The Study of Fire (The Study Chronicles: Valek’s Adventures #3)

Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

O pal raised the pig into the air. Cheers erupted from the magicians. He couldn’t see anything different about the statue, but Valek guessed the experiment had been a success. He locked his knees as his emotions pushed to escape their box.

Keep it together. She isn’t here yet.

Opal returned to work, gathering a slug of glass as the traitor Roze Featherstone aka Jalila Daviian, was brought to the gallows. Under the magical control of two master magicians, she was forced to mount the gallows’ steps. The noose was tightened around her neck and the executioner stepped back.

Roze’s expression contorted with rage. “You all will burn !”

When Opal finished the statue and prepared to blow into the pipe, the floor opened underneath Roze’s feet. She fell until her body jerked to a sudden stop.

Once again, Opal jolted as if stung, but she focused on her task, finishing the piece.

Gede was next, followed by the four warpers. After placing the last glass animal into the tray, Opal sagged onto the sand.

Everyone turned their attention to the bonfire. Seconds turned into minutes.

Come on, love.

“Yelena!” Leif shouted, pointing to the black shape stepping from the flames.

Yelena’s cloak caught fire, and she dove to the sand, rolling to snuff it out. She stood up with a chagrined smile, wiping the sand from her clothes.

Valek’s heart lurched as if it, too, rolled to extinguish the flames that had been consuming him from the moment she disappeared into the bonfire. He released his tight hold, and his emotions surged through him in one powerful wave, overwhelming him. Weak with relief, he sank to the sand.

Yelena’s parents pounced on her, followed by Leif and Irys. Valek knew he wouldn’t be able to get close to her for a while. Plus, he wasn’t going to let those six glass prisons out of his sight. He could wait a little bit longer. When they reunited, he wanted her all to himself.

He kept guard and watched as she was surrounded by her family. Watched as the bodies of the traitors were burned in Yelena’s bonfire. Once they had turned into ash, the bonfire was finally extinguished. Thick, oily smoke boiled from it and clung to the ground until Gale Stormdance created a fresh breeze to whisk it away.

Valek watched as the councilors left for the Council Hall, and Fisk and his guild headed out. Watched as Ari and Janco joked with Yelena before she rushed to the stable, no doubt checking on Kiki. Yelena then disappeared with her parents toward the Keep’s guest rooms.

As the day wore on, Valek remained in his camp. No one paid him any attention. He’d become part of the scenery.

Twelve hours after Yelena returned, Opal, Mara, Irys, and Bain pulled out the six glass animals. By the satisfied smiles of the magicians, Valek knew they all contained the traitor’s souls.

Opal carefully set them into a box that had been lined with a spongy material. The box was closed and locked.

Valek joined the group. “What do you plan to do with them?”

Irys and Bain exchanged a glance.

“They will be locked inside the safe in my office,” Irys said. “The council will decide on their final resting place.”

And having all those people know their location was basically announcing it to the world. Valek couldn’t leave them in the Sitian’s hands. Too dangerous. But he nodded as if it sounded like a great plan. Irys and Bain headed to the Administration building, where they both had offices. Except, Valek had years of practice at spotting a lie. And Irys wasn’t a very good liar. The glass prisons weren’t going to the safe in her office.

Opal and Mara turned toward the guest quarters.

“Opal,” Valek said.

She looked back.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

* * *

Valek sat on the fourth set of stairs in Irys’s tower, waiting for Yelena. She had a busy day visiting with everyone and night had fallen. The soft sound of her boots on the stairs below him sent a fire through him. The good kind of burn.

She entered her rooms, and he padded down to the third floor. Standing at the windows with her back to him, she opened the shutters to let the air in. He approached.

Without turning, she demanded, “What took you so long?”

Valek pressed against her back, wrapping his arms around her stomach. “I could ask you the same thing.” He spun her around. “I didn’t want to share you, love. We have a lot of catching up to do.” He leaned in and kissed her, wishing the moment could go on forever.

