Brimstone (Fae & Alchemy, #2)

by Callie Hart

He’d left the safety of Cahlish. For her. He’d climbed the mountain. For her. He’d snuck through Irrín and crossed the river. For her.

voice. “I am no child. My name is Saeris Fane, and I am your queen.”

“You know who it was,” Ren said. “There’s only one person capable of something like this.” I shook my head. “Tal hasn’t sired any feeders.” “And you believe that simply because he told you so?” A sharpness rose in Ren’s voice. “Why would he lie, Ren?” Gods, I was tired. My whole body felt like it had been chained to a horse and dragged three miles over rocky ground. “Because that’s who he is. He’s a liar. He’s never been honest with us about anything. Foley’s where he is because of him. And he was there, the other night. With Everlayne. He had her on a fucking leash, Fisher.” “Malcolm commanded him to do that—”

And I could deny it as much as I liked: I didn’t have to feed to survive the way Taladaius and the other members of the Sanasrothian Court did… but I wanted to.

“Are you two even list—urgh! They’re not even listening.”

“From what I can recall, they normally come from Yvelia, right?” “Yes, of course,” Lorreth answered. “Well, these ones are from Zilvaren.”

“All right, then. I take it that means that I should not attempt to touch your girlfriend?” “Oh, sinners,” Lorreth muttered under his breath. “She isn’t my girlfriend. She’s my mate,” Fisher said quite amicably. “And if any part of your body, literally any part of it, comes into contact with hers, then I will remove it.” Carrion thought about this. “What about if she’s hanging off a cliff by one hand and can’t hold on much longer? Can I touch her then?” “Where am I in this unlikely scenario?” “Probably dead.” Fisher just gave him a tight smile. “If I’m dead, then—”

“Gods alive,” Taladaius groaned. “How did none of us notice? They’re round! Their fucking ears are round. They’re human.”

“Alchemist,” she said curtly. “Danya,” I answered. “Where’s the redhead?” “Who?” “The annoying male with witty comebacks.” “You think Carrion is funny?” Danya rolled her eyes. “Never mind.”

“He’ll be here any moment, and I… I wanted to ask you about your new hairstyle. What

prompted the dramatic cut?” She stared at me blankly. “A burning corpse set me on fire.” Gods a-fucking-live. Perfect. “Oh. Okay. I thought it was some new, edgy form of self-expression.”

“The length of a warrior’s hair is directly related to their skill in battle. Mine was longer than Ren’s and Lorreth’s put together. I w...

W...

Gods, but he was perfect.

I can hear you from here, y’know.

What? I didn’t say a word. I didn’t even think anything.

You didn’t need to. Your eyes are s...

You okay, Little Osha? You’v...

I’m fine. I’m over here, minding my own business. Are you fine? You’re supposed to be listening to your fri...

Oh, I’m listening...

It’s hard to concentrate on camp logistics when I can smell you across the room, though, Osha.

You cannot.

Be under no illusion, Little Osha. You are all I can smell.

Because I could smell him, too. Bruised herbs. Citrus. Smoke. Leather.

Pine, and cold mountain air.

“Wow. You’re looking very handsome tonight, Archer!” I stepped back, making a show of taking him in.

Archer beamed with pride. “Thank you, mistress. We normally have no need for clothes, but sometimes we dress nicely for special occasions.” He tugged at the bottom of the vest—or jerkin—proudly puffing out his chest. “We all consider your return to Cahlish a very special occasion indeed!”

“Come, come. You must sit. It is custom, mistress. The lady of the house should be seated before the food is brought in.”

“Oh. Oh, I don’t think—you don’t need to call me mistress, Archer. I’m not the lady of the house.” “Yes, you are.”

“I heard from Lorreth that you got yourself a new sex tattoo at your coronation. Can I see it?”

“I will pay you twenty chits to fuck off right now,”

“If they procreate, I’m banishing them from Cahlish. A combination of the two of them would probably tear open some sort of hell gate and suck the entire estate through it.”

Archer halted his conversation with his friends and let out a gasp. In a split second he had jumped up on his stool and was standing on it, shaking with excitement. Flames broke out on his right shoulder, but he was so distracted that he didn’t even try to put it out. “Oh, yes. Yes! I’ve been waiting to start making the wedding arrangements. Is it time?”

“There isn’t going to be a wedding,”

“Don’t be silly. Of course there will.”

“You can’t tell me that you don’t want to get married?”

Archer looked like he was about to cry.

Slowly, the little fire sprite sank back down onto his stool.

“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.”

“I don’t know it,” he whispered. “I’ve never known it. We usually receive our true names on our fourteenth birthdays, and my mother—” He blinked. “Well, she died before I turned fourteen. And my father was already gone. So…”

She hears you. She feels you. Open the gate. The gate… The gate… The gate. Open it. Open the gate.

Nothing that could possibly contain any quicksilver. Not that I— My mind stilled. Oh. By the gods, but she did have quicksilver on her body. I hadn’t noticed it before, but her tiny earrings flashed in the pre-dawn light, didn’t they? Simple. Plain. The metal was cast into flowers, their petals pointed upward like tiny daggers. “You aren’t supposed to be here.” I leaned closer to inspect the earrings. We are, we are, we are, came the quicksilver’s indignant response. Always have been. “And how am I supposed to open a gate when there’s so little of you?” I asked. I reached for the metal in Layne’s earlobe, but as soon as my fingers touched it, the earring liquified and dripped into my palm.

As soon as the liquid metal touched her skin, her eyelids flew open, and Fisher’s sister drew in a wheezing breath. It is done, then. Done, done, done,

“At last,”

“You’re here.”

“I’ve been waiting a long, long time to speak with you, Saeris Fane.”

“Everlayne?”

“No. Everlayne isn’t here, I’m afraid. I don’t—I don’t know if she will be strong enough to return.”

“Now, now, now…”

“I’ve… waited so… long. Waited for cen-cen-centuries.”