Aurelie sat on the bed, her legs folded beneath her. Thirty candles stood around her bed, in cups and saucers. She had borrowed all of them from the kitchen after breakfast so no one would notice their absence.
She straightened her posture and lifted her hands, palms up. The candles set alight, like dominoes, until her bed stood out like an altar.
The candles she had mastered, it was her body that was the problem. She focused on her hands. Thin lines of smoke rose out of them. Hot pressure-filled her toes and moved up her body. It reached her elbows and fell disintegrated. Aurelie released a loud sigh. The bed creaked beneath her weight as she fell back against her pillow. Something between a moan of frustration and an angry grunt escaped her lips.
Just relax. You're overthinking this, surely! She told herself. She closed her eyes and tried to force her mind away from the fire.
Fire. Damn it. Focus, Aurelie. She scolded herself. Okay, birds. Flying. The birds turned into crows, and she found herself scanning through the memories of Marianne's cabin. The crow wailed and flapped its wings. Marianne's lips moved, and the Jermyn was on fire. Fire. She sighed.
This wasn't working. She needed a new plan.
Aurelie stood up from her bed and strolled around the room. Suddenly, trying to sneak up on herself as best she could, Aurelie whipped out her hand. "Ignite," she commanded and rolled her eyes for even trying something so stupid.
She lifted her left hand and traced her mouth with her fingertips. Her conscious mind was still focused on the fire. Aurelie sat down in front of the candles and lowered her hands. The flames obeyed and died down. Fire reflected in her eyes. She looked around to see which candle she had missed and found none.
Aurelie waved her hand, and the fire followed. Her shoulders relaxed, all strain blown away by accomplishment. She squeezed her hand shut, and the fire escaped through the openings between her fingers. Nothing had ever felt like it. It did not tap into her. It did not scratch her chest or feed her rage. It just existed.
Like taking a breath, she thought.
Aurelie ran out of her room, ignoring everyone else that stood around the inn. She pushed past them all and searched for Kirin. There was no one else she wanted to tell, no one else she wanted to show. Faces turned. A happy murmur ran through the crowd. She ignored all of it.
Sasha sat in the guest area of the inn. A glass of clear liquid was on a table beside her, and a book lay in her lap. Thick rimmed glasses hung on the tip of her nose.
"Have you seen Kirin?" Aurelie asked, her breath fast and harsh from running.
The glasses magnified her eyes to look almost two times their size. Aurelie's fire reflected in them. "You did it," she said, her face beaming. "How?"
"Uh." She thought. The answer had never been as simple. "It just clicked." Her head turned from left to right, then back again. "Kirin, where is he?" she asked.
Sasha closed the book, her eyes dropping. "Kirin is gone. He went back to the castle," she said. "I'm sorry. I'm sure he'd be happy to see that you've finally found the connection you craved so much."
Aurelie's head flicked back, her upper lip jumping up. "We don't really . . . I mean, maybe. No, it's not a connection per se, I justâhe was mad before, and I wanted to show him that I did it," Aurelie replied, almost too quickly.
Sasha took off her glasses and rubbed her lids. "I meant your fire, dear," she said, raising her brow.
Aurelie blushed. "Ohâyes, of course," Aurelie said and walked backward. "I â better find Leila and Daerious." She nodded and spun around. A cringe ran down her spine.
"That's a fine idea," Sasha said with a smile.
Aurelie popped her head into the kitchen, where Daerious sat on a counter, chewing on a drumstick. Now that she thought about it, she had always seen him with food in his hand. How such a thin man could eat so much, she could not understand. Aurelie's mouth watered. She tried to remember the last time she ate but came up with nothing.
"Look," she said, extending her hand. It was empty.
Daerious jumped off the counter and stepped closer, puckering his brow. "What am I looking at?"
"Wait, give me a second, and move your head away before I set you on fire," she warned him.
Daerious snorted. "You know, a good dragon wouldn't have that problem, just putting that out there," he said, and grinned, "but since you're a fire hazard, sure." He took a step back. "We should get you a warning sign."
Aurelie's wrinkled her nose and extended her hand. The fire flickered within it moments later. It was stronger this time, burning brighter and steadier.
"I can do this. I can really do this," she said and grinned. Her eyes sparkled with childlike enthusiasm.
"So you can," he grinned back at her. "Want something to eat?" he asked and started digging around the wooden cupboards for more food.
"Are you serious? 'Do you want something to eat?' I can control my fire. All I get is, 'do you want something to eat'?" she asked him, her jaw-dropping with mock outrage.
"I'm sorry did you want to prepare it yourself?" he asked and stepped aside.
