Breath of Fire

by Amanda Bouchet

  I look for something more snugly fitted. There’s no time to have a dress sewn to my new measurements, and now that there’s less of me, I need to better display what I’ve still got. “What color would Griffin like?”

  “I believe he’s partial to red,” Jocasta answers.

  “Hmm. Hardly appropriate for a wedding.”

  “What about white?” she asks.

  I wrinkle my nose. “Too virginal. There’s always ivory.” I always end up with ivory.

  “Too boring,” she says.

  Sighing, I flop into a nearby chair, suddenly exhausted. “I should just get married like this.” Old boots, brown pants, a dark-green tunic, my worn belt, and the Terrible Tangle to top it all off.

  Jocasta shakes her head. “You’d regret it forever.”

  I hardly agree, but on the off chance she’s right, I finally choose a gown with extra draping at the hips. It’s a mix of alluring blues and subtle greens, the color so much like the inviting, clear water off the Fisan coast that a strange pang hits my chest. Feeling curiously emotional about it, I make a special request of the merchant regarding the shoulder clasps. He goes into the back room to heat the unadorned gold and then imprint it with the stamps I asked for.

  “What about you and Kaia?” I ask.

  Jocasta waves a dismissive hand. “We don’t need anything new. This day is about you.”

  “And Griffin.”

  She rolls her eyes. “What bride ever said that?”

  “You’re right.” I grin. “Let’s spend the rest of the afternoon at the Aphrodite Baths and see what the women there can do about my hair. I hear they work wonders with milk.”

  CHAPTER 26

  I’m nervous. I’m actually shaking, which is absurd. I’ve faced down monsters with more courage than this.

  Griffin stands proudly by my side. Dark linen hugs his long, strong legs, and a snowy-white tunic offsets his jet-black hair and striking gray eyes. He’s freshly shaved, and his hair is neat and tamed, although it’s still overlong—evidence of the warlord who will forever underlie the king.

  “The Sintan crest.” Griffin lifts his hand and traces a warm finger over my shoulder next to one golden clasp.

  The butterflies that colonized my belly the moment I saw him at the temple take flight. “It seemed appropriate.”

  “It is,” he says, love, approval, and something hotter in his eyes.

  Just then, the sky opens up outside the sanctuary, and rain starts falling in sheets on the other side of the fat marble columns. Day fades deeper into night as the holy man blesses my veil. My unbound hair stirs on the damp breeze, already curling again.

  Griffin brushes a heavy coil over my shoulder. “So smooth,” he murmurs, his fingertips lingering on my skin.

  Heat spreads through me as cool, humid air breezes in. The combination provokes a pleasant shiver. Then I hear music and singing and freeze.

  My eyes widen in accusation. “You promised me a private ceremony. Only family.”

  Griffin’s steady gaze holds mine. “I would never betray you.”

  I turn, and the people who enter the temple in a soaking-wet display of color and completely irreverent pageantry are family. Everyone I used to live and work with at the circus is here, my dearest friends leading the way. Desma weaves rainbows around the temple. Aetos pounds a drum, dancing with wild grace. Tadd and Alyssa spin and leap down the central aisle, twisting and shouting in the air while Zosimo and Yannis twirl flaming batons and toss them back and forth to each other. Vasili and his wife sing a joyous southern melody, their rich voices carrying as if they were twenty instead of two. Thunder rolls during the refrain, like Olympus itself is accompanying them. My eyes blur, and my heart starts pounding to the same stirring tune.

  Selena walks alone, utterly dry. The moment our eyes meet, a lump lodges in my throat. My breath stutters, but I blink my tears away, not wanting to miss a second of this. It’s too unexpected. Too perfect.

  I look at Griffin, overwhelmed. “I’m taking Hoi Polloi vows.” I’d already decided, but I want him to know. Hoi Polloi make a verbal pledge of love, protection, devotion, and fidelity. Most Magoi don’t dare lock themselves into something so permanent and simply go through the ceremony without saying a word.

  Griffin’s mouth curves, and it’s the most devastating smile I’ve ever seen. His chest expands. “You won’t regret it.”

