Light Wielder (Fire & Metal, #2) — Chapter 40

Chapter 40

JO

It’s pouring outside, freezing rain pelting the windows of the parlor. The ocean is at high tide and the swell angry. I turn my back to the view, taking in the somber mood in the main living quarters of the cottage. The fire pops in the hearth, but it’s as if the weather has added an additional layer to the gravity in the room. No one has spoken in hours.

Messer reclines on a leather settee, eyes closed as he slips in and out of sleep, turning every so often. Propped on a stool at the bar, Fredrich draws a stone against the blade of a sword. The fifth he’s sharpened so far, if I’ve counted correctly. And try as I might to stop myself, my eyes slide to Acker, who twirls a dagger between his fingers. He’s facing the door, his back to the bar, feet crossed at the ankles.

From my vantage point by the windows, I only have a partial view of his features, but I don’t need to see them in their entirety to know his expression is severe, intense. And not in the way I enjoyed when we were on the stairs last night; the kind that makes me uneasy.

I’m not sure he slept at all after Messer dropped the news of Kai’s impending arrival. He and Fredrich were already down here when I awoke.

They’ve been shifty all morning.

I feel off-kilter. My mind volleying between being anxious of Kai’s arrival and reliving the incident on the stairs with Acker only hours ago. I folded. The honesty spilling from my mouth like a broken accord. But once it was out there, it felt too good to take it back. Especially once I saw the stunned expression on Acker’s face, awestruck before it filled with the same

longing I’ve been harboring. Then the way he kissed me, held me in his hands, as if it was with all of his being.

The threat of a blush begins to creep up my neck and I dare a glance in Acker’s direction, only to find his gaze is already on me, a knowing glint in his eyes as he twirls the dagger in his hand, a grin tugging at his lips.

The silence is broken by the sound of Irina’s heels clicking down the main staircase, drawing everyone’s attention to her arrival. Dressed in a formal gown, her hair and make-up are done to perfection, and sparkling jewels hang from her ears.

Messer whistles, his sleep deprived gaze raking over Irina’s svelte figure. “What’s the special occasion?”

She pauses on the threshold, hands smoothing out the silk fabric of her skirts. “In Strou, it is customary to greet dignitaries in our best attire. If I am to represent my people, I’m going to uphold the traditions of my family.”

“Where’d you find the dress?” Fredrich asks.

But it’s Acker who answers. “It was my mother’s.” He gives her a nod of approval.

The flare of jealousy in my chest is nonsensical. I think it’s safe to say Acker doesn’t have any connection to her. Not like what he has with me.

I turn my attention back to the windows and the turbulent waves below.

It’s strange to feel as though I can relate to the ocean’s uncontrollable madness.

I’ve just gotten my thoughts under control when I feel Irina’s presence beside me. I can smell her, too, the florals of her perfume forming a sweet cloud in the air around her.

“The mood in here is abysmal,” she says, conversationally. After a tense moment where I don’t respond, she continues, “How much do you want to

bet he kills him?”

I pivot my head to look at her. “What?”

She shrugs, a soft grin playing on her painted mouth. “I’d be willing to

make a small wager.”

“On…?”

“Acker,” she says, as if the answer is obvious. “On how likely he is to kill your ex-lover.”

The term lover in reference to Kai makes me uncomfortable, and a quick glance back at the room’s other occupants tells me everyone heard it.

Fredrich is grinning to himself, and Messer, the same. Acker, however, remains stoic as ever.

I shake my head, keeping my opinion to myself.

If Acker is insistent on taking his father’s throne, then I’d say the odds are in Kai’s favor. Kai could be a valuable asset if we’re to go against Edmond’s and Wren’s armies. But that doesn’t mean the chances of Acker harming Kai today aren’t zero; I’d say Kai’s attitude once he arrives will determine the likelihood of his leaving this cottage alive.

“I’m sure everything is going to be fine,” I say, instead.

Irina lifts a brow at my cavalier attitude. “You do lie an awful lot, don’t you?”

Oh, for fucks’ sake. I’m sick of this whole liar narrative.

“I kissed Acker last night,” I say, equal parts ashamed and petty. “Is that honest enough for you?”

If I expected Irina to be shocked or appalled by my admission, I’m sorely mistaken. “Oh, I’m aware,” she says, lips upturned. “Everyone in the cottage heard your quarrel on the stairs.”

“I think that’s putting it mildly,” Messer interjects, from where he reclines on the settee.

I narrow my eyes at him. Whose side is he even on? He doesn’t see my scowl from behind his closed eyes, but his smile only grows, undoubtedly feeling the heat of my glare.

Irina leans in closer, voice conspiratorial and barely above a whisper when she speaks. “The second night following our wedding, I waited up for him in one of my most daring lingerie sets.” Her gaze is locked on the view outside, but smiles to herself with an almost pitying expression, like she’s talking about someone else. “I waited in bed with champagne and chocolates for hours, and it was near midnight when a man I’d never met before walked through the door of the bedchamber. When I demanded to know who he was, he introduced himself as Wesley, and said that he was there under the prince’s orders.” Her eyes flick to the side to meet mine. “It was then that I realized Acker was offering me something he could not.”

My heart thuds in my chest at the realization. That Acker refused to bed her, at least after the night of their wedding. I can’t imagine how much that hurt. Her pride, her heart.

