Edie laughed, tilting her head to the side as she lifted her hand up to play with a strand of her hair, curling it around her finger.
“I want what every girl wants,” She replied. “Power. A crown,” She sighed. “But there are underlying issues of murdering a king who has an heir to take his place after his death.”
She leaned in, the tip of her nose grazing against his cheek as Isaiah tried to turn his head away from her. He was better off just closing his eyes to show his disgust.
“Do you see my dilemma, Sweetheart?” She asked softly.
“No crown is rightfully yours,” Isaiah responded bitterly as he narrowed his eyes to the best of his ability at the moment. “Did you bring me here to kill me or are you just going to give me idle chat?” He asked, “What have you done with Heidi?”
“So many questions that I really don’t care to answer,” Edie replied, pulling away from him as she straightened up. She heaved a sigh as she walked back to a small table nearby.
It was then that Isaiah was able to focus his vision enough to take in his surroundings. He was in some sort of room; at least it had once been a room. Now it looked like a room that was overran by a jungle. There were vines everywhere, tangling around the shelves and tables. Roots had grown through the floor, bursting through the concrete and allowing for a large tree to grow upwards and through the ceiling. Isaiah had the feeling that it was no ordinary tree that had grown over there in time. He didn’t doubt that it was Edie’s handiwork.
The darkening sky did not provide any lighting through the hole in the ceiling, but he supposed that’s why there was a lantern dangling from one of the branches of the tree. He heard a low groan coming from the base of the bark-head and he couldn’t be sure if the tree was laughing triumphantly because of what it was witnessing, or if it was mourning what Edie was doing.
“Heidi isn’t here. I don’t have any use of her yet. I’m sure she’s probably still in her little dorm room crying over you or something. What was it that happened again? She burnt a Fire fairy or something? That’s the thing about her and that’s why I’m not concerned. She’s weak. There is nothing there to worry me. She’s just a little girl. Getting rid of her later is going to be so incredibly easy.”
Edie lifted an object in her hand then and Isaiah tensed. It was a lighter, but not just any ordinary lighter. It was an elongated lighter that was used to light stoves. Edie grinned maliciously as she approached him again, crouching down as she held it out.
“To answer your first question, you’re here because I need your daddy here. He’s too busy fighting off the unknown at the moment, which by the way, are a few friends of mine who are just as tired of your high and mighty nonsense as I am-but soon enough, he’s going to be distraught with the news that his precious baby boy has been captured,” Her smile grew bigger. “He’ll have no choice but to come here straight away. That’s exactly what I want,” Her eyes darkened.
It took all the strength he could muster for Isaiah to lurch forward. He wanted nothing more than to drive a shard of ice straight through her chest. That would make him very happy. But his body was temporarily compromised and he couldn’t get it to do anything he wanted, which was what Edie wanted.
With a simple motion of her hand, Edie willed the thick vines to creep over the concrete floor, crawling over the back of the counter before they hung down, tangling around Isaiah’s wrists and lifting them to be level at his shoulders. He didn’t see that it was necessary to restrain him when he couldn’t bloody coordinate himself in the first place. Wise move on her behalf, he supposed, because when he was able to regain his physical functioning she was in trouble.
He grunted when he felt the vines tightening. He curled his fingers, nails digging into his palms from his frustration as she laughed.
“Don’t be stupid, Zay,” She said softly. She pressed the small button, the flame from the tip of the lighter igniting as Isaiah furrowed his brows to the best of his ability. That stupid tree hugging cow. She was trying to intimidate him. Albeit if there was ever a time in which she could, it was now. He was rendered powerless; she could do as she pleased. He was helpless against whatever she had planned and that was the part that bothered him the most. He should have been prepared for anything and he hadn’t been.
He should have been more like Heidi. It was sort of funny how much he wanted Heidi to be there at the moment; but at the same time he didn’t. If she wasn’t here, it meant she was out of harm’s way. She was safe. He was glad she was safe.
