I closed in on the fire fiend as if I were a cat hunting her prey. I could sense his presence nearby. We were close.
Our group was making our way down a hill when I saw it—a patch of tall grass in the valley below, with the blades bent eastward. It wouldn’t have stood out to the untrained eye, but it was as clear as a bright yellow flag to me. I imagined the fire fiend crouching, watching a rabbit weave in and out of the brush: his dinner. I followed the trail further into a clearing and spotted a scorched pile of twigs and bone. He’d left the remains of the rabbit splayed out in the open grass, an offering to the less-fortunate birds.
I stood over the charred bones while searching my surroundings desperately.
“Even scumbag fire fiends gotta eat, I guess,” Scrod said, his voice heavy with disgust.
“Where is he?” Herbert demanded, approaching me.
I scanned the valley hopelessly. “His trail goes cold here. We’ve lost him.”
Herbert’s face twisted with rage. His eyes flashed with unspeakable anger, then focused back on me, sharp as daggers. “We haven’t lost anything! Find him!”
“He must be covering his tracks. He knows we’re following him.” I peered into the tree-lined hill that lay before us. “I’ll search ahead, but the rest of you should stay here. If he’s watching us, it’ll be easier for me to pick up his trail without the rest of you following me.”
I could feel the prince’s eyes pinned on my back as I stepped into the maze of trees. The moment I was out of everyone’s view I crouched down, slipping my hand into my waistband and gripping the blade once more.
The fire fiend was nearby. I could still feel it, like a warmth permeating space and time, tickling my skin. I dropped low and ran across the uneven ground, up over a hill and back down again, keeping my path unpredictable and covered from every angle. Once I was certain he had lost me, I looped back around, gliding over the rocks in silence.
I clenched the handle of the knife as I leapt down onto the soft dirt, and pressed the tip of my blade against the back of the fire fiend’s neck.
Chapter 4
He twitched beneath my weapon, and I watched as the hairs along his neck visibly prickled. He turned his face to the side, offering me a glimpse of his profile.
His nose was crooked, broken in at least two places. He blinked slowly, his long lashes beating like the wings of a butterfly, and he puffed out his lips in irritation. From this vantage point I could see every line and curve of his features, both delicate and hard. I could sense his breath, slow and cautious, and I had the strange sense that I had not snuck up on him at all. Rather, he’d been the one to lure me here, to let me find him.
I was his prey.
“Don’t move,” I warned him under my breath while pushing the tip of my short sword harder into his skin. The point made a fine indent, threatening to pierce his flesh, and heat radiated off his body, washing over my hand in pleasant waves.
“I won’t move,” he said. An accent, thick and warm, like the seaside folk of the north. I didn’t expect that.
“Good. Now tell me something.” My hand began to tremble and I focused my energy on trying to slow down my hammering heart. My hand relaxed. “Why did you help me back at the lake?”
He snickered under his breath…his voice was warm and rich as it rose up in his chest. I had to force myself to scowl at him.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Do you threaten everyone who has ever tried to help you?” He tilted his head, and a provocative smile touched his lips. “Or am I a special case?”
“I said don’t move,” I insisted, grimacing. “I’m the one holding the blade, so I get to ask the questions. Why did you kill the Crown Prince?”
“Does this mean you don’t care why I saved you from the wild boars? Oh gods…I just asked another question, didn’t I?” His lip twitched, and he began to turn his head in my direction.
My hand was trembling again. “I said, don’t m—”
A sharp crackle cut through the air beside me and I snapped my attention towards the sound, pointing the blade in its direction. A large leaf lay on the dirt, curling in on itself as a bright flame ate its way through it.
Before I had a chance to react, the fire fiend’s hand was curled around my wrist, pushing away my weapon. He was facing me now, with his fierce yellow eyes on mine. My body tensed as I weighed my options: fight, flee, scream—do something—anything! But I just stood there, letting him pull me closer.
“Old fire fiend trick,” he said with a smile.
I could smell his scent now, a fragrant bouquet of burning wood surrounded by mist…or maybe it was fresh rain falling on crisp dried leaves. He’d bathed recently, and I wondered if he’d gone back to the thermal lake where we’d first met. Had he stripped off his clothes just as I’d done, and surrendered to the warmth of the water just like I had?
In a slow, languid movement, as if he were drifting underwater, he let go of my wrist and raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. Another wave of heat ran through my body, chasing away the frosty chill from earlier.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said.
Gods, I wanted to believe him.
My breath caught in my throat. My instincts were whispering to me that he meant every word. Perhaps it was my training or the rational part of my brain, but I still held the blade by my side, ready to defend myself just in case.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I reminded him.
He took another step closer, closing the gap between us once more. I stood my ground.
“I didn’t kill your crown prince,” he whispered.
“His brother, Prince Herbert, said—”
“Of course he said one of us killed his brother. That’s what they do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Whenever one of those damned royals wants to cover up a crime, they burn the evidence and blame it on a fire fiend.” His voice was agitated, fury burning between the words.
“But Prince Herbert said he saw you running away from his brother’s quarters,” I stammered. “He said that he chased you—”
He barked a laugh. “Impossible. Herbert didn’t see me because I wasn’t there.”
I gripped the handle of my short sword tightly, trying to ignore the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed. Unlike most of my hunting party, there was absolutely no malice in this man’s expression. I blew a stray hair out of my face. “Then how did Prince Herbert know where to find you?”
“Easy. It’s common knowledge among my kind that the royal family have scouts keeping track of our whereabouts at all times. When a royal needs someone to blame, they plant some evidence on the closest fire fiend and send a bunch of fools to do the dirty work. Problem solved.”
“I’m not a fool,” I said.
He looked down at me then, his eyes softening for a moment. Then they hardened again as his gaze lowered.
“So you’re here to help me, then?” His voice was hard, sarcastic.
I followed his gaze to the blade in my grip, watching my knuckles turning bone-white as I clenched onto the handle. I looked back up at him.
“I… I don’t know why I’m here.”
He nodded slowly, then leaned forward, until we were almost touching. The heat of his skin was unbelievable, bathing me in hypnotic waves of bliss. It felt like coming in from the cold and warming my hands by the hearth…or sliding into the soft embrace of a hot bath.
“My name is Merrick,” he said, his breath tickling my nose…my lips. “I was born on the north coast.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
He ignored my question, and continued to speak. “My father was a fire fiend—my mother was not. My father managed to hide his identity for long enough. Things were different back then. People were more willing to turn a blind eye to illicit unions. Or so my parents thought.”
A hushed wind travelled through the surrounding trees, an
d we both paused to listen out for footsteps. After a long, silent moment, we turned back to look at one another.
“When I was in my tenth year, my affinity for fire began to show. My father tried to teach me how to control my developing powers, but someone from the village noticed and went to the courts. My parents pleaded with the authorities, saying that they simply wanted a family and that we were no danger to the village. That didn’t matter to the magistrate. Nor did it matter to the King. He…” Merrick trailed off, his glowing eyes wandering over the surrounding brush. “I was able to escape the death sentence put upon my family, and made my way down south to the Brimstones. I’ve been living here ever since.”
Merrick went quiet and dropped his eyes to the ground. Without thinking, I reached up and placed a hand on his forearm. My fingers brushed along his bare skin, and my fingertips prickled with an odd sensation, as if I were touching an open flame, yet it didn’t burn me. I didn’t pull back, and was surprised to find that there was no pain, only a strange and not-so-distant pleasure.
Everything began to fall into place, like a blindfold having been lifted away to reveal an awful truth I was always aware of on some level, but too afraid to confront. Even when I’d asked Prince Herbert for proof that a fire fiend had killed his brother, I’d backed down from pressing him on the issue.
“I believe you,” I whispered.
He looked down at me, his yellow eyes flashing. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. His gaze travelled over my face, lingering on my lips, then returned back to my eyes.
I felt his hand on my hip, then the other slide around my waist. My breath hitched as I let go of my blade, letting it fall onto the grass with a soft hush. Merrick pulled me in, and I had to hold my breath as my body was engulfed by his radiant heat. I exhaled, long and slow, and a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
He placed his lips against my ear. “Thank you,” he whispered.
I couldn’t help myself. I pulled him in closer and nuzzled his neck. He just felt too good not to. I felt a shiver run through him, and his fingers curled around my waist, trembling with the tension of untapped desire. If he was living wild among the creatures of the forest, only the gods knew how often he had the chance to lay with a woman. I suddenly wanted to be that chance for him…and I wanted it for myself. I kissed down his neck, teasing him again.
My fingers grasped onto his body, making a mental note of the tensed muscles straining against his clothing. I wanted to float down to the soft grass underneath our feet and pull him down with me. I wanted to feel his heat on every inch of my body—and I wanted to feel that heat inside of me. I brushed my lips against his ear and felt another shudder run through him. The all-consuming fire between us was mutual. I opened my mouth to whisper instructions to him, but I was interrupted by the sound of leaves crunching nearby.
The two of us froze.
I felt him drop away from me, reaching for the blade. But I was the trained hunter, and the weapon was in my grip before he had a chance to reach for it. We both spun around to the origin of the sound. A small deer had leaped over a fallen tree, and was now watching us with wide, cautious eyes.
Relieved laughter rose up from my lungs and I had to cover my mouth with a hand to keep it from escaping. I leaned back against Merrick and he pulled me close, returning his lips to my neck while the deer escaped into the mist.
I turned around and faced Merrick, slipping the blade back into my waistband. His eyes were burning with intensity again, and his lips quivered as if he were about to speak. I reached up and placed a hand on his chest, feeling the power of his strength beneath his clothing.
Another breeze came through the trees, only this one carried voices on it. They were familiar sounds brushing past my hunter ears: the unmistakable sharpness of Herbert’s haughty accent, followed by the low mutterings of the other men.
I whipped around; my heart hammering, and my blood rushing through my body. All of my instincts were screaming the same thing: fight, run, scream! I could see their silhouettes pushing through the misty fog, threatening to appear at any moment.
Fight it is.
