Fear the Flames (Fear the Flames, #1)

by Olivia Rose Darling

“Make them fear the flames of a queen.”

I want to intertwine my fate with my dragons and alter the course of this world.

ambition shouldn’t be frowned upon. It should be encouraged.

Do you even think?”

“No, actually. I just sit places and look pretty.”

The world is a magical place when you’re not surrounded by those who corrupt the peace and solace.

I think it’s ironic that poisonous plants often grow the prettiest flowers.

we never bring up the past. Talking can’t change what’s been done.

two forms of defense other than fighting—sarcasm and humor.

“If any of you touch her, you die…and I promise to make it painful.”

“You can’t guarantee that the mist won’t clear one day, and if we figured out how to navigate the mountains, so can someone else.”

“Just because I outgrow something doesn’t mean I love it any less.

But I can’t stay here forever, imagining what taking a chance on myself would have been like.”

Putting on a new, perfectly fitting dress feels like a breath of fresh air or the beginning of a new season.

There are some moments where I would find more comfort in kind parting words than someone wrapping their arms around me.

Dreams can guide us out of our darkest moments, offering nothing more than the comfort of hope, but they also have the ability to break us.

I look forward to hearing of you making waves in the world.”

Every corner of the world will say the lost princess has returned as a vengeful queen, and they won’t be wrong.

Imirath wants me dead, but I still stand. Only now, I stand with knives drawn and a crown on my head.

Talking about it can’t erase what happened to me. I want to move forward. Sometimes, when I don’t talk about it, I feel I can ignore it, even if it’s only temporary. Our bodies are maps of our pasts, but not every scar is physically marked along the journey. Those invisible scars can bleed like open wounds on bad days.

“Would you like me to twirl you around the room, princess?”

He doesn’t remove his eyes from my smile and takes a sip of whiskey to sober himself.

I’m filled to the brim with love for them, but it has nowhere to go and sits in my chest like grief.

Sadness and pain are the price we pay for

opening our hearts, but I’d rather die penniless than...

“I swear on all that I have and all that I’ve lost, you will see your dragons again.”

“Just you and me.”

“Just you and me,” he echoes.

We’re bound by sharing the same enemies, but this is the first moment where I’m happy to fight with him.

because I know no blade will pierce my back for as long as he stands.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, not really sure what exactly I’m apologizing for. Not being okay? Being too emotional?

“You’ve never apologized to me before today, so don’t start now. Especially not over what you’re feeling.”

“Talk to me.”

“Please.”

It’s a small word but it holds the power to blanket the forest in silence other than the dista...

thoughts are my own, but Cayden is looking at me as if they’re made of air and he longs to fill his aching lungs.

“Keep talking, El,” Cayden gently states, running a tentative hand down my back.

“Don’t belittle all you’ve endured for a perception of yourself that someone made you believe you need to be.”

“I’m—”

“Stop apologizing.” He threads his fingers through my hair again. “Each tear that falls from your eyes is another enemy that dies.”

“I don’t want you to think the person you aligned yourself...

“You have nothing to prove to me. I so...

“Surviving is a burden some days. I know what it is to live with guilt, how it eats away at you.”

“I didn’t realize you paid such close attention to me.”

“What makes you think I’ve ever l...

Even if he never takes me up on the offer, I’ll never regret extending my friendship to someone who seems to understand loneliness and hopelessness as I do.

I understand him all too well. “May I borrow your favorite book?”

“I need you to walk away from me.”

“Why?”

“Because I won’t walk away from you, and I need you to be...