Isaiah let out a small groan of discomfort as he felt the flame that had been placed just beneath his index finger. He blinked rapidly but ultimately shut his eyes more tightly as Edie laughed. His skin did not burn like a human’s, because he wasn’t human. Instead the pale flesh began to turn a faint blue before water began to drip down, no different from an icicle.
“That’s interesting,” Edie said, shifting to move closer as she pulled the lighter away from his hand. “You don’t even bleed, do you?”
“I do,” Isaiah muttered, turning his head in her direction as he opened his blue eyes to stare at her. “But you’d have to dig a little deeper, Sweetheart.”
Edie’s smile grew as she batted her lashes, her fingers tracing over his chest as she let her nose graze against his cheek again.
“Is that an invitation, Zay?” She asked softly, “Because you know…I could gut you and not think twice. I wouldn’t feel bad for it,” Her lips ghosted over his cool skin as he swallowed hard. “But you should keep in mind that a Queen needs her King, especially one who knows what he’s doing in the sack.”
He couldn’t even bring himself to be humored by that comment. She needed to get some roots untangled in that head of hers if she thought he was stupid enough to want to be with her now. She planned to kill his family and take away what was his? How did the adage go? When Hell froze over.
“I think I’ll pass,” He replied, jerking his head away from her.
“Shhh,” She covered his mouth with her hand. He could smell the moss scent of her flesh and he didn’t understand how he had missed that before. How had she cloaked her odor from him?
“The more you talk, the more unattractive you become to me. Just stay silent and look pretty,” She pulled her hand away long enough to press a kiss against his lips and then she giggled. “We’re going to have a lot of fun together tonight.”
It was then that the heavy metal door nearby opened and Isaiah turned his head to see someone stepping inside. Yes, he remembered now. It was Brison. He knew that prat was bad news all along. As much as he wanted to laugh in Heidi’s face and yell “I told you so!”, he didn’t want to do anything more than protect her. But he was a bit tied up at the moment.
“There you are,” Edie said, pulling away from Isaiah and straightening up as she gazed at the taller male. “I was beginning to worry you wimped out on me.”
“I’ve brought food,” Brison replied quietly as he glanced towards Isaiah. If Isaiah didn’t know any better, even with his impaired vision, he would have thought that Brison looked guilty. Good, the double crossing bastard.
“We’ve talked about this,” Edie warned, noting the expression on his face. “Don’t make me regret recruiting you to help me with this, Breezer. I will not hesitate to snuff you out.”
Brison’s gaze dropped to the floor for a moment before he finally moved over to another table and put the bag of goods upon it.
Coward! Isaiah thought to himself. And to think Heidi fancied you, he rolled his eyes as he relaxed against the hard surface of the wall behind himself. If he could only figure out how to escape. He could freeze the vines until they snapped perhaps, but there was no doing so without alerting Edie of what he was up to. He couldn’t budge without the stupid tree being a snitch and then Edie was sure to keep her word on pulling out his innards. Disgusting. Who did that?
He sighed heavily, closing his eyes as he tried to concentrate. He just needed to take a moment to think. But as his
eyes closed, all he could think about was Heidi. Was she worried? Had she even noticed he was gone?
Probably not. She had every right to be mad at him. He had been such a fool, acting as if this were all a game, when in all reality he hadn’t really known how to deal with any of it. He surely would have gone to shambles by now if he didn’t allow himself to be distracted with pretty faces and a few drinks.
Drinks. He’d never drink again after this. At least he wouldn’t touch anything from Austria. He’d especially never snog a blond again, and he most certainly would not, under any circumstances, freeze his way through a door and make Heidi talk to him. Lessons bloody learned.
“You’re not falling asleep over there, are you?” Edie asked. She lifted her hand into the air, her fingers curling slightly as another vine swung down from the tall tree. It served as makeshift swing as she rested against it, peering at him.
