Brimstone (Fae & Alchemy, #2)

by Callie Hart

Emotions painted the blood. Happiness. Anger. Sorrow. Lust. Each gave off its own energy.

Humans were not good at taming their feelings. They felt everything so rudely, right out in the open, with no awareness of how their reactions might affect those with finer senses.

“They’re going to… destroy her, you know? It has already… been seen. This court will… fall… with her inside it.”

And he could have his reasons, so long as none of them involved him harboring any sort of hope that Saeris was going to confess her undying love for him. That wasn’t happening.

“Don’t you know? There isn’t much I wouldn’t sacrifice to make you happy, Osha. A little healing magic is the least of it.”

“Your father was felled by his own hubris. He was too arrogant. He believed himself invincible, and I had the pleasure of showing him otherwise. A god sword will make worm food out of any of us, no matter who wields it. But, regardless,” I called in a clear voice. “I am no child. My name is Saeris Fane, and I am your queen.”

You can own your fantasies with me, Little Osha. There is nothing in this realm or the next that I won’t give to you if you desire it. All you ever need do is ask.

Mate. Queen of Sanasroth. King Killer—

“A Fae wedding ceremony is extremely sacred. It is the greatest commitment two lovers can undertake in Yvelia. Not because they swear to love and honor each other for all their days. Not because they give each other their hearts, either. It’s sacred because they give each other their names. Their true names. And I can give you everything else, Osha. But I can’t give you that.”

“It’s okay, Fisher. You don’t need to give me that. I…” I shrugged, not knowing what to say. “I understand. If telling me your true name is impossible, then—” “I don’t know it,” he whispered. “I’ve never known it.

“I love you, Fisher.” It was the first time I’d said it. “I love you, and nothing else matters beyond that. Wherever you are, I’ll beg the gods and all the fates to let me be there, too,”

You smell like excitement. You smell like laughter. And peace. And love.”

“I don’t crave the attention of the sun. The snowcapped mountains, the forest, the frozen river… those places are my home. You are home.”

“I despise the gods, Saeris. I’m Oath Bound by this land and the blood of kings. I swore I would never offer up a word of gratitude to them again, but you have made a liar of me. You’re a gift that cannot be ignored.

“Come now, Osha. Where else would an acolyte kneel to worship but at the altar of his god?”

All libraries contained magic. Even libraries that didn’t specialize in such things. Because what was a book, if not a portal into another realm, another time, another life even.

“Where there is light, there is always darkness, shadow weaver. To kill a queen, you will need to visit the darkest of all places. You will need to strike a deal far more costly than this one if you hope to succeed. And the beast who lies in wait for you there will not be so easy to trick as me. She will eat you whole, shadow weaver!” Joshin roared as I held the flickering torch to its body. “She will tear away your soul and feed on it for decades!”

“Go on,” he said. “Ask.” It was beneath me to pretend that I didn’t know what he was talking about. So I asked. “Are you in love with her?” He let his head drop, laughing quietly as he pulled out a chair at the table and sank down heavily in it. Stretching his legs out in front of himself, he rested his hands on his stomach, one on top of the other, and looked up to meet my gaze. “No,” he said simply. And then, immediately, “Yes?” Heat flared up inside me, making my throat close. “It’s not a simple thing, Fisher. She’s… well…” “Spectacular,” I whispered. The smile that spread across his face was sad. “Right. Exactly. She always has been. When other people are full of the kind of fire that burns inside her, it eats them alive. It hollows them out until there’s nothing left inside them but the fire. They burn everyone around them with it, until all that remains is scorched earth. But not Saeris. Her fire keeps others warm in the cold dark. It is her strength, not her weakness. Being around her reminds you that you’re alive.” It made me want to vomit, hearing him talk about her like this. But he wasn’t saying anything that was untrue. If I could see how incredible she was after knowing her for such a short time, then how the hell could I expect him to be blind to it when he had known her for years? No, I couldn’t blame the male for seeing what was obvious. I could only pity him that she wasn’t his and be fucking thankful that she was mine. “I could have loved her. Truly,”

So yes. I love Saeris Fane, because she’s electric, and fierce, and loyal, and being around her brings the world back into focus. But I’m not in love with her, Fisher. I tried. But my heart was just too full of sorrow to make room for her.”

“The most unique, most beautiful creature in the entire realm, on her knees in front of me, looking up at me like she’s feeling feral and might just like to fuck me? Yes,” he said, “I’d say I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself.”

