Wildfire: Book Two of the Everealm Series

by J. D. Wright

  “You’re Anassa’s daughter.” He wasn’t asking because he already knew the answer.

  “It seems so,” she said. “Wait, how did you know who my mother was?”

  Sidonie was confused, but Leitis did say that Anassa’s magic was sealed, not gone entirely. Perhaps, Zaine was able to sense Anassa’s magic from the moment he met her. But if he knew who she was, why did he still have a relationship with her?

  “What exactly do you want from me?”

  He was avoiding her question. But she honestly didn’t care. There were much more important matters to worry about than her mother’s history with men.

  “I need you to release my magic.”

  “You already have magic. I just saw you use it.”

  “Yes,” she sighed, “but for some reason I can’t access all of it. And what I can access, I can barely control.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know why.”

  He considered it for a moment, looking her over.

  “Under one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Forget my name and never look for me again.”

  “That should be easy considering you haven’t been very pleasant company anyway.”

  He actually smiled, slightly.

  Sidonie heard shouting in the distance. She looked to her right. She couldn’t see anyone, but the sound was getting louder and closer. Someone was shouting her name. Dagan.

  Her father heard it, too, and the scowl returned to his face. He stepped forward and before she could ask him what he was about to do, he placed his hand on her chest, near her heart.

  Immediately, she felt it. The sudden shock of heat was jarring. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she felt like the world was spinning around her. Her father leaned in and whispered in her ear.

  “Remember our deal.”

  And in an instant, he was gone.

  Sidonie dropped to the ground. Every one of her senses were going crazy. The smells of the forest were overpowering her nose causing it to burn. The bird chirping from several feet away was practically screaming in her ear. Everything hurt and nothing made sense. She rocked back and forth trying to soothe herself and started crying. Unlike in the tavern, these tears were real.

  Dagan found her on the ground with her hands over her ears. She was shaking and her eyes were squeezed shut. He sat down and pulled her into arms. From the moment he touched her, he knew that her magic had been released. Their fusion was stronger than ever. But he didn’t ask questions. He just held her and let her weep.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The shadowy room was lined with candles. It smelled faintly of rosewood. Simon was surprised when the soldier brought him here. He expected to be taken to the throne room to hear his sentencing for attempting to help Dahlia escape. He thought Vallica would have rendered his punishment immediately after he was caught. However, she had left him in his dungeon cell for nearly three weeks. He had been counting the days.

  The soldier took out a key and removed the shackles.

  “Wash,” he said, pointing to a bucket of water on the floor in the corner.

  Then the soldier left Simon in the room, alone. He rubbed his wrists where the metal had brushed against them and looked around. The bed in the corner was covered with dark silk sheets. Bright red rose petals were scattered on top of the bed and on the floor below. The drapes were closed tight so that even though it was in the middle of the day, the room was darkened, lit only by the candles.

  Simon walked over to the bucket and pulled out a wet rag. The water was cold, but it seemed clean. It was hard to tell in the candlelight. The cool water felt nice on his skin as he washed off the dirt from the dungeon.

  He heard the door creak when it opened and turned to see Vallica walking in. She was wearing a tight red gown, unlike any he had seen before. Her hair was down which is how he preferred it. She turned and shut the door behind her before walking up to him.

  “Hello, Simon.”

  “Your Highness,” he returned, bowing.

  “I’m sure you are wondering why I’ve brought you here today.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve missed you. I wanted to see you. And I expect that you’ve missed me, as well?”

  “Yes, incredibly.”

  “Good.”

  Without wasting any time, she turned around and pulled her hair to the side, revealing the lacing on her gown. Simon was confused at the situation, but he wasn’t about to refuse her. He reached out and untied the ribbons at the top. Then he started to loosen the gown.

  He had done this dozens of times over the past year that they had been secretly seeing each other behind King Silas’ back. This time was different, however. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her in the same way he did before. She was beautiful and her body certainly still affected him. He could feel himself hardening more and more every time he touched her.

  He had committed treason against her, against his kingdom, by helping to free a prisoner. Yet, here was his queen, expecting him to bed her. He couldn’t understand it. Vallica hated Dahlia and Simon knew it. That fact alone had made the crime even more outrageous. And even though Dahlia had done some terrible things, she still didn’t deserve to be executed in her own kingdom. She had been following her father’s orders when she helped him to kidnap the Queen Mother of Junacave. But Vallica’s hatred toward the Queen Mother had overcome her reasoning. And if having a bitter and spiteful queen wasn’t enough, Sire now had a foul wizard to do its bidding.

  When Vallica’s gown was loose enough, she slipped out of it and turned to face him. Her long black hair hung down, the ends partially covering her nipples. Seeing him eyeing her chest, she brushed her hair behind her. She wanted him to see all of her. All of the woman that he chose to betray.

  “I’m sorry for what I did,” he said, as if he could read her mind.

  “You should be.”

  She stepped closer to him. Putting her hand between his legs, she squeezed him.

  “So you have missed me…” she said. “Undress and meet me on the bed.”

