Such contact would have been a scandal in the Ortensian court, where assistants never touched royals without permission. It appeared the Fogoyans didn’t share those protocols, or they simply didn’t think I was worth the effort.
As I closed the distance, dread coiled through my mind. What if my fire broke free and reached for his? If he drained me, I would be useless, incapable of teaching him to conjure. But he would also eliminate his political enemy’s greatest advantage. It wasn’t easy to decide which outcome he’d prefer.
‘I like to hunt.’ His grave tone and the glint in his eyes reminded me of a monster ready to pounce.
I froze, waiting for him to elaborate.
‘There’s a lot I enjoy about it, truth be told,’ he said, jaw twitching as his eyes drifted to my chest, ‘but what I enjoy most is the fear. The way their hearts hammer in their chests when they realise they’re helpless. How their pupils dilate as I draw closer and they have nowhere to run.’
A slow, merciless smile crept across his face. Shoulders squared and stance balanced, he stood rigid, one wrong move away from lunging.
My mouth had gone dry. I forced myself to blink away the fear in preparation for an escape, though my legs had turned to stone, useless if I needed to flee.
Was he threatening me?
Anya was instantly alert in my mind.
‘So you’d better start controlling your body before you make me want to hunt you down,witch,’ he spat, the word leaving his lips like a curse. The predatory gaze of his flicked towards my chest, tracking the thud of my heart as if it called to him.
Retreating a step, I turned my gaze towards the mountains, struggling to stay calm—an impossible task when I suspected the monster might kill me, as he had many Ortensians before me.
While I would have fought back, my power was nothing compared to the Fire King. The man had spent his entire life honing it into a weapon. Before I could even summon my modest strength, he would reduce me to cinders. Besides, I’d only just discovered it was faulty as well.
The cause of my racing pulse stood tall, arms crossed, his bicep bigger than my thigh. A promise of violence simmered in his darkening eyes as his fists tightened like he was restraining himself.
My thoughts refused to settle, replaying all the ways he could wield those powerful arms against me. All the ways he had used them against my people. The deaths. The butchery.
Taking several deep breaths, focusing on my dragon, I forced my heartbeat to slow. I couldn’t show him the fear his words inspired. I knew he’d despised and slain witches long before I’d ever been commanded to teach him.
When I finally looked back, he was scratching his nose, as if to show me the entire ordeal was beneath him. All I could think about was how deep that hatred towards witches ran and whether I would walk out of this deal unscathed.
Chapter Five
Avari
The mere presence of the king left me drowning in a tide of anxiety. My usual coping tricks of steady breathing and pointless counting failed me, so I tried to ignore the alarms blaring through my body and instead reached out to Anya for comfort. It wouldn’t be the first time I had gaslit myself into a false sense of safety.
‘I’ve only ever trained Ortensians,’ I began, forcing my voice steady. ‘Usually, I start by asking them to visualise a dragon and shape it with their power. It takes a few sessions—’
Lifting a pinky finger, the king interrupted me. Raging flames erupted into the shape of a magnificent, blue-flamed beast. It was almost the size of my own, and I had never seen anyone wield their power with such ease. The dragon soared above us, breathing red-hot fire until we stood encircled by a ring of flame.
The man before me didn’t seem to realise that such rings amplified witchcraft. The air thickened with energy. The landbeneath me pulsed in answer. I shouldn’t have enjoyed the stronger connection to his land, but I did. The forest reached out to my witchcraft like an old friend. Closing my eyes, I followed the grid of energy and felt the pull of everything alive around me.
The roses in the courtyard bloomed with comfort and playfulness, while the willows whispered truths long hidden, steeped in wisdom they rarely shared. Even the forest itself radiated longing, a pulse of pure, undiluted power. I felt the soul of this place, and it felt me in return.
When the ring finally dissipated, sweat beaded across my brow. The king was gone from my sight. I turned to look for him and walked straight into a wall of muscle. His chest. I staggered, dizzy from the impact, and might have fallen if he hadn’t caught my elbow.
‘What is it with you and personal space?’ I snapped, yanking my arm free. Bruises already bloomed where his fingers had dug into my skin.
He blinked rapidly, face unreadable. ‘Did you connect to my land?’
Uh-oh. Knowing his hatred for witches, I should have been more careful. I stepped back. ‘I didn’t mean to. It just happened.’
‘What did you see?’ His tone was low and quiet, all the more dangerous for it. He lowered his head, drawing closer until his sharp teeth came into view.
‘Rest assured, I saw nothing. Your secrets are safe. I won't intrude again.’ My voice trembled, an unspoken offering of submission in exchange for mercy. The way his gaze travelled between my pleading eyes and the frantic beat of my heart told me he was weighing his next move.
‘Was it responsive?’ he pressed, letting out a quiet sigh as though his internal battle were slowly wearing him down.