Isaiah felt as Brison kicked at his foot and he opened his eyes to stare at him before shifting his eyes to Edie. She smiled.
“That’s what I thought. You can’t fall asleep just yet. You need to stay awake for the show,” When he didn’t respond, Edie took it upon herself to continue. “In just a few minutes, I’ll be sending my demands to your father. I’d say it will take him, what, maybe two hours to get here tops? You guys travel pretty fast, don’t you?”
She leaned forward, resting her chin against her palm. “How luxurious it must be to get to live in an entirely different world,” She said in a lower voice. “You don’t have to watch your planet decay right before your eyes as the occupants upon it take advantage of the beauty you give them. They don’t appreciate anything. They’re so ungrateful.”
She lifted a long, slender leg and admired it for a moment before she frowned. “You probably think it’s so easy to be a Digger, little Prince. All we do is make sure the pretty flowers grow and ensure the grass stays green. We help the Animals birth their babies and we watch as humans grow and learn.”
She lowered her leg and her eyes fell upon his face. “Do you have any idea how disappointing it is to watch those humans turn into monsters that chop down trees that have taken hundreds of years to grow? Those same trees that have allowed them to breathe? And the animals! It’s not enough to take a few for a meal, no, let’s just take them for everything else, too. Why is it necessary to kill an elephant-such an extraordinary creature-for its tusk? What is the purpose of killing a bear just so a man may walk across the floor and stand upon its fur?”
Isaiah was silent as he watched her blink back tears. He hadn’t paid as much attention to the animal aspect of things, only to the humans and how they interacted with one another while he was there. He supposed he was foolish to think their way of doing things had always been so.
“The humans are selfish. They know no boundaries. Enough is never enough for them. This planet is falling apart and not you, nor your father, nor Heidi’s father, nor anyone else gives a damn about what my people have to see every single day. You don’t care! You just come in and do your jobs and leave. But I am here every day. I see it every day. Brison’s people see it every day,” She continued, moving her hand up to wipe away a tear.
She sighed, pushing herself up from the vine that served as her seat. She moved over to rest her hands against Brison’s chest as she peered up into his eyes.
“They do not understand the pain we feel, do they?” She asked softly.
Brison gazed down at her, brows furrowing before he shook his head.
“But we want them to understand, don’t we?” Edie asked, her fingertips tracing over his jawline.
Brison nodded.
“We can do a better job at taking care of the worlds, can’t we?” She continued.
Brison nodded.
“That’s why I’m going to become the new Fire Queen, isn’t it? To change this world for the better,” She turned her head to look at Isaiah again and he saw the immediate shift in her mood. Her eyes had darkened again. Shite.
“There’s something else you don’t know about me, Icer.” Edie stated as she leaned back against Brison. Isaiah found it rather disturbing how close and comfy the two were getting with one another and he wondered if they had been physical before. Body language could tell stories the mouth couldn’t at times. He would know.
“That pretty little fire princess of yours…” She rolled her eyes. “Precious little perfect Heidi.” She scoffed. “That day at your house isn’t the first time I’ve met her.”
She sighed as she reached her hand up, moving her fingers through Brison’s hair as she kept her body close to his.
“Once upon a time there was a very naïve little Digger. She was passionate about what she was meant to do on this planet. She was happy to help the animals and to look after the flowers. She loved the flowers the most.”
Her eyes moved to Isaiah’s again as she kept her body close to Brison’s. Brison, if Isaiah wasn’t mistaken, seemed a little repulsed. He sure wasn’t making any attempts to return the affection.
“She had the honor of attending a council banquet once. You know, one of those ridiculously lavish events that your kingdoms like to throw from time to time. They invited everyone back then, even the unworthy little dirties,” Her eyes narrowed again as she glared at Isaiah.
What? It wasn’t his fault if that’s what they were called occasionally. They came from the dirt!