  Vallica walked past him. Simon looked at the door in front of him as he stripped off his clothes. He was tempted to try to flee. If he could manage to escape, he could go into hiding. Shave his beard and find a new profession. A craftsman, perhaps. But even if he did get away, he would constantly live in fear of being caught. His best option now would be to do everything in his power to please the queen. To convince her that he could be useful, once again.

  Walking over to her, he thought back to their first time together. King Silas may not have paid attention to Vallica… but Simon did. Silas may not have appreciated her tall and slim figure, but Simon had. In fact, he knew every inch of her body.

  Climbing onto the bed, Simon put any thoughts of his discretion out of his mind and focused solely on Vallica. Then he used every trick he could think of to please her. Their sex was hot and passionate. He gave her everything he had to give and once he caught his breath, he gave her more. Her moans told him that she was enjoying him every bit as much as he hoped she would.

  When he was sure that she couldn’t take any more of him, he rolled away from her. It took her a moment to regain a steady feeling in her legs before she climbed out of the bed and retrieved her gown from the floor.

  “My, my, my, Simon. I’ve never seen you so bold and spirited before. Perhaps, I should have locked you in the dungeon ages ago…”

  She slid the gown over her body and reached behind her to pull the laces tighter. Simon sat up on the bed and watched her.

  “I am always happy to please my queen,” he said. “I am just so grateful that you have decided to forgive me.”

  “Oh, no. I haven’t forgiven you,” she said, casually, as she tied the laces.

  “But I thought that… since we…”

  Vallica gave Simon a blank stare. A feeling of dread washed over him.

  “What
you have done is unforgivable. You betrayed my trust and aided my enemy.”

  Simon would hardly consider Dahlia to be Vallica’s enemy, but there was no way he would ever be able to convince her of that.

  “I decided on your punishment the moment I caught you. I just needed to keep you locked away until tonight when I brought you here to celebrate.”

  “Celebrate what?”

  “Your execution, of course.”

  Her voice showed no emotion. Like she was ordering a servant to draw her a bath instead of rendering a fatal sentence. Simon couldn’t stop his body from trembling when Vallica called out to her soldiers outside of the door. Suddenly, he wished he had taken his urge to escape more seriously.

  ~*~

  From the moment he arrived he had been searching for it. He knew it had to be here. The blood moon crystal was in Sire. He would have bet a tremendous amount of coin on it. For a moment, he thought the blonde princess may have had it. That lead turned out to be a waste of time.

  Even though he had already searched Larkins chambers, twice, he felt the urge to do it once more. The old wizard had fled the kingdom without his belongings so the room was full of potential hiding places. Vallica said that the only thing Larkin did take with him was the body of the dead king.

  He rummaged through the wardrobe again, then the two trunks at the foot of the bed. He even decided to empty the mattress, creating a huge mess of feathers strewn everywhere. The crystal wasn’t in the mattress either. He was becoming frustrated at his failure to find it. The trail he was following led him from Gallitry to Taberack then to Kilharie, where the trail went cold for several years. It was only recently that he had reason to believe the stone was in Sire. How convenient was it that the queen decided to stab her husband just at the moment Mereck was looking for a way back into the kingdom. He considered it to be fate.

  But having to pander to the queen was a thorn in his side. He could care less about attacking a puny tribe of women in the middle of the forest. Nor did he care to burn patches of an orchard or destroy flocks of sheep. It was Mereck who suggested those tactics. If Vallica had her way, the entire kingdom of Junacave would be in flames. He was able to convince her to start smaller, with the tribe. Then they would attack the neighboring kingdoms, spreading fear throughout the people before finally getting her revenge on Junacave.

  He couldn’t understand her obsession with destroying Junacave. After all, the land that became Sire was once owned by Junacave. If the king hadn’t gifted it to his illegitimate son, the kingdom of Sire wouldn’t exist. She never would have had a king to marry and she certainly wouldn’t be queen now. But that didn’t matter to Vallica who was determined to exact her meaningless revenge and he knew he couldn’t continue to delay it much longer.

  He was distracted by the sound of a trumpet blaring. Something was happening in the courtyard. He left Larkin’s room in disarray and went downstairs.

  ~*~

  Vallica covered her ears. The trumpet was so loud. The idiot could have at least moved further away from her. She would deal with him later. Nothing could ruin this moment for her. She was about to make her position in Sire a more permanent one. She knew the citizens thought she was undeserving of the title ‘Queen’. The whispers around the kingdom were that the daughter of Silas was the rightful heir. However, the daughter of Silas had disappeared. Vallica was outraged when she learned that Dahlia had escaped the dungeon. Simon couldn’t have helped her to break free this time since he was locked in a cell of his own. Regardless, the princess was not present to challenge Vallica for the throne.

  After today, it wouldn’t matter if Dahlia did return. Vallica was going to make her power so well known that no one in the kingdom would ever think to support the princess’ claim. Today, she was going to execute a traitor. She was going to kill Silas’ most prized soldier.

