She has nowhere to hide, and she knows it, quickly backing away from her injured bird along the rocky ground, taking the threat of my fire away from it.
Quickly, I assess the terrain around me, the expanse of sand and grit along the dried riverbed we’ve landed in.
Always, I must remain aware of my surroundings and all flammable objects within them.
I’ve landed a solid fifty paces away from her, the distance I judged safest for my serpent if her bird’s body ignited.
Because of my battle with Stellen earlier today, many of the leather straps crisscrossing my chest are scorched, some hanging on by threads, but that doesn’t bother me. I don’t carry any weapons, since they’ll only burn to ash.
Hell, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve ended up buck naked because of my fire.
Sweat drips down my chest as I prowl toward Cassia.
Flames flicker around my hands, but I’m more than a little surprised when I’m able to douse them. Maybe it’s because of the calm the Oracle brought me earlier today.
Or, it’s because my fire is unpredictable, luring me into a false sense of control only to explode when I least expect or want it to.
For now, I’ll make the most of that control, my booted feet quiet as I make my way across pebbles and sand, ready for her to defend herself as best she can.
Her movements are fluid as she draws her bow and nocks two arrows to it—the same two she aimed at me in the air, judging by the emptiness of the quiver at her back now.
When her eagle edges toward her, she shouts at it. “No, Fortuna! Stay where you are.”
My voice is soft with threat as I finally speak. “What makes you think I won’t burn that animal after I kill you, Cassia of the Starlit Court?”
Her lips twist as she calls back to me, “Because it would be far crueler to send my bird back to my brother with a singed wing and leave him to agonize over what happened to me.”
I incline my head. “Well, it seems you’ve been taking lessons from his cruelty.”
She doesn’t deny my accusation. But why would she? We’re all cruel.
With quick flicks of her wrist, she lets the arrows fly, one after the other, in quick succession.
I sense the friction in the air as she uses her power over iron to steer the metal toward me. They’d be perfect shots if I weren’t so fast.
In that heartbeat, I consider burning them to dust mid-air, but I’d rather keep my fire constrained while I can.
At the last possible moment, I lean left and then right, evading the strikes.
The arrows shoot past me before Cassia has any hope of using her power to adjust their trajectory.
What I’ve learned of Iron Fae power is that they can manipulate an iron object’s path, but only while it’s airborne. They can’t pick it up from the ground once it’s landed. I’ve also never seen an Iron Fae spin a metal object around mid-air, only guide its path forward.
Of course, I’m fully aware I may not have witnessed Antony’s full powers today.
The arrowsthud-thudinto the ground behind me, one after the other, and I quicken my pace.
Now that the quiver at Cassia’s back is empty, she’s out of shots.
She reaches for the dagger in the holster at her waist, holding it by its steel hilt while revealing its iron blade as she brandishes it in a warrior’s grip. Clearly, she’s as well-trained in the use of short blades as she is in the employment of arrows.
“My brother has the Oracle,” she cries across the now twenty paces between us. “The Oracle’s visions belong to him. He’ll break the curse, and all of our enemies will be destroyed. Including you.”
She’s trying to provoke me, trying to draw me in. She needs me to get close because the dagger is all she has.
Or, maybe she would prefer a quick death and is trying to provoke my fire, rather than my fists.
She bares her teeth at me. “You’ll die in your own flames.”