“She met a handsome young man there. He was charming in every way possible. He said all the right things and made her laugh with his ridiculous little jokes. It probably didn’t hurt that he had the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen.”
Isaiah had no idea where she was going with this. He didn’t know who the hell she was talking about, in any case. But at the given moment, he had no choice but to listen to Edie’s story, which he assumed would give him the background to her motives of why she wanted to take Heidi’s crown and why she played the role of crazy so bleedin’ well. Just because he was an Icer didn’t mean he never watched films. He knew how this worked.
“It goes without saying that that naïve little Digger fell head over heels in love with him. They made mad, passionate love that night. It was hot, steamy, and the most unforgettable night of her young life,” Edie sighed, closing her eyes as she let her head fall back against Brison’s shoulder.
Her eyes popped open suddenly and she pulled away from him, holding her hand out in front of herself, palm up as she lifted her eyes to Isaiah.
“I suppose he didn’t realize he gave her more than a good time that night.”
Isaiah’s eyes widened significantly as he saw the small ball of fire Edie conjured in her palm.
That wasn’t possible.
She smirked as the fire ball hovered above her hand and she gazed at it, the look upon her face was one of pure hatred.
“Of course he told her he couldn’t see her again. He was betrothed to another. He was to be married the following Spring and he couldn’t be with a woman he did not love. He broke her heart. He shattered her and left her alone to pick up the pieces..”
Her eyes moved to Isaiah’s face and she curled her fingers around the fireball, extinguishing the flame into nothing more than steam between her fingertips. Her facial features hardened as she shook her head slowly.
“He left her alone to raise me.”
It was silent for a moment and Isaiah was left to process this information in his mind. He knew that it wasn’t his father she was talking about, clearly, so why in the hell did she have him here? Why was she seeking to destroy his world? It didn’t make any sense!
You’ve never thought of anything more selfish in your life.
His eyes remained on hers as she stepped closer to him, crouching down in front of him as she reached her hand out to trace her finger down his jawline.
“I know that your kind is supposed to hate her kind,” She said softly, smirking. “I know it was not your father’s idea to draw a truce in order to bring harmony between the worlds in this univer
se. It was his idea, wasn’t it?” She asked.
Isaiah did not respond. He honestly didn’t know.
“King Sidius,” She spat his name out like venom, a sour taste upon her tongue. “My father has attempted to shift the system in a way it was never meant to be. Ice and Fire as friends? Who does he think he is fooling?” She laughed bitterly. “He only made that truce because he knows if your father ever really wanted to, he could destroy the fire kingdom.”
Isaiah lifted his head, gazing at her quizzically. He had no idea what the hell she was on about. As far as he was concerned, no one wanted to destroy anyone else. This bird was mad.
“It’s true,” She insisted, her head tilting to the side. “Before my mother died of a severely shattered heart, she told me that a sword exists. A sword that can withstand the most intense flame. No fire person could ever hope to survive it.”
Her smile grew bigger as she rested her hands against his thighs, fingertips digging in as she searched his face.
“Wouldn’t it be the most amazing thing, Zay? Can you really not envision it? I would take my place as the rightful heir to the Fire people.”
Isaiah stared at her, lifting a brow as he rested his head back against the counter, blinking.
“You’re not mentioning what you’re going to do for the Earth if your little plan works out accordingly,” He stated.
Edie blinked, frowning. “What do you mean?”
“I’m just saying. I’ve been sitting here and listening to you bicker about the fact the humans have taken advantage of what you do for them. You say that they’ve ruined everything and that you have to sit back and watch it happen. You say that we, as in Heidi’s kind and my own, do nothing to help you. How does your killing King Sidius and Heidi-and taking the crown-help any of that?” He glanced over to Brison. “I’m sure Brison would like an answer to that as well.”
Edie glanced back to the Breezer, who was suddenly more interested in the conversation now.
The Fire King's Daughter Page 10