  The courtyard was full of people waiting to watch the execution. Contrary to her husband’s method, Vallica chose beheading. Silas had preferred to administer hangings. He would leave the bodies dangling for days after an execution. He considered it a hefty warning to those who would dare to defy the king. And there had been a great many men who tried to avoid paying their share of taxes on the goods they imported and sold. Sometimes they lied about the number of shipments they received and others would attempt to hide their money where the king’s soldiers couldn’t find it.

  Their efforts were futile. Silas would always know. Ironically, it was usually Simon who discovered the traitors and delivered them to the king to be punished. This time, however, the traitor was Simon.

  Vallica sat in the seat her late husband had sat in for over thirty years and watched as her soldiers brought Simon forward. She was glad to have been able to spend one last night with him. He had always been a good lover. But now he was only a means to an end.

  And his end would be her beginning.

  The crowd was loud as Simon was placed on the stone. His face was turned away from her so she couldn’t see his expression. Nor did she care to. The executioner lifted his axe into the air. Vallica watched as the blade came down, swiftly. Then it was over. Simon was gone.

  Mereck stood behind the queen, watching the event unfold. He wished he were surprised to see Vallica kill her lover. But unfortunately, he had come to expect this from the queen. He shook his head and turned to leave.

  “Oh, Mereck,” Vallica called out, seeing the wizard was about to walk away. “I’ve waited long enough. My cavalry is ready to ride. We will attack Junacave tomorrow, at dusk.”

  “Dusk, Your Highness?” he asked.

  “Yes, dusk. In the darkness, the blue flames should really be a sight to behold. Don’t you think?”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dahlia carried the bucket of barley over to the last stall. She sat it down in front of Firefly, Sir Reeve’s horse, who wasted no time before plunging his long face into it.

  “Take it easy, there,” she said, laughing. When he finished eating, she pulled out her brush and began long strokes down the horse’s mane. Looking out past the stables, the sun was setting in the sky. It was beautiful. She could appreciate it a little more now seeing that she came dangerously close to never witnessing the sun rise or set again in her life. She had a lot to be thankful for. Dagan was able to heal her wounds from Vallica’s whip. She only had two scars on her back that didn’t disappear. Strangely enough, the scars crossed, making an ‘x’ shape. Bree joked that it turned her body into a treasure map.

  Firefly noticed Dahlia had stopped brushing when she became lost in thought. He nipped at her hand.

  “Sorry,” she said and continued again. She looked back out at the horizon and froze.

  Smoke.

  Immediately, she dropped the brush and ran to alert the queen. The attack on Junacave had begun.

  The wildfire was here.

  The guard and knights were prepared in case Dagan and Sidonie didn’t return in time, which proved to be the case. Bree hadn’t heard a single word of their progress, if any, even though they were supposed to return today. It seemed that Junacave would have to defend itself.

  Rowan left with Nick and a large percentage of the guard to meet Sire’s cavalry, south of the castle grounds. Bree and her family went up to a balcony in the guest wing to watch from afar while there was still some light in the sky. Sarita was scared and clung to Cicilly’s gown. Bree tried to stay strong. But watching the man she loved ride away with the rest of the brave men who were about to defend her kingdom was too much for any woman to bear. When Rowan disappeared over the hill, her tears began to fall.

  Smoke poured into the sky. Fields were burning and there was nothing they could do about the fire. No weapon could stop it. They would just have to deal with Sire’s military and hope that a miracle would occur.

  Rowan caught up with Reeve at the top of the next hill. From there, they could see Sire’s troops riding toward them. Nick was already on his way down the hill. They were
n’t outnumbered, which was a good thing, but the blue fire was spreading rapidly on both sides of them. Soon, they would be surrounded. Rowan gave Dragon a gentle pat. Then he pulled his sword and kicked his heels. They sped off toward the enemy and the flames.

  ~*~

  Dagan, Sidonie, and Edmund were exhausted from riding night and day to get back to Junacave. The moment the ship pulled into port in Sire, they learned that Queen Vallica’s troops were already on their way to Junacave. They took Donner Trail through the brush, in an attempt to make up lost time.

  “Dagan, look!” Sidonie shouted, pointing up through the trees ahead. Smoke was billowing into the sky.

  “Remember the plan, Sid. Your only focus is to find the wizard. You only need to touch him to seal his magic and prevent him from making any more wildfire.”

  “You can’t possibly extinguish the fire yourself, Dagan!”

  “Don’t worry about me,” he said, slowing his horse to a stop. From there, they could barely see men on horseback, fighting each other on the next hillside. Dagan turned to Edmund, “Go with her. Help her find Mereck.”

  Sidonie pulled the reins to the side and took off. She glanced over her shoulder once more and watched Dagan disappear over the hill. She needed to find Mereck and assumed he would stay back from the fire. But after riding all the way around where it was apparent the wildfire had started from, there was no sign of him. She panicked.

  “I still don’t see him. Should we keep looking? The sun will be gone by the time we make it back around, if we keep going,” she said. Edmund agreed that there was no point to looking for Mereck any longer. They needed to help Dagan stop the fire before it reached the castle walls.