A Fate of Wrath & Flame (Fate & Flame #1) - K.A. Tucker Page 0,1
in the air. It would arrive within a fortnight, stripping the tree’s beauty and imposing rest upon the earth. Sofie despised that long, dreary period, but Elijah found comfort in the visible passage of time.
Beneath that leafy canopy was to be Sofie’s burial spot, if their fortunes did not change, though his preference was the crypt under the chapel where he could better guard her remains.
Would she even survive long enough to see the first snowfall?
It was unfathomable to him that this woman, not three decades old, with the glowing complexion of youth and childish wildness flowing through her veins, would soon slip from his grasp. But he knew this madness she spoke of was true. He had seen it take hold of another like her, many years ago, leaving nothing but a mumbling shell of the impressive elemental she once was, her hair chalk-white and sparse, her eyes worthless, her powers impotent. She passed her days as a prisoner of the guild, reciting nonsensical musings that the scribes recorded as prophecy.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, Elijah had begun to see worrisome signs in Sofie—listless stares, volatile mood swings, unintentional incantations that escaped her tongue. He could not bear to see Sofie become a husk of the vibrant woman he adored.
Of course, she had no plan to allow that to happen.
A man stumbled out of a tavern and fell to the ground in a drunken heap, directly in the path of two draft horses. Elijah’s eyes widened, the idea of witnessing someone trampled to death lifting his spirits. At least that human’s problem might rival his own tonight. He gripped the stone ledge in anticipation, watching the beasts’ hooves plodding toward the man’s limp body, seconds away from squashing his head as if it were a ripe melon. At the last moment, two men grabbed him by the heels and dragged him to safety. The horses cantered on into the night. Damn those good Samaritans.
Elijah scanned the streets for another person in a predicament worse than his own, knowing the chances were slim. His attention landed on a young couple in the midst of a lovers’ quarrel, one that quickly escalated from shouts and hand gestures to a swift knee to the man’s groin. The growing crowd of spectators erupted in laughter as the young man crumpled, writhing in pain. Despite his bitter mood, Elijah chuckled.
Sofie was not to be deterred, though. “Malachi has answered me, and we must act in haste. You have delayed this long enough.”
“When the guild finds out, they will kill us on principle,” he warned, as he had many times before. They had forbidden such perilous summons for good reason—an accord that had brought about peace after centuries of war between the casters and the immortals.
“What is done is done.” Her face was a mask of grim certainty. “If they find out, they may punish me. But if we don’t do this, I am dead either way.”
“And I shortly thereafter.” His eyes flickered to the ground beneath the oak tree once again. If she was wrong, the gravedigger would be burrowing two holes in that soil by the morn, for without Sofie, there was no point for Elijah to continue.
But he was not ready to say farewell yet. “One more sunset.” Surely, this madness that loomed behind those emerald eyes would allow for that?
Sofie didn’t respond immediately. When she did, it was with the sharpness of a well-honed blade. “Very well.” The silk layers of her evening gown rustled noisily as she stalked toward the door.
Before she reached it, Elijah was across the room, his hand barring her exit. “You cannot ask it of anyone else.” She knew it, and yet the way she stared back at him, her eyes blazing in defiance, he feared she would act foolishly.
She set her chin with determination. “Then you must trust me.”
“It is not you I don’t trust.” He could not shake this terrible sense of foreboding. “When has Malachi ever granted anyone what they wanted without demanding everything in return?” Of all the fates, the Fate of Fire especially was not known for his compassion, but for his ruthlessness and pride. It had always been this way.
And yet Sofie had decided he was the one to beseech.
Elijah was furious when she first revealed that she had bound herself in servitude to him. It could never be undone.
“But I am a chosen one. Malachi’s flame runs through my veins.”