“I refused at first, of course,” she says, a genuine smile returning to her face. “But, after an unhappy year went by, I finally accepted the sliver of happiness Wesley gave me. He was very persistent.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, at a loss for words.

She scrunches up her nose in distaste. “I gave Acker hell for it. Hated him for a long time. You too, and then myself, before I realized there’s no one at fault here but the man on the Kenta throne who forced his son to marry a woman for political gain.”

With those final words, she squeezes my elbow and leaves me to go and sit on the settee opposite Messer’s.

I look at Acker, whose eyes briefly meet mine. A part of me hates that the truth of his relationship with Irina didn’t come from him, but I think he always knew I would be suspicious if he tried to discredit the validity of his own marriage. Especially considering what I witnessed the night of their wedding, when I was forced to watch them. The memory of it has haunted me for years.

Acker stands to his full height. “Someone’s coming,” he says.

Fredrich and Messer react in turn, standing as they watch Acker still the blade in his hand, eyes closed as he concentrates.

“How close?” Fredrich asks.

“Within minutes,” he replies, opening his eyes. “They’re moving fast by carriage.”

He strides to the fireplace, where he places his dagger on the edge of the mantle, the tip aimed at the doorway. It’s then that I begin to notice the other weapons. Not hidden, but positioned with precision around the room, and I’m not sure betting against Irina regarding Kai’s safety would be a good decision.

Acker turns toward me, using the tether to send an unspoken request for me to join him by the open doorway, a strong tug emanating from below my breastbone. I want to defy him, a stubborn part of me urging me to stand my ground, but there’s a larger part of me that wants to be by his side when Kai walks through the front door.

The truth is … I’m nervous of being near Kai again.

If Kai did influence me, is it possible that I’ll fall under the same spell the moment he walks through the door? The last time I saw him was on the dock in Alaha when Acker and I were making our “escape.” It was a ruse

meant to cover Kai’s involvement in my leaving, but the words he spewed in those moments hit too close to home, felt too real. Humiliating, even.

I don’t have to voice my shame or nerves out loud for Acker to sense it, his eyes turning soft in the glow of the fire. “Come here,” he says with a gentle tip of his chin.

And I don’t hesitate this time, weaving through the ornate furnishings toward him, slipping my hand onto his upturned palm.

He threads our fingers together, pulling me to his side. “You’re the queen of Maile,” he says, eyes holding mine. “You do not falter before anyone, remember?”

I nod, indeed remembering how he told me something similar when I was forced to kneel before his father that first day in Kenta’s palace.

He dips his face into the crook of my neck, inhaling before placing a chaste kiss there. “Besides,” he says, letting his lips drag along the skin as he pulls away, before speaking directly into my ear. “He’s going to know exactly who you do and do not belong to.”

There’s no mistaking the blush flooding my cheeks, and at the same exact moment there’s a knock at the front door, I realize that may have been his plan all along. To distract me just long enough for the evidence of my blush to be splashed across my face when Kai and his party arrive, knowing that Kai will draw his own conclusion. As if my hand in Acker’s isn’t telling enough.

Messer looks around the room at us, meeting each of our gazes one by one, checking to make sure we’re ready before crossing the entrance hall to open the front door. My heart thunders in my chest, my hand like a vice around Acker’s. I hear Kai’s voice a moment before he steps inside. He pushes the blonde strands of his wet hair away from his face, his boots squeaking on the stone floor as he stands aside to make room for the person behind him to follow. I’m unprepared for the sight of Aurora when she comes through the front door. My eyes move to Messer, wondering why he didn’t warn me, as he greets the two of them with an easy smile.

“You must be freezing,” he says, holding out a hand toward them and gesturing to the room where the rest of us wait with the other. “Let me take your coats and I’ll hang them by the fire to dry.”

Aurora’s gaze is sharp as she takes inventory of the room. The girl I trained with and sparred against in Alaha was already intimidating, her

presence alone enough to make the boys in our class shake in their boots.

But now? Her brown eyes are downright lethal. But as she looks at Kai— her husband—it’s clear as day that she holds affection for him in the way her eyes soften just a little bit, just for him.

I don’t want to be suspicious, but it feels like it’s crawling up my back like a spider and I’m just trying to convince myself it’s a figment of my imagination. Just because I never saw this type of reaction from Aurora during our time in Alaha doesn’t mean she’s incapable of it now. It’s normal for someone to seek reassurance from their spouse in tough situations.

Kai’s eyes sweep the room, assessing, before stopping on me. He holds my stare. The boy I grew up with is unmistakably a man now. Stubble coats his chin, sharper now, less round. He’s the same, but different. Familiar, but not. It’s been years since he’s returned to land and in all of that time he’s spent it at the front lines of a war.

“Brynn,” he says, dipping his head in a customary Kenta greeting.

I’m prepared for Acker to correct him, but I’m surprised when it comes from Messer instead. “It’s Jo now,” he says, offering a congenial smile as he finishes hanging the coats on the mantle.

“My apologies,” Kai says. “Jo.” My name sounds awkward on his tongue.

I offer a small smile in return. “None needed.”

Silence stretches out as Kai’s eyes dip to my hand in Acker’s, before he looks away. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until it hisses from me through clenched teeth.

There are too many emotions inside me to pinpoