Of Ash and Iron (Flame Cursed Fae, #3)

by Eliza Raine

She touched me. Touched my skin. The first touch I have felt in two hundred years. She has no idea of her impact. Of how that simple brush of contact shattered two centuries of carefully constructed walls.

For the first time in an interminably shit number of years, I don't want someone to fear me.

We will protect her, my wolf and I, until she learns to tear her enemies apart herself.

I want him to stand beside me, speaking words of revenge and retribution that justify the anger building inside me.

And Odin's fucking raven, this isn't just lust. It's her I want. I want her to feel safe, to feel happy, to feel like a fucking goddess. To never look this helpless again.

"You are the one blocking your power. You can be whoever the fuck you want to be. You owe nobody anything. That magnificent fucking bear is a part of you, and you are keeping her in the dark. Let her out."

"You are the best of you, and the best of her," Kain says softly. "Curious, clever, kind, fierce, loyal, and strong. Embrace her." He pauses, eyes burning into mine. "Love her."

"Because the actions of another person do not define my own," I tell him.

The more I've thought about it, the more I see it's the only action I can take. I can't make her stay with me, stand by me, give up her life out in the world of Yggdrasil for me. But I can make it so that she has a choice.

"My family wants to take everything I've earned away from me, so they can use me," I say the words aloud, slowly. "My family want to keep me sick to control me. My family have terrified me into submission my whole life."

I can't pretend any longer that I can make her like me. I can't lie to myself that if she shares my rage, if she abandons herself to desire for revenge, she'll stay with me. She's a berserker. I've known it has always been within her. She's just found out. But she's not a murderer.

"Nobody will ever, ever make you look that ashamed of yourself again. Nobody will ever make you feel worthless or alone, ever again. Do you understand me? Do you understand that whatever you say right now will not stop me from ensuring that those who have fucked with you will regret it for the rest of their sorry lives?"

He steps away from the brand, his skin red and seared. The ancient rune for the word "alone" is burned into his flesh. Just like mine. "I— Why—" I try to speak, but words aren't working. "Now we're alone, together."

He took a fucking brand for me. I love him. The force of the realization is overwhelming, and I suck in air wrong and end up swallowing a sob. I love him. Oh, gods in Asgard, I love him. It's not lust or fascination or obsession. It's love. I can't be without him. I never, ever want to be apart from him. I would do more than take a brand for him. I would lay down my life for him.

"You know why. Any way to be bound to you, I will take. Any way to keep you free from the monsters of this world, I will take."

"Kain, I think I'm in love with you." I bite my lip as I stare up at him. Flames dance in his irises as his chest heaves. "Princess, I've been fighting falling in love with you since the week you got here." "Did you win?" "It's the only fight I've ever lost."

"You've been a prisoner of these halls long enough to know that Featherblade is a conscious being, that its magic comes directly from the gods. Madivia can't vouch for you, but Featherblade can."

"He murdered his royal family to take power," Mother continues, "and accidentally destroyed his entire court. Every fire-fae died by his hand."

"The Fire Court sealed over, and all signs of life vanished exactly two hundred years ago. When he was punished and cursed."

"We have been given this gift by Skadi herself," she says. "You and your sister are the only ones who can use the tiara—do you think that is just by chance?" I pause, then shake my head. "Exactly. You are meant to help make the ice-fae great once more. And to do that, we need to be able to wipe the memories of our enemies."

"Skadi wants this, child. She gave Madivia power over memories, and you the power to control the Frost Giants. That was for a reason. Do you truly wish to defy the gods?"

Mother says. "Somebody told Sigrun that the Fire Court was under threat, and I needed a murderer. You fit the bill perfectly."

"By the time Sigrun reaches what's left of your court, there will be no sign the Frost Giants were ever there. She will find evidence that the Prince of the Fire Court, an honorable Valkyrie, destroyed his home in an attempt to overthrow his father."

"What happened after that?" I say loudly. Snow is storming over my head. "You slept," she says. Her voice is hard. "Both of you. For almost two hundred years."

The fae accused of cold-blooded murder and dishonor just gave up his life to save ours. I can't let him die. And if I can't save him, then I can't let him die alone. He's been alone too long. If he has to burn, then I will burn with him.

He reaches out, then stops, his hand an inch from my face. "I will be by your side for the rest of eternity. I do not exist without you any longer."

"They were taken in by the lies of the Ice Court royal family and punished an innocent fae. This will be corrected." I hold my breath as the voice continues. "Kain the Ruinous, you will have your wings returned to you. The curse on your skin will be lifted and your incarceration at Featherblade is at an end."

Featherblade's voice fills the room again. "It is the High Fae who are responsible for your new kind of val-tivar, Madivia. The power in you was obvious when you first touched my runestones, and I knew you would be the perfect fae to try funneling this ancient magic into. You have proven yourself worthy—worthy enough to change an entire generation of Valkyrie. As the High Fae had familiars that roamed the earth beside them, you will have your magnificent val-tivar as companion and ally in battle."