Chapter 5
I slid the blade from my waist with one hand, then reached back with the other to grip onto Merrick’s arm, only to grasp at empty air. The men broke through the fog and stomped into the clearing without any of the grace demonstrated by the deer. When their eyes fell on us, they weren’t soft and large, but small and beady. I braced myself for the attack, trying to calculate the odds of me keeping them away from Merrick.
“Good gods, hunter girl,” Scrod said, chuckling, “You’re a strange one.”
They continued walking towards us and I dropped low, preparing to fight. I looked back to Merrick. All I saw was a scatter of trees and layers of mist in the distance. The fire fiend was gone.
Prince Herbert approached me. “Well, then, Lyss? Did you find any tracks?”
I peered into the woods, straining to see through the fog. A faint glimpse of a silhouette was fading into the distance, moving between the shadowy figures of the trees.
Turning back to the prince, I shrugged and slipped the blade back into my waistband. “He must have passed through a while ago. The only tracks I found were pretty old.”
The prince let out a sigh and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Let’s set up camp nearby. We’ll continue the search in the morning.” He turned to Scrod. “Fetch me something to eat. All this running around is making me peckish.”
The men began to walk away, leaving me alone in the clearing. I turned around, reaching out into the air where Merrick was standing moments ago. I could feel a trace of his heat lingering on the air, and I ran my fingers through the warmth.
The tiniest wisp of smoke caught my nose, and I looked down to see a small leaf curling in the lush green grass. Ignoring the blackened edges, I picked it up and inspected it in the dim glow of the light. The leaf smoldered, sending a tiny thread of smoke up into the sky. A remnant of Merrick, still warm from his touch. I held it in my palm, feeling the soft burn as it stung my skin. The moment the fire was snuffed, I slipped it into my pocket and followed the men through the forest.
*
“If you could…” Doyle started, then interrupted himself with a deafening belch. Dale and Scrod burst into laughter, and Doyle waved his thick arms in the air, attempting to silence them. “I’m not finished!” he said with a drunken smile. “If you could have your way with any of the women in the village, who would it be?”
“My friend,” Sydney said, placing a hand on Doyle’s massive knee, “You’re assuming I couldn’t already have my way with any woman I pleased.”
“Oh come on,” Doyle said, swiping at the smaller man’s head, “Look at you! Only woman that’d go near you would have to be paid some serious coin.”
Dale grinned, his crooked teeth flashing bright in the light of the fire. “Once we get paid for this whole mess, that’s precisely what I plan on doing.”
“What about you, Scrod?”
Scrod raised an eyebrow at Doyle.
“Who would you fuck? First choice.”
Scrod’s gaze swept across the group and fell on me. He continued to stare, and the other men followed his gaze. I rolled my eyes, turning away from them.
“You’re going to get burned, you know.”
I turned to look up at Prince Herbert, who I hadn’t even noticed was standing beside me. He held a small piece of blackened wood and a small golden knife in his slender hands. His delicate fingers moved back and forth as he carved away pieces of the bark, leaving them to drop onto the dirt at his feet.
“Sitting so close to the fire like that. You’re asking for trouble.” He nodded his head towards the fire crackling beside me.
The flames licked in spurts and spirals, leaping towards me in desperate flickers. I hadn’t even noticed how close I’d moved towards it, and I made a conscious effort to sidle away from its warmth.
“We’ll find him tomorrow,” Herbert continued, and he pulled his eyes away from the blade to look at me.
“Is that so?” I asked. I took a swig of my drink, and was surprised to find it empty. My head was spinning. I know I didn’t have that much to drink. I was always careful about staying aware of my surroundings.
“I’m certain of it.” His wild eyes were dancing through the darkness. “Poor hunter girl. This must be hard for you.”
I set the empty cup down at my feet and stumbled over to my bedroll. The texture of the canvas felt unusually soft on my skin, and I smiled as I climbed within its embrace. I gripped my dagger. The sky above was a blanket of pearl-white mist, drifting along endlessly, and my eyes trailed along its abundant wisps and curls.
I thought of Merrick. I pictured his face, his skin illuminated by the glow of fire. I imagined the feel of his muscles beneath my fingertips. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the burned leaf and brought it to my lips. The smell of smoke and ash filled me, taking me away to a deep sleep.
I woke in the middle of the night. Despite my drunken state, I still managed to retain my sense of time. A hunter through-and-through, I thought, grinning to myself.
That grin didn’t last long.
I sat up and felt a churn rise up within me. Trying to control my stomach, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It only took a few moments to realize that my attempts were in vain, and my body had its own ideas. I slid out of my bedroll and ran to the edge of the clearing, grabbing ahold of a low branch as I threw up into the tall grass. I heaved for a few more minutes, then stood, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. My head was clearing, and I felt the world around me stabilize. If I’d had any doubts about it prior to this moment, they had vanished. I knew that I’d been drugged with something.
I took another few deep breaths, feeling the crisp, fresh air fill my lungs. A sharp gust of wind drifted through the trees, and I pulled my cloak tight around my body as the chill rushed towards me. The faint whisper of voices travelled on the breeze and I cocked my head, straining to hear the sound.
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