Chained to the Devil’s Daughter (Mating the Elements #1)

43

Ash’ren

O n my treasure hunt for Geysis’ pine needles, I fucking trotted through the garden with an easy smile. I loved my Firefly freely, out in the open. We shared common friends under sunlight, no longer a hushed three-way between us and the starry sky.

In the first few months of my freedom, I’d settled into my role by sorting my mind into boxes. I’d feared being too broken to help Searra take her throne. Or worse, breaking her in her time of need. I thought she needed me strong. Unbreakable. I was afraid that the tumbling bricks of my fortress would bury her under their pressure. With every brick she crumbled, both of our flames grew stronger.

Now, here I was, waltzing through the gardens of Hell, the dust-free sky as clear as the metaphorical one behind my eyelids. I watched thoughts float by and knew we could survive them, together.

The universe was determined to test that theory. The condition of our beloved dragoncherry tree had worsened. A tiny vine with little specks of purple had coiled around the base. Between the vines were dozens of blisters.

“No, no,” I mumbled and approached the tree as one would a dying friend. I touched the lowest branches gently, ducking under its leaves to reach the trunk. The rot stuck to my finger like sap, but goopier and hot as Hell’s asshole.

I traced the vine around the trunk, my fingers snagging over each pimple-like bump. Near the bottom, the raised bumps turned a darker shade of purple. At the spot where the root of the tree sank into the soil, the vine continued across the ground like a snake. I followed it under a bench until something pricked my finger.

“Ouch!”

I recoiled. A purple pine stuck out from my skin. I squinted and plucked it from my finger. They weren’t pine needles at all. They were long, sharp as fuck thorns. To my knowledge, there were no thorned plants here than the roses.

Tripping to stand, I hastened to the place where Searra had buried the flame raven’s seed. A tiny, unopened white flower bulb the size of my fingertip grew from the soil. Black tendrils snaked away from it, grasping nearby plants in a vicelike grip. They all had little boils of rot on them. Purple thorns grew along the vines. Where the vines were strongly formed, the thorns were pricklier than the strong-willed cacti that survived the barren desert, as opposed to those further down the line, where they were weak and perfectly resembled pine needles.

“What the fuck?”

Before I could evaluate further, I heard a muffled cry deeper in the maze-like gardens, followed by the scuffling of boots in dirt. I didn’t have to hear the rumbling sound of a deep, angry voice to know what I would find. Light on my feet, I stalked my prey.

“You stupid little bitch,” Fuegis spat at a cowering Fara. “Not that it matters anymore. Devil knows where to find you and your family. He’s coming. Nothing I can do to stop him now. You should have kept your end of the bargain.”

“I did, Fuegis! You know I did!” the woman sobbed desperately. “Please, don’t let him hurt them.”

Fuegis laughed, low and evil. “Like I could stop him even if I tried.”

“Fuegis, please. Please! You know I did as you asked!”

“Your pathetic tries don’t count. You accomplished nothing.” Fuegis batted her hands away as they grasped for him, his right hand closing around her throat. “Pathetic, useless female.”

Picking up a fallen twig, I stepped around the barrier of shrubs and snapped it. When Fara’s panicked eyes found mine, they were full of fear, relief, and more fear. Whatever she’d gotten herself mixed up in with this wasted seed of a demon, it barely outweighed her fear of me finding out. Interesting.

Fuegis didn’t bother removing his hand. There was only a flicker of fear, followed by annoyance, finally won over by an air of cool amusement.

“Well, well. The stray wanders—”

“Am I to believe this was a tryst again?” I didn’t care for his talk. His death was imminent.

“They like it a little rough. But you know that, don’t you? You’re an expert on palace whores.”

My body reacted. I coated my fists in a glove of black flames and pummeled into Fuegis’ flesh, right hook, left, right, until I had the shitstain of society on his knees again. Fara gasped for breath. For a moment Fuegis seemed about to reach for her, to take her remaining breaths away, but I was faster. With a twitch of my claw-tipped finger, Fuegis was bound by his wrists in a whiplike tendril that connected to the railing of a nearby bench.

“Was this the rendezvous you’d planned to give Searra a decade ago?” My tone was so full of ire that it sounded gravelly even to me. I barely held the grip on my magic that kept the whole garden from being swallowed by the void.

Fuegis struggled to answer behind a gag of flames, and I chuckled at the sight. That was two of my enemies now bound and gagged, and it got better and fucking better every time.

“Fara!” a woman’s voice came from above. I looked up to see my Firefly hanging from a window, staring down in horror. She disappeared, and I knew she would come straight down the climbing tree.

I snarled. Fuegis was lucky our queen, the definition of a benevolent and forgiving ruler, had spotted us. I’d planned to end his life as soon as Fara confirmed she was okay. Ask questions later. Or not, and simply be grateful.

Before Searra reached us, I whirled on Fara. “Going to lie to me again?”

She only devolved deeper into sobs.

I’d never been good around tears, especially of the feminine sort. I awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a light squeeze.

“Fara!” she shouted, racing to her friend and relieving me of sympathy duty as she wiped the vine’s goo off on her skirts. “Fara, what is this?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I’m sorry!” the woman wailed onto Searra’s shoulder.

“Shh, shh,” Searra whispered as she petted Fara’s plain, wheat-colored hair. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

“Don’t you want to know what I’ve done?” Fara’s tone was incredulous. By the raised brows on Fuegis’ pain-contorted face, he felt the same. “How I’ve b-betrayed you?”

Though I remained carefully cool on the outside, I smiled inwardly. These two did not know shit from spit.

Searra stepped back and took Fara’s shoulders, giving her a little shake. “No.”

Fara’s tears ebbed, her mouth falling open. She smiled a wobbly smile and wiped her tears. Though her eyes remained sad, she smiled at Searra, understanding washing over her. “Very well.”

I cleared my throat. “Tell me instead.”