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Ch. 12 Broken Lines
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Fire's Determination Ch. 13 Captain of the Guard
I stayed standing as the stranger halted just short of the table, keeping a respectable distance and bowed from the waist. "Queen Mage," he began but I held up my hand to stop him and he fell silent. I truly meant to show this man that he wasn't as important to us as his King had probably made him out to be. If I could unnerve him, all the better for me in what I hoped would be a negotiation. "Thank you, Malorie, for delivering our guest to us. Council, we shall end here for today. Everyone out besides our guest, please." There was scraping of chairs and the soft patter of footfalls as everyone walked towards the door. My father winked at me, clearly knowing what game I was playing, "I'll be setting some little Nature mage's in their place, but all you need do is scream, and I'll turn him to ash for you," he whispered in my ear and I gave him a genuine smile, his use of his pet name for me always seemed to calm me. My mother on the other hand looked furious as Regnald grabbed her
Fire's Determination Ch. 14 Only So Far
"Your Majesty-" "And stop calling me that." I waved a hand in his direction. "That's a made-up human title meant to bolster and feed the ego of the bearers of your also unecessary crowns. Real leaders don't need inflated egos or fancy accessories to prove their worth to their people. So for me to be called as such, is insulting," I finished coolly. Tross just stared at me, wide-eyed for a moment before he seemed to shake himself back to the present and cleared his throat. "Yes, Queen Mage. I apologize for any offense. But if I may, what do you mean, you don't want to be ruled by the King?" "I mean just that. We'll ally with him, we'll help when needed, when we can. We'll fulfill our part of the contract. But at the end of it all, mages will still be there own people, their own rulers. This alliance, between," I paused, almost saying "myself and the throne," but corrected it to hold up the ruse, "The Princess and the throne, will, as your King put in his letter, be a symbolic mar
Fire's Determination Ch. 15 Courtesy
"No..." He said, pausing and giving me another look up and down, as if he were verifying something in his head. "In the event that she is still too young to marry and carry out wifely responsibilities, she'd be promised to the Prince until she was old enough to carry out said duties. Obviously, we'd still take her with us and let her finish her childhood in the Kingdom, as per the letter we sent. But the sooner we can show our people this unity between us, the better." He offered, looking like he'd rather be discussing anything but my 'daughters' "wifely responsibilities" with me. I avoided biting my lip in frustration, apparently there had been more in that letter than my mother let on. "Hmmm," I said, leaning back. "So, how old is she. If you don't mind my saying, Queen Mage, you look awfully young to have an heir that's old enough to be married off." He noted. "The Princess is plenty old enough to be married. She goes into this willingly. Fiery, a little tempermental maybe, but w
Fire's Determination Ch. 16 I am Your Right Hand
"Malorie," I called softly once I was out of the Council Chamber doors, knowing the potioneer had stayed nearby in case she was needed. The other mage came rushing out from around the corner and gave me a quick bow. "Malorie, could you please show the esteemed Captain to the guest Chambers, where he can stay for the night, please. And if he would like to get out and stretch his legs at all throughout the day, make sure someone is there to escort him, please," I said, knowing full-well Tross was listening through the open door but I didn't turn to look at him. "It will be done, Princess," The potioneer gave another bow and I sighed, giving her a small shake of my head. "Seriously, stop with the bowing, Mal," I whispered and she nodded. I turned to walk away but paused and looked back over my shoulder at her. "If you run into my mother, and she seems in a pissy mood, tell her I'll be in the gardens, would you?" With that, I headed out the side door that led into the gardens. The co
Fire's Determination Ch. 17 Too Warm
Gil covered my hand with his, "That's the future. Don't worry about it right now, live in the present. Right here. With me. In the garden you love so much," he said softly and I looked up, meeting his golden, brown eyes. The ones that looked so much like Ignatius'. "No, don't go there. Don't go to that dark place in your mind. Stay here, with me. In this garden, with this beautiful Morning Glory vine that Enid absolutely hates because it's a waste of space and kills everything it touches," He crooned. He always seemed to know what I needed. Even before I did. My thoughts which had been little more than a jumbled mess in my head a few minutes ago had begun to dissipate, pushed back enough to give me time to breathe and relax a little. He knew I fought with the ability to prioritize my thoughts sometimes and always did what he could to give me a break from the constant noise of ideas and emotions in my head. "Don't think about earlier. Don't think about tomorrow. Just think about righ
Fire's Determination Ch. 18 Not in a Hurry
"A little inappropriate, don't you think, now that you're engaged?" Sylvren's voice was icy and I could swear I could hear small crackles of electricity surrounding the Queen Mage. I saw Gil very slowly wiping his fingers off on his pants, his face as red as my hair. Which I was hurriedly trying to fix, as if losing the wind-blown status of it would erase what my mother had just walked in on altogether. "Technically," I breathed, or more like panted out, trying to cover myself with false bravado. "I'm not engaged yet." I said, my hand grasping for the contract. When my fingers only felt the hard stone of the bench, I looked over and saw the contract lazily making its way towards me on a soft breeze. It must have blown away from our lust tornado. I snatched it out of the air and whispered, "Thank you," to Gil out of the corner of my mouth. I held out the paperwork to my mother who ripped it from my grasp, "And why aren't you engaged yet?" The Queen asked, glancing over the documents.
Fire's Determination Ch. 1 There were Screams
I stared down at the names on the scroll in front of me. Twenty-seven. Almost thirty more of us, gone. Dead and abducted. There were twelve on the list that were found dead at the site. The other fifteen were unknown. Either captured or killed. Without bodies, we had no way of knowing. I rubbed at my eyes, the weariness of the past few weeks weighing on me heavier with this news. I stood up, pushing the chair back and my mother's eyes moved to me. She looked as tired as I did, but there was a determination there that I admired. "Your father and I can take care of this, go and get some rest, Lyra. I'll send word if anymore news reaches us." I nodded mutely, not trusting myself to speak right then. It had been weeks since I'd gotten a good night's sleep, and I knew tonight would be no better. Those names, their faces... They'd haunt me along with my past tonight. The halls of the Villa were quiet as I trudged down them. I couldn't think of a way out of this. Every time we tried to
Fire's Determination Ch. 2 Meeting with the Queen Mage
"Lyra!" someone yelled as they shook me awake, my eyes flung open to find myself looking into Lilly's. Her eyes the exact same shade of golden brown as her father, Nael's. "You were sweating and tossing around, I thought you were seizing," Lilly continued, unaware of the inner turmoil I was fighting. She didn't know what I had just been dreaming about or what she'd saved me from having to relive again. She didn't know about that night where everything went wrong. Didn't know that the fire magic that I now wielded had once belonged to her brother. Or that I treasured it as much as I treasured Ignatius' memory. "Sorry," I gasped out, wiping away the sweat that covered my forhead. I was soaked through with it. "Bad dream again?" Lilly asked, backing up the respectful distance that all mages kept from their leaders. "Yea," I mumbled, swinging my feet out of the bed. "Same one as usual?" Lilly asked and I looked at her again. There was a pained look on the other mage's face and I nodde
Latest chapter
- Fire's Determination Ch. 18 Not in a Hurry
- Fire's Determination Ch. 17 Too Warm
- Fire's Determination Ch. 16 I am Your Right Hand
- Fire's Determination Ch. 15 Courtesy
- Fire's Determination Ch. 14 Only So Far
- Fire's Determination Ch. 13 Captain of the Guard
- Fire's Determination Ch. 12 Broken Lines
- Fire's Determination Ch. 11 No Secrets
- Fire's Determination Ch. 10 Constant
