I can’t lose her.
“If you keep your promise, I will bring you to her.” Lykia takes Koen’s arm, pulling him in close to her body as he avoids her lingering glare.
Heels tap against the gravel, echoing from the entrance of the Pyre before Koen can speak. “You all have a few hours before we must begin the next battle games.” It’s the Queen. “Make sure you are equipped with your daggers in case one of the fourdecide to try and kill you. They sense fear, remember this. You shall fail if you let that fear dictate your ride.”
She does a swift glance our way, brows rising at the scene, but turns to leave without questions.
My eyes beam a violent, raging glare towards the two of them. He had my friend this whole time. He used me only to save his mother. I wonder if the night he promised to take me to the archives in the frozen waterfall, was his plan to take me to the Darklands in exchange for his mother. I could take my dragons out right here, right now, if I wanted to. Throw this damn fire straight at them, scorching them within seconds, but I am in the Pyre.
I cannot allow more bloodshed here. This will save them, for now.
“I told you I can explain.” Koen’s eyes soften, scanning my face for any signs of forgiveness. But there isn’t any.
“You don’t need to explain anything to her.” Lykia grabs his shoulder, tiptoeing up to his ear. “After this training, you will never speak to her again.” Her eyes trace down towards me. “Or I won’t stop next time. I understand if she dies, the Queen shall lose her shit. So don’t make me take the one thing she is obsessing over.”
My eyes burn, letting the gravel dig into my knees as I force my body up.
“I understand.” He sighs, a tick in his jaw pulsing as he looks towards the others. “As promised, I need to train Serene, in case the Fireninze is the chosen horse for her.”
“Absolutely not.” My eyes widen, my voice blaring in the breeze. “I am not staying here with you. Not after all of this.”
“Koen is the only one that has almost bonded with the Fireninze.” Kaine nervously walks towards me, his hands in his pockets. “Let him teach you. If you could ride the horse of fire, the Realms would bow to you with no hesitation.” His voicedrops to a whisper, making sure the others cannot hear. “Have revenge after you bond. This is more important than…”
“More important than my friend?” My eyes burn.
I glance up to the sky, shaking my head as my teeth dig into my lips.
Koen clears his throat as he scratches the back of his neck. He is nervous, the first I have seen with him. He turns to Florian. “Florian, can you take Klayra and Lykia back to their chambers?”
Florian responds with a cold, wordless grunt, shoving past Koen with enough force to ram into his shoulder. Koen lets out a weary sigh, his gaze following them.
“You messed up badly this time,” Florian sneers.
“The least I can do is give her a fighting chance against the horse of fire.” Koen sighs, rubbing his hand over his face with exhaustion.
“Train her well,brother. Or her death will be on you, and you don’t want that,” Florian warns. Lykia's gaze fixes intently on Koen, holding him in her stare for an unsettlingly long moment. She should be lucky she is here, this place will be her only protection. Then, her attention shifts to me, and her expression shifts abruptly, her lips twisting into a disgusted frown before turning her back towards me.
I don’t understand what Koen saw in her.
“I don’t want your damn help, especially now that your woman has the same damn curse as Skie. She could have killed me!” I retort. “And this whole time, you have been in my life only to take me to the Darklands… for what, Koen! So they can kill me?”
As I turn to leave, something strikes against my back. I glance over my shoulder to see black, long leather gloves tumbling to the ground, kicking up a cloud of white dust from the gravel.
“You are staying.” Koen rests his hands on his hips. “You need this time before what is to come. Hate me. I want you to hate me. Take that anger and use it to fight this game.”
“I don’t hate you.” I lean in, my eyes brimming with tears, overwhelmed by the storm of emotions inside me. “I despise you,” I continue, my voice breaking with each word. “I’m looking at you right now, and all I want to do is let you burn to ash and watch you float far away from me. I see you, and all I want to do is cry out to the heavens, scream to the Gods, questioning why you still breathe and not Alice if she is truly dead. I see nothing but a monstrous dragon that tried to kill me in the Vitaei with that cursed fire darkling. You have betrayed me.”
“Serene, last night…” he breathes out.
“No.” My voice shatters. “I have meant nothing to you this whole time!” I rip my gaze away from him as a tear traces a path down my cheek. “I loved you,” I whisper, my heart aching with every word. “Don't you remember? I know you have to remember now that Tilly would allow you to!”
“I can’t speak of it.”
“Don’t you remember!” My scream cracks through my trembling voice, breaking as I speak. “Quit lying to me! You lied to me in the Vitaei saying you have never loved, and that’s bullshit! You loved me! It was supposed to be us, not you and her!”
“Damn it, Serene, I do!” His eyes meet mine with such intensity that my knees tremble, daring to give. “But I don’t want to. Can’t you see that? Understand that? Once I remembered the night you fell into the water, as if my memories rushed back to me all at once the moment that stone connected to your arm, I have forced away every feeling I have for you.” He grips his chest, pulling his attention away from me.
“No, Koen, I don’t understand.” A tear falls from my chin, swiftly whipping my face dry. “You have known this the whole time, yet still do nothing but hurt me!”
