Page 62 of Heartflame

“Good,” Thaddeus nodded. “We’ll need their input on how to proceed. The breach at Widdershins was only the beginning, I suspect. Wild’s mother wouldn’t have revealed herself unless she had a larger endgame in mind.”

“She was looking for something,” I heard myself say. All three of them turned to look at me, and I pushed forward despite the flutter of nerves in my stomach. “When she was attacking us, she didn’t seem like she was trying to kill us specifically. She seemed more interested in... I don’t know... making a point? Or proving something? Revenge? Something like that.”

“The witch is perceptive,” Thaddeus said, and I caught what might have been approval in his tone. “That aligns with what I suspected about Morgana’s motivations.”

Morgana. So that was her name.

“She always did enjoy the theatrical approach,” Wild muttered, running a hand through his hair. “She wants an audience. She wants people to know what she’s doing.”

“Which means this won’t be the last attack,” Aeron said grimly. His arm around my waist had become a permanent fixture, and I found myself leaning into him without thinking about it. “She’ll hit us again, probably somewhere we’re not expecting.”

“Which is precisely why I need to speak with the Elder Council,” Thaddeus replied. He stood up, moving toward one of the bookshelves that lined the study. “And why I’ll be sealing the estate on my way out. I don’t want her to find you again.”

“But I can help,” Aeron began. “Take me with you and I⁠—”

“No,” Thaddeus said, his tone firm and resolute. “I will not risk my only grandson with Lady Briar commanding the undead. You will stay here, protected and untouchable until I return.”

“Do you need anything from us?” I asked, my voice surprisingly steady. “Anything we can do to help?”

Thaddeus turned those golden eyes toward me, and I saw something flicker across his expression. “At the moment, I need you to rest. Both of you have been through a harrowing experience. The Council will convene and we will make a decision. Until then, you should eat, sleep, and allow yourselves to recover.” He paused. “Aeron, please show Quill to the guest quarters. Make sure he has everything he needs.”

“I’d rather he stay with me,” Aeron said immediately, and there was that possessive edge to his voice again.

Thaddeus smiled, a knowing expression that made me feel like my face was on fire. “Of course you would. Very well. Show him to your rooms then.”

As we stood to leave, I caught Wild’s eye. He was grinning at me with that infuriating smirk, clearly amused by the entire situation. I shot him a look that I hoped conveyed exactly how much I wanted to strangle him. He might’ve been a member of the Elder Council, but to me he was still my annoying roommate with different colored hair.

Aeron led me out of the study and back through the twisting corridors of the estate, leaving the other behind. Now that I knew he was eighty-five years old, I found myself looking at him differently. The confidence, the casual command of magic and space, it all made more sense now. He wasn’t just arrogant. He had decades of experience backing up that arrogance.

“Stop thinking so loud,” Aeron said without looking at me. “It’s making my scales itch.”

“It’s a lot to take in,” I said defensively. “You’re eighty-five. You’re going to live for centuries. I’m going to be dust before you’re even middle-aged.”

“Red—”

“Don’t,” I cut him off. “Don’t tell me it doesn’t matter, because it does.”

He pulled me into a side corridor, away from the main hallway, and backed me up against the wall. His hands came up to cup my face, forcing me to meet his gaze.

“I love you,” he said simply. “I don’t know how long we’ll have together. I don’t know if you’ll live to be a hundred or a thousand. But I know that every second with you matters to me more than anything else in this world. So yes, we’ll figure it out. Because the alternative is losing you without even trying, and I won’t do that.”

I wanted to argue, wanted to point out all the logical reasons why this was a terrible idea. But instead, I found myself kissing him, pulling him closer as I tried to pour everything I was feeling into the contact. Fear, uncertainty, and underneath it all, a love so fierce and new that it scared me senseless.

When we finally broke apart, Aeron rested his forehead against mine.

Just then, my stomach growled loudly.

“Come on,” he smiled. “Let’s get something to eat. We fell asleep before we got anything back at the sanctuary.”

My stomach growled again, and I felt heat rise to my cheeks. Aeron laughed, a warm sound that echoed through the corridor, and took my hand, leading me deeper into the mansion. And for now, that would have to do. Because until we figured out all this stuff with the Purity Front, there was no point in worrying about the future. In order for us to even have a future, they had to be taken care of.

I just hoped the Elder Council and Aeron’s grandfather could make that happen.

Chapter 26

Quill

The Pyre Estate’s kitchens were exactly what I should have expected. They were massive, gleaming, and staffed by what appeared to be enchanted constructs that moved with eerie precision. I watched in fascination as copper pots stirred themselves and vegetables chopped into perfect uniform pieces without any visible hands to guide them.