touch of Flame

When the sunset, Malachi went to the dungeon to see Nazneen. He could hear from the clinging sound of chains that she was trying to free herself.

“Don’t bother,” he spoke as he came to stand in front of her cell.

She looked at him through the small window in the door then dragged the chains with her as she stepped closer. “You think if I wanted to kill you or your mate that I would send people to do so?”

“You can’t fault me for thinking so. You always had people do things for you.”

She just glared at him.

“I wonder… where is your breedmate?” He asked her.

She narrowed her eyes, the amber turning into flames. There was certainly a breedmate involved.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

Lies. If she was protecting him, then he had to be involved.

“Then you will know when he comes here to save you and I will have some motivation for you to speak. Or for him.”

Her features hardened but then slowly her lips curved into a smile. “I understand. You are doing all of this to protect your fragile human breedmate. Has she accepted you yet?”

He knew she was trying to anger him so he ignored her remark.

“Must be so difficult for you to have found your breedmate in a human after taking every dragon female to bed. You and your brother Saul. What did they call you?” She pretended to be thoughtful. “Right. The beast. Strange that you have such a reputation. I don’t even remember much of what happened between us.”

“That makes two of us.” Nor did he want to remember.

“Did you mate with her yet?”

He didn’t respond.

She chuckled. “I guess not. But don’t worry. From what I know, if the human traditions are still the same then she must be a virgin. Poor thing will have nothing to compare you to, so I am sure you won’t disappoint.”

“You sure like to talk a lot and you are too interested in my breedmate. Are YOU disappointed perhaps?” He raised a brow. He was trying to know if she did indeed have a breedmate or not.

She scoffed. “King Malachi. Do you think I sought you out because I was enticed by you like other females? I was simply looking for a purebred male.”

“I hope whatever your breedmate is, that he will be pure enough to defend himself once he comes here.”

She shook her head looking disappointed. “You are really bad at this. Your father at least knew how to rule.” She walked back and sat in a corner. “You will only be waiting, King Malachi. No one will come here.”

From the way she acted, someone would surely come to save her.

Malachi walked away from the cell and went back home. As he walked by Ravina’s room, he saw the door open. He paused to see what she was doing. She was sitting at the table and seemed to continue with her sketches. He walked in and she was so focused she didn’t notice his presence until he looked over her shoulder and his shadow was cast on the papers.

She was sketching the weapons. She stopped and looked up over her shoulder. “Where were you?” She asked.

He came to lean on the desk so he could face her. He then told her about Nazneen. Ravina’s eyes widened. “She was locked away for so long?”

He nodded.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I think she angered a witch.” With her behavior, it didn’t surprise him that she had a feud with someone.

“You think she did it?”

“I am mostly suspicious about her breedmate. We will see once we find him.”

She nodded thoughtfully, rolling the pin between her fingers. He looked at her sketch. “It looks almost finished.”

She looked at it as well but made an expression of disappointment. “I don’t think this will do. Pistols are not my expertise and from the bullets, you were shot with, they seem very well-developed nowadays. And they are the most efficient to use so…” she paused to think. “We need to buy them.”

Buy them? What was she thinking about?

“Well, I need at least one to study and replicate.” She added.

“And who will sell weapons to us?” He wondered.

Her gaze shifted and looked at him with caution and hesitance. “I know someone who makes excellent pistols.”

Why did he have a feeling it was Ares?

“I know it is dangerous to go outside but what if I do? I think it will be safer if I go.”

Letting her go to meet the man she liked and having her already confused feelings sway. No. He couldn’t do that.

“It is too risky,” he said.

“It is worth the risk. Not doing anything is risky too.”

“We can find other ways but I can’t put you at risk to get hold of a weapon.”

She looked at him in silence for a long moment. “I am here risking everything, Malachi. If I wanted to be safe, I would have stayed in the castle.”

He sighed. “Then I will go.”

“No one will give you weapons. It is risky for you. Not much with me. I am one of them.”

Malachi was still not convinced. He decided not to promise anything and find a solution meanwhile.

“I need to think about it,” he said.

She nodded calmly and went back to look through her sketches. “I made some other things. These ones are finished. This is the clamp, the terrorizer, and the immortalizer. Of course, I need to make sedatives for this one. And whoever we assign to help us build this, we need to be able to trust them fully. These inventions are very…” she caressed the paper gently but then shook her head and added nothing.

Instead, she turned to him, her eyes calm but the coldness in them remained. He realized it was just part of her. She was cold and focused.

Malachi reached for the curl of hair falling down the side of her face. “I wish we could just escape this. Go somewhere far away.”

She smiled gently. “I used to have such a wish sometimes. Just escape. Find peace somewhere. But doing the right thing doesn’t always make us happy and what makes us happy is not always the right thing.”

There was a simple acceptance in her eyes that made him feel a sting of sadness. She was taking upon herself the huge responsibility of saving her people.

“I understand.” She then sighed, putting the papers in a pile. “We all need to excape sometimes. Maybe we should.”

He wasn’t sure exactly what she was suggesting.

“Shall we go out? I want to ride Darcy.”

Malachi was surprised, that she wasn’t worried anymore about going outside anymore.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

The weather was getting a little colder as the summer was ending but Ravina didn’t look cold as they made their way to the barn. That was when he sensed something and looked up. He spotted a white dragon from afar as they walked by the courthouse. The people passing by noticed as well and looked up but it wasn’t the dragon that caught their attention. It was the man riding the dragon.

Malachi recognized the scent as the wind blew before he saw his face to confirm.

Ares.