Eventually, she pulled away and laid her head on his chest. His heart, full of joy, flipped in his chest. “That’s the second time I lost you,” he said. “You would think it would be easier, but I couldn’t douse the burning pain. I felt like my heart had been pierced by a spit and was cooking over a fire.” He tightened his grip. Please don’t leave me again. “I would beg you to promise never to disappear again, but I know you won’t.”

“I can’t. Just like you can’t promise to stop being loyal to the Commander. We both have other duties.”

He huffed with amusement. “We could retire.”

“From being a Liaison, but not a Soulfinder. There are many lost souls to guide.”

Valek drew back enough to study her. “How many? It’s been a hundred-and-twenty-five years since Sitia crisped the last Soulfinder. Hundreds?”

“I don’t know. The Soulfinders documented in the history books were really Soulstealers. Guyan Sandseed could have been the only true Soulfinder in the last two thousand years. Bain would delight in helping me with that assignment. But I will need to travel around Sitia and Ixia to help them all. Do you want to come? It could be fun.”

“You, me and a couple thousand ghosts? Sounds crowded,” he teased, even though he longed to say yes a thousand times. “At least you already found one soul, love.”

“Moon Man’s?”

“Mine. And I trust you not to lose it.”

“The only magic to affect the infamous Valek.”

She studied his expression. “How old were you when the King’s men killed your brothers?”

He peered at her. It was a strange question.

“How old?” she asked again.

“Thirteen.” The second worst day of his life.

“That explains it!”

“Explains what?”

“Why you’re resistant to magic. Thirteen is around the age when people can access the power source. The trauma of seeing your brothers killed probably caused you to pull so much power you formed a null shield. A shield so impenetrable you can no longer access magic.”

She sounded so confident, but that was quite the leap in logic. Or was it?

“After a season in the underworld, you’re now an expert in all things magical?” he asked.

“I’m an expert in all things Valek.”

“Analyze this, love.” He drew her close and kissed her. Deepening the kiss, he pulled her tunic up.

She stopped him. “Valek, as much as I want you to stay, I need you to do a favor for me.”

“Anything, love.”

She smiled. “I want you to steal those glass prisons. Hide them in a safe place where no one will find them. Don’t tell me or anyone else where you put them.”

Yelena had also figured out the danger. “You don’t want to know. Are you sure?”

“Yes. I can still be corrupted by magic. And if I ever ask you for their location, you are not to tell me. No matter what. Promise.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.”

“It may take me a few days or weeks. Where will you be?”

“I’m going to continue being the Liaison between Ixia and Sitia. I plan to commandeer a certain cottage in the Featherstone lands and declare that parcel of land neutral territory.”

“Commandeer?” He smiled.

“Yes. Having safe houses for Ixian spies in Sitia is not very friendly. Spying on each other is not conducive to the type of open dialogue I want between the two nations.”

“You’ll need to rebuild the stable. Hire a lad,” Valek teased.

“Don’t worry. I already have a houseboy in mind. A loyal and handsome fellow, who will be at my beck and call.”

Valek raised an eyebrow as desire sizzled on his skin. “Indeed. I’m sure the boy is most anxious to attend to his duties.”

He slid a hand under her shirt, caressing her skin. She took a step back, but he snaked his arm behind her, stopping her.

“You need to finish one job before you begin another,” she said.

“The night has just begun.” He pulled her shirt off. “Plenty of time to take care of my lady before I run her errand.”

His lips found hers, then he nuzzled her neck. “I must.” He paused to place a line of kisses down her chest. “Help my lady.” He picked her up and laid her down. “To bed.”

Yelena melted and pulled him down with her, helping as he removed her clothing. This time, when they joined together, something shifted inside him. She fit right into the gap in his heart. Without her, he was incomplete. Without her, life was empty. Without her, there’d be no joy and no reason to live.

In that moment, he realized Yelena was truly his heart mate. There’d be no other. Ever. And he’d do anything and everything in his power to ensure she stayed with him. In this world and into the next.