Ella stared, struggling to form words. “Fireproofed,” she echoed. “So you…anticipated this?”
“Not this,” Jakobav said quietly. “But I thought your power might return one day. I knew the fire in your blood wasn’t gone. Not really.”
Her throat tightened. “So when you said—” Her voice trailed off, hovering between accusation and awe.
Jakobav held the garment out to her, his expression unreadable but his voice steady. “Get dressed, Ella. We need to hurry.”
He stepped back just enough to give her space, though his gaze never fully left her. Ella took the dress, half expecting her flames to consume it too, but the material only shimmered in the heat, untouched.
The shimmer caught her breath. She knew that glint.
It was the same strange Dravaryn leather she’d noticed in the first gown Kalenya ever gave her. She’d worn it the night she stumbled into the black rose garden, believing it was a rare hide she’d never seen before.
Understanding unfurled like a slow, startling pulse. She’d worn it before.
That hadn’t been ordinary leather at all.
He’d been protecting her, even then.
She slipped into the dress quickly, the leather-like material molding to her skin, protective yet impossibly light, as if made with magic. Only when she was fully covered did Jakobav turn, jaw set, and lead them onward, but her heartbeat didn’t settle. Not after that.
They reached the heavy iron doors of the war room. Soren was already waiting there, leaning against the wall like he had known their exact pace. “Perimeter’s secure,” he said simply, before pushing the door wide. Inside, all noise fell away, leaving only the tense crack of Maeren’s knuckles, as though she were readying herself for battle. The long table gleamed beneath a black-iron chandelier, maps and ledgers spread across its surface.
Jakobav didn’t leave her side until they crossed the threshold.
When he did, it wasn’t abrupt but intentional, as though setting something valuable exactly where it belonged.
In truth, she wasn’t entirely sure where she belonged now.
Her Orchid tattoo and the new rose mark pulsed once—two heartbeats out of sync.
34
THE RIPPLE AND THE RIDGE
The war room carried the echo of the spring and the roar of thousands still ringing in her bones, raw and waiting to fracture. She stood very still, one hand braced against the edge of the table, letting her breath return in shallow threads.
Maeren was the first to break it, planting her palms flat against the granite. “The arena will be in chaos for hours. Half the crowd will swear it was a blessing. The other half will think it’s the beginning of a war.”
“It is,” Savina said flatly, pulling the silver mesh gloves from her hands with deliberate movements. “They just don’t know which one yet.”
Thane leaned back against the wall, folding his arms across his chest. “We need to get ahead of this before Orchid sends an envoy. Or an army.”
Ella’s palms pressed harder into the table, the cold stone biting into her skin. “They will respond. The question is how. Has there been contact?” She tried to sound casual, but the eagerness in her tone betrayed her.
“I think,” Savina replied, eyes narrowing, “that they’ll hear about a bare, burning Orchid princess in our capital, standingbeside the future King of Dravaryn, and some conclusions might be drawn. Ones that we may not like.”
Bryn dropped into a chair, stretching out as if this were no more than a tavern quarrel. “In fairness, those conclusions won’t be entirely wrong.”
Jakobav’s voice was low, a rumble that silenced the room at once. “Enough.”
He stepped to Ella’s side, his presence grounding her.
“We’ll test our new abilities away from the city, and then we worry about the repercussions. Claimed magic is unpredictable at first. My shield held, but I refuse to gamble with any of your lives.” His hand brushed hers briefly before his gaze returned to the table. “Maeren, Thane, and Savina, choose a location we can secure. Bryn, you’re with us.”
Maeren’s brows drew together. “And if the High Vexari demands an account while we’re gone?”
Jakobav’s eyes darkened like polished glass. “Then she’ll get one. But not all of it. Soren will assess the risk before I meet with her again.”