"You are unbelievable," she said, smiling. She walked over to him and opened the cupboard door, pushing him out of her way with her hip. "Do you mind?" she asked him, and he moved away, raising his hands. The cupboards were packed with fruit. She pursed her lips at him and closed the cupboard door. A loaf of bread rested atop. She broke off a piece and stuffed it into her mouth.
"Where's Leila?" she asked him, her mouth still filled with bread.
"God, you're a pig, aren't you?" he said and raised his brow, observed her for a moment, then shook his head.
"The way you angrily destroy that meat with your bare hands is really an example of a fine nobleman," she retorted and took another large bite of her bread, chewing it with her mouth open deliberately in mockery, and stared him directly in the eyes.
"Why, thank you," he said and continued eating, breaking a piece of bread off for himself.
"Where did Leila go?" she asked him once again.
"I think she went to have a lie-down," he replied.
"Okay, I'll go see if I can find her then," she said and broke off another piece before she left the room.
Leila was not in her room, nor was she in the inn's living area. When she got outside, she found Orken, examining Kirin's hay men. She turned back to the inn, her steps light as a feather.
"Quite an incident today," he said, standing over the cloak Kirin had left.
She sighed and turned back, her shoulders slumped. "It was an accident," she told him firmly. He had a habit of popping up at the most inconvenient times. A habit that, she thought, would have left him running away charred had she not been in such a pleasant mood.
"Yes, you have been having a lot of accidents since you came here," he observed.
Aurelie gritted her teeth. Just like that, her happiness faded. "What do you want from me?" she asked. "I'm learning each day. I've just managed to control my fire. I cannot do much more. I've been working myself as hard as I possibly can for you people."
Orken snorted. "For us? My dear, you have come here to fight your father. You do not care for us, the only thing on your mind is your own revenge against him, and it shows. All these clumsy accidents, your stupidity, do you think this is just a game? Kirin could very easily be dead now because of you!" he shouted, his mouth turned down in disgust.
Orken had the ability to find whatever it was that would cause her most pain and make her dwell on it. Heat rose in her body and turned hard crimson. "You think I don't know that? I've been killing myself with guilt. And revenge? Do you think I want revenge? I want my aunt and uncle back where they belong. I want them alive and safe."
"This is a perfect example," he said, facing her now, looking right into her blazing eyes in disgust. "Your weakness, I am meant to call you queen one day?" he asked and shook his head. "You cannot control yourself even during the mildest of disagreements." He was mocking her, forcing a reaction, and by gods, she was going to get it.
Sasha came outside in the middle of his speech and pressed her hands to her sides. "You expect too much, Orken. This speech about her weakness, do you forget yourself at her age? You almost burned your own house down, caused me to break my leg with your experiments. And did your sister ever get her eye back?" She widened her eyes and stretched her lips into a thin angry line. "Give her time. You've had plenty," Sasha said.
"We weren't fighting a war back then, Sasha. This girl will get us all killed," he said.
Every word he uttered against her cut through her like a knife, and she was fed up with it. Most of all, she got sick and tired of everyone trying to come to her constant defense. She was quite capable of fighting her battles on her own. Her knuckles whitened, and her body stood stiff as a pole. A tremor ran through her and settled in her hands.
Sasha opened her mouth to speak. Aurelie shot out a hand, gesturing her to stop. "Whether you like it or not, I will be your queen." The fire in her eyes rose, floating past her brows. "Who are you, old man, to lecture me around every turn? I am sick of your bigoted remarks. Who do you think these people will follow if it comes down to a choice between the two of us?" Her hand flew out her finger, pointing at the inn. "You are a strong believer of one person not being of any importance. They believe in me. You all made them. I will be queen, and you'll remain a crazy old wizard. You have seen what my fire did to the ground, no magic but mine has any control over it," she said, and shot him a dark-eyed smile, "I'm not saying that it is something I want to happen. Still, you of all people have certainly been paying attention to how unpredictable I am." Flames dangled recklessly from her fingertips.
"You are your father's child, Aurelie Dranoir," the old grouch called after her.
"Orken!" Sasha scolded.
Aurelie cocked her head. "No man can be wrong on all fronts. I guess if I am like him, he must have gotten something right."
People stood at the windows, watching them. She hoped they heard every single word. Orken walked inside angrily, and Sasha watched Aurelie as she strode away in the opposite direction.
All happiness had been drained. Just worry, and anger remained. She sat on her boulder and wished that Kirin would step through the water. Each breath brought on mountains of guilt. Was Kirin still breathing? Was he safe?
She watched the water. Her mind created scenarios of Kirin's death. How would she ever forgive herself if he was dead because of her? She sat there for longer than she should have, wallowing in self-pity and thinking about how she should have responded to Orken instead. Replaying the conversation in her mind, editing her speech, trying to remember each word she said, and then going back to worrying about Kirin. She needed something to take her mind off of it, off Orken and Kirin.
Aurelie dove into the water.