“I had no idea what you would mean to me. I had no idea what I would do to keep you safe. When I close my eyes, you are all I fucking see, Saeris Fane. I could be dead in the ground five thousand years and the frosts could have taken my bones, and still no other male will ever have loved another female the way that I love you.”

“Good girl.

“Don’t use the word rub and then refer to me in the same sentence, please,”

😂😂😂

What are you?” The Hazrax stepped toward me, its feet silent against the stone floor. “Mine is the power to put out a sun, perhaps? The power to… untether gravity?” I watched, stunned speechless, as the relic on the counter slowly rose into the air. The tongs. The crucible. Up they floated, lifted by invisible strings. The loose strands of my hair that had escaped my braid began to float around my face. “As for what I am…” The creature trailed off. “Who knows anymore? This body is just a vessel. My mind is very old. It can be in many places at once. I see through the eyes of others from time to time. These are very useful skills to have.”

“Wherever we go, we go together.”

“Oh, y’know. ‘I am so in love with Kingfisher. Kingfisher is so handsome. Look at his ass in those pants—’”

“Irrellieth ka tintar shey an mé correshan dow.”

“I said, ‘I’m going to drown myself between your thighs.’ Or something close to that. There’s no word for what I’m trying to say in High Fae. Correshan means lethal bliss. Death by pleasure, perhaps. Old Fae was a far more descriptive language.”

“You’re a wildfire, Saeris Fane. There’s no controlling you.”

Whenever you need me to catch you, I am here, ready and willing.

“You’ll have to face the sun for me, too, in that case,” she mused. “Gladly.” “And I will become your shadow.” I held on to her a little tighter, needing to feel her close. “You should know, Saeris… I am my father’s son. My strength has always been my shadows.”

Grinning wickedly over her shoulder, I slowly slid my fingers into my mouth. I sucked them clean, winking at her in the mirror. “Don’t say I never give you flowers, Osha.”

“I don’t want you to be anything other than what you already are, Saeris. The dresses are just…” His brow furrowed. “They’re an invitation. The life you lived in Zilvaren was hard. You had to do everything for yourself. I’m here now, and—no‚ wait. No, let me finish. I’m here now, and just because I am your mate and you are mine doesn’t mean that I expect you to sit around looking pretty, or… or put down your weapons and adopt a different way of life. I would never want that for you. But you don’t have to be one thing here, Saeris. You can be many things. You can wear your leathers and fight every day of the year. I would never ask you not to. But sometimes, if you wanted to… you’re allowed to soften, Saeris. You’re allowed to stop baring your teeth at the world and take a breath. Because I’ve got you.”

“My name is Carrion,” he said. “Nice to meet you all. I really like your horns.” There were historians among the crowd. Someone would record this moment—the day the satyr community received the Daianthus heir—and when they documented the first thing their Forgotten King had said to them, it would be this: I really like your horns.

😂😂😂

“Names hold meaning in this place. There is no power in this realm or any other that can supersede an order given using someone’s true name. A true name can undo oaths. It can open doors.”

“Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate, I hereby call you by your true name. I declare all oaths you have sworn null and void. Rise, Khydan Graystar Finvarra, in honor of the name you were given at birth! Rise up and fight!”

“You know nothing, name breaker.

Khydan and I held the future of Yvelia in our hands. More than that. If Zareth was to be believed, we held the futures of millions of realms in our hands. Billions of lives.

“A weapon from one of the dead houses. Older than the halls of this kingdom and theirs combined, and he expects us to believe that the traitor gods gave it to him.” “It’s just a sword,” Khydan growled. Crave huffed down his nose, looking at Khydan, a sour smile twisting his mouth. “That sword could end worlds in the right hands. If it’s what I think it is, it is one of the forgotten blades of our ancestors… and you do not have the right to wield it.”

“Impossible,” Crave whispered. “You can’t—You aren’t—” The male shook his head, clearly struggling to understand what he was seeing. “Shadow magic doesn’t belong in your realm. Where did you get this power?” “The same place I got the sword,” Khydan snarled. Tendrils of shadow whipped from his hands. At the same time, shadows spilled from Crave and Githrand, but their magic was nothing compared to Khydan’s. Paler. Weaker, somehow.

“Do you trust me?” he asked. “Yes. Always. Yes.”

“Only… half-gods may wield shadows.” Khydan drew in a deep breath, ignoring the male’s question. “I’ve come for a dragon, as is my right. Summon our father. Tell him I’ve come to make a trade.”