There was only silence in the hall and the crackle of burning wood. The others stood tense, ready to leap in if needed. But Cassiel took a breath and distinguished his flames. It took a lot of effort to make himself turn away.
“In the end, the choice will be hers, won’t it?”
Snarling, Cassiel hooked his arm around Raiden’s neck and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him on the ground.
Zev shoved Cassiel into the wall, pinning him there by his chest. “Cease this now,” he growled. “Do no more to tarnish yourself in her eyes.”
That was when he noticed Dyna standing at her door. The startled look on her face made the air drain out of him.
One step forward.
Two steps back.
Raiden stood and straightened his tunic. He cleared his throat, his voice a little strained. “You dishonor yourself.”
Cassiel swept past him and took the stairs down to the main floor.
His veins burned with the need to light something on fire, but he made it to the forest behind the inn without combusting. The trees gave way to a small glade peppered with clusters of bluebells. He dropped onto a boulder, resting his elbows on his knees.
“I made it worse, didn’t I?”
Netanel slipped out of the trees with a grimace.
Cassiel groaned and rubbed his face. “Why does he infuriate me?”
His spy came forward and sat cross-legged on the ground. “Because you’re afraid of the small voice in your head telling you he’s right. That you’re losing her.”
Was he right?
“Learn to quell your temper, Cassiel. It does you no favors.”
He knew that. But was it him or his flame that easily sparked his ire?
Maybe it was due to the lingering wrath seeded into his soul so long ago. It didn’t really matter. No one else made his choices for him.
Cassiel lost track of how long he sat there. Next thing he knew, the sun was already setting, and Netanel had left him to stew in his thoughts. Or so he thought until he heard steps approach.
“I am in no mood for any more lectures.”
“Clearly you need one.” Zev’s unexpected voice astonished him, because he was the last person Cassiel expected to come. Yet Zev stood at the edge of the glade, eying him with a mixture of disapproval and concern. “What is wrong with you? That darkness in your veins is turning you into a belligerent brute.”
He let out a short laugh and dropped his head in his hands. “I had a moment of idiocy. Is Raiden all right?”
“You winded him, but he’ll live.”
If Cassiel had used his full strength, he might have truly hurt him. He stared blankly at a caught leaf fluttering beneath his boot. There was no honor in crushing someone weaker than you.
He wished these powers never came to him. Life had seemed so much easier before, when he was someone the Realms ignored instead of feared. Before he broke Dyna’s heart. True power would be to live in a world where he didn’t make any mistakes.
He had lost the ability to be happy in this one.
“Oi, what are you thinking about?”
Cassiel looked at Zev, recalling he was still there. “What?”
“What’s lurking in your mind? You seem lost in there.”
He tiredly shook his head. “Sometimes I think it isn’t real.”