  I nod. “I know.” If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s him.

  Selena stops in front of me, sparing Griffin a brief glance that’s surprisingly neutral. He must be growing on her.

  She unsheathes an ornate golden knife, lifts a lock of my hair, and then shears off the bottom few inches. She places the lock in my palm, and my skin tingles where our hands meet.

  I turn and drop the lock into the flaming chalice next to the holy man. “May Persephone bless our union.”

  The holy man looks shocked. We are in a temple dedicated to Athena. But Persephone’s name came to me and stuck. Springtime, renewal, the land’s rebirth. In a way, Persephone represents Griffin’s and my goal—a purpose I’m still struggling with, but trying to accept.

  I glance at Selena, hoping she doesn’t mind. The two women share Hades, after all.

  Selena nods her approval, and I face forward again, relieved.

  Still frowning his displeasure, the holy man puts the blessed veil over my head. It’s too thick to see clearly anymore, and I reach for Griffin. His hand is warm and dry and a comfort as the rest of the world fades around me. He says the vows first, his voice strong and sure, the truth in each word anchoring him deep into my bones.

  When it’s my turn, the binding promises race through my blood. The moment I finish, a powerful jolt of magic nearly knocks me off my feet. Griffin steadies me with a firm hand on my waist and another on my elbow as lightning flashes beyond the stone columns and thunder rumbles overhead.

  Griffin removes my veil, handing it back to the holy man. My husband smiles down at me, his eyes brilliant, and my heart gives an elated thump. He’s mine. Forever. In this world, and in the next.

  Carver appears at Griffin’s elbow with two rings. Griffin slides the smaller one onto my finger and then gives the other one to me. They’re gold and completely simple. I love them. I love him.

  I slip Griffin’s ring onto his hand, short of breath from sheer happiness. “I can’t believe you did all this in one day. You must be exhausted.”

  He flashes me a tingle-inducing grin while the holy man lays my veil at Athena’s feet. The statue is ten feet tall and dominates the back portion of the temple. “I’ve still got plenty of energy”—he winks—“for an old man.”

  Giddiness swoops through me in a light and heady tumble. “I’m breathless with anticipation.” Flippant doesn’t work. I sound ridiculously eager.

  Griffin chuckles softly, obviously knowing exactly what he does to me. “How did you spend your day, Wife?”

  A spasm hits my chest, a shock of pure joy. “Buying this dress and soaking in milk.”

  Griffin’s eyebrows lift. “Milk?”

  “Yes. I’m very soft. Everywhere.”

  His eyes smolder in the torchlight. “If there wasn’t one more thing to do, you’d be over my shoulder and we’d be headed for the nearest dark alley right now.”

  “In the rain? In my new dress?” I gasp, mock-horrified, completely on board.

  “A cyclone couldn’t stop me.”

  Heat dances up my spine.

  Looking like he almost wants to cancel whatever else he has planned and find that alley, Griffin finally waves Egeria over. She unwraps a cloth, revealing a crown nestled in the protective folds. Just one. Fiery red gemstones. Sleek uniform pearls. Gold.

  The symbolism is instantly clear to me, and my heart drops with a hard thud.

  Griffin places the circle on my h
ead. “Sintan gold. Tarvan rubies. Fisan pearls.” His voice carries to every corner of the temple, and I break out in a wash of goose bumps. It’s almost a cold sweat. He just made a statement about a unified future. He crowned me. There aren’t many people here, but not one of them is stupid.

  My breathing turns erratic. I feel ambushed. “This wasn’t part of the plan.”

  Griffin lifts my chin, gently but firmly forcing me to look at him. “This is the plan. This is our family, your closest friends. These are our allies.” His knuckles glide along my jaw. “I was wrong when I talked about you being the shield and me being the sword.”

  I swallow. That’s when he said we’d forge a new world. Plan in motion. Apparently.

  Griffin’s eyes capture mine and don’t let go. His steadiness grounds me when it feels like all of Thalyria is tipping sideways, and I’m sliding off. “You’re the shield and the sword.”

  I stop breathing, but something in his words and the deep, even cadence of his voice realigns me, helping me to find balance again. An unfamiliar calm suffuses me, replacing both air and blood. It spreads within my body—quiet, inevitable—the kind of calm that heralds the breaking storm.

  My lungs fill again, and my voice comes out surprisingly steady. “So what does that make you?”

  He smiles, his expression sure. Unflappable. “Whatever you need, agapi mou.” Griffin raises both my hands to his lips. His breath is warm against my skin, and his quietly spoken promise crushes the lingering fear inside me, compressing it into a small but unbreakable nugget of hope.

  CHAPTER 27

  “There is a way to get inside Castle Tarva without anyone knowing why you’re really there.” Frowning, Aetos swipes a huge hand over his blue head, rubbing the back of his tattooed skull.

  “And that is…?” I prompt when he doesn’t go on. The circus residents stayed overnight in the castle after the wedding feast. This morning, everyone but Aetos, Desma, Vasili, and Selena returned to the venue, leaving me the day to more or less reveal all, including my true identity, my Kingmaker Magic, my destiny to tear down borders and unify the realms, and the serpent’s nest Acantha Tarva has been stirring up.

  Cool and composed, as always, Selena processed the information better than the others, making me wonder how much she already knew. Griffin’s family is here, too, and now that everyone has wrapped their heads around me being Beta Fisa and apparently the new Origin according to (pffft!) Artemis, ideas are starting to flow.

  Sort of.

  Aetos keeps his mouth shut, clearly regretting having said anything at all, and I glance out the deep-set windows, attempting patience. The courtyard is already darkening beyond the row of marble arches, each day closing faster than the last with the now usual show of rolling wet clouds racing each other toward the horizon. A damp, storm-charged breeze hits the back of my neck, lifting the wisps of loose hair there.

  Turning back to the room, my gaze settles first on Kato and Flynn before moving on to Griffin’s parents and sisters. Griffin is next to me. Carver is on his right. Along with Selena, the members of Beta Team, technically Alpha Team now, are the only ones who don’t look like they’ve been kicked by a Centaur for the better part of the day. Griffin’s family already knew who I am, but Fate just added a whole new aspect to things. Vasili has been stoic, if worried. Desma’s eyes are red and puffy, and Aetos mainly looks thumping mad.

  “Aetos!” Patience is not my strong suit.

  “If I say it, I’ll be as bad as him.” Aetos indicates Griffin with a jerk of his chin. “Dragging you into something you might not come out of.”

  Griffin bristles beside me. His voice hardens, turning flinty. “Are you saying I don’t protect my wife?”

  A thrill rushes through me despite the seriousness of what’s going on. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to Griffin calling me that.

  His large hands braced on his thighs, Aetos leans forward and engages Griffin in an epic stare-down. “I’m saying you can’t. Do this, and you’ll die, too.”

  “Do what?” I toss up my hands, exasperated.

  Desma pops out of her chair, the sudden movement breaking the men’s tense eye contact. “There’s no reason to do anything. Delta Tarva will back off now that you have the Ipotane on the border, and the Power Bid will blow over. She’ll just have to oust her own family if she wants a throne. You don’t have to get involved. Let Acantha have Tarva. Let your mother have Fisa. Just be happy for once. Love your husband. Live in a castle. Eat spice cakes. You’re not responsible for the world!”

  I sigh. I wish that were true. “Apparently, all of Olympus thinks I am. Griffin thinks I am. Gods help me, even I’m starting to think I am. There’s no more burying my head in the sand.”

  Selena sits up straighter. “Sand.” She turns, and her eyes narrow on Aetos.

  I rock to the edge of my seat. “Do you know what Aetos is talking about?”

  She nods. “Risky. It could work.”

  When Selena doesn’t offer anything else, I glare at Aetos. “Start talking, or I’ll start fighting. You know I will.”

  He blows out a long breath, rubbing his knees. “You’d think of it yourself anyway.” His big shoulders slump. “The Agon Games.”

  The idea hits me with the force of a solid blow. Think of it myself? I should have thought of it weeks ago when we were in Kitros and the entire city was vibrating in anticipation of the upcoming competition. “The winning team goes to the castle. It’s tradition.” I beam at Aetos. “That’s a fantastic idea!”

  “It’s a horrible idea!” he snarls back.

  Griffin’s reaction is just as violently negative. “You’re not going anywhere near an arena and fights to the death.”

  “It’s not always to the death.” Only usually. And for the last few centuries. In the beginning, the Agon Games were about healthy competition—poetry, music, dance, grappling, running, discus throwing, and other physical contests. Athletes and artists vied for the attention of the Origin and the chance to serve in his court. But after the kingdom split, generations of depraved royals corrupted the spirit of the Games, turning them into something else entirely. They became brutal and bloodthirsty, just like the sovereigns themselves. These days, all that remains of the tradition are the central location in what used to be the seat of the Origin’s kingdom, the four-year interval between Games, and the invitation for the winners to humbly bow before the nearby ruling family—now the Tarvan royals.

  I jump up, turning to Griffin. “It’s the perfect solution. We get access to the Tarvan royals without having to invade, without endangering anyone but ourselves, and without creating dissent between two armies and two populations we’re aiming to combine.”

  Griffin stands, too, towering over me. Glowering. “That’s if we win.”

  “How can we not? The Gods are with us. You know that!”

  Something restless and almost violent seethes in his expression. “Sometimes the Gods are barely fast enough to keep up with your blatant disregard for your own safety. Even Artemis said you’re hard to keep alive.”

  Guilt wrings my chest like an iron fist. “I told you I’d be more careful. And Artemis and her stupid archer can kiss my—”

  “Even if you survive, the rest of your team may not,” Selena cuts in coolly. “Is that a risk you’re willing to take?”

  I whirl on Selena and then take an involuntary step back. She has a pretty epic hard stare herself, and it hits me like a God Bolt.

  Risk my team to save thousands of people from what could be a long and bloody war? Every face I love comes sharply into focus. They’re all here.

  My heart starts to pound, but I refuse to deflate. “It’s a good idea. I won’t lose my team.”

  “You’re sure?” Selena asks.

  I deflate a little. I can’t help it. “Do you think I will? Do you know something I don’t?”

 
Selena shrugs, which isn’t an answer.

  “Do you think we should do this?” I ask outright. If Selena says no, I’ll listen.

  She hesitates, seeming to choose her words carefully. “You could try.”

  I go very still. Griffin looks over sharply. How does Selena know about his family’s de facto motto? I can’t tell anything from her tone. It wasn’t ominous. It wasn’t teasing. What is she telling me to do?

  I reach for Griffin’s hand. “I can steal whatever magic our opponents have. There’s nothing they can throw at us that I can’t counter.”

  “What about that moment it takes you to adjust?” Flynn asks.

  I flash him a smile that’s all teeth. “That’s when you’ll be watching my back.”

  “It’s not only about magic,” Selena interjects. “There are many ways to win the Agon Games.”

  “These men are good fighters,” I say. “The best.”

  “I don’t doubt their skill,” she responds. “But sometimes it’s purely a question of size.”

  That draws me up short. Last time, a team with two Centaurs on it won. They simply had more muscle, pounds, and raw physical power than anyone else. The time before that, a Giant crushed everyone in the arena without the rest of its team lifting more than a halfhearted blade. The accounts of mangling turned my stomach.

  Kato catches my eye, his cobalt gaze carrying more weight than usual. “We’ll figure it out. We always do, and Cat’s never led us astray.”

  He nods to me then, a solemn message of confidence in the slow dip of his chin. My heart knocks hard against my ribs. Did I suddenly become the leader of this group? I spin toward Griffin. He’s in charge. He’s always in charge.

  With an almost imperceptible nod, Griffin cedes the decision to me. My stomach cramps. Sintan gold. Tarvan rubies. Fisan pearls. Yesterday, with six words and a crown, he put the world in my hands, and I didn’t run away screaming when I had the chance. In fact, the only screaming I did yesterday was underneath him in our bedroom. And on top.

  My pulse hammers, pumping adrenaline and anxiety through my veins. The choice weighs too much. It hurts my chest. Can we do this? Should we?