“Are you just talking like this to distract me from the fact you’re about to put a torch against my bare skin?”
“Only partially,” he said with a smile that was far closer to an orc warrior’s feral grin than an expression I would have expected from a village blacksmith. “Did it work?”
“Only partially.”
Rivelin turned back to the flames and stuck the end of a torch in the hearth. Sparks scattered into the air above our heads, and the roar intensified. Skoll chose that moment to exit the building. I didn’t much blame the wolf for that.
When Rivelin pulled the torch out of the hearth, the end blazed like an inferno. Fire licked the air, the dancing forks bleeding into a deep, terrifying red. I swallowed around the painful lump in my throat.
“Trust me.” He inched closer, his brow raised in question.
I nodded and reached for something to steady me. He passed the torch to one hand and held out the other for me to take. When I slid my fingers into his palm, he squeezed tight, as if he truly understood how difficult this was for me to face.
And then, without warning, he pressed the edge of the torch against my skin.
I braced myself for pain, but instead, a soothing heat curled through me. The fire lapped at my skin, its greedy tongues searching for purchase. But my body seemed to reflect the fire on itself, as if my hip was coated in a protective material. Similar to oilcloth, but for flames. Rivelin had been right all those days ago. Fire didn’t burn me.
All it did was make me feel warm.
With an awestruck laugh, Rivelin pulled the torch away from my skin. His eyes darted across my hip, and his expression dimmed. “Ah.”
I glanced down. The scar looked the same as it had for years—a healed yet rough patch of bumpy pink skin covering a faint blue glow. The torch hadn’t burned me. But it hadn’t melted the ice shard, either.
There would be no escaping Isveig. He’d made certain of that.
26
DAELLA
“It didn’t work.” I sighed and moved over to the sofa, where I promptly dropped onto the cushions like a puppet whose strings had been snipped. The ice shard had started throbbing, like it knew I was trying to rid my body of its cruel magic.
Rivelin tossed the torch back into the hearth to let it burn down with the other logs, then joined me. His left shoulder and thigh pressed into mine. He felt so warm and powerful, and I suddenly realized just how small the sofa was. There was no way to put space between us. Not that I wanted to—I just found it difficult to concentrate with him so close.
“I’m sorry I gave you hope. I really thought it would work,” said Rivelin.
“Deep down, so did I.” I looked up at him and caught his stare. A quiver went through me. “You really should rest. That wound on your head…”
“I feel fine now. I’m an elf, remember? We heal fast.”
“What kind of bastard would attack you in your own home?” I scowled, and in unison, we said, “Gregor.” I shook my head. “I just don’t understand why. Attacking you accomplishes nothing, even if he does want revenge. If anyone would understand how fast you heal from a wound like that, it’s him.”
Rivelin shifted sideways and took my chin between his fingers, gently guiding my eyes to meet his. “I don’t want to talk about Gregor.”
I swore my heart skipped a beat, an expression I’d always rolled my eyes at before. But I’d felt it—a pulsing tremor that stole my breath away. “I assume we need to start on the next trial in the morning. Should I leave you to get some rest?”
“Absolutely fucking not.”
“Oh?” A smile curved my lips. “Is there something else you have in mind?”
His hand glided from my chin to my ear as he slowly slid his fingers through the strands of my hair, then gripped them in his fist. My breath caught as he tugged me closer and brushed his lips against my ear.
His breath caressed my skin, sending a shiver through me, and he said, “Someone broke into my house and attacked me. There’s only one thing that can make me feel better. I want your perfect lips wrapped around my cock.”
A shiver stole down my spine. “I thought you said you feel fine now.”
“Did I say fine? I meant I can’t stop thinking about how dripping wet and hot you were when I fucked you in my forge.”
I shuddered, reaching for his belt, my knees digging into the cushions. “Well, in that case, I should heal your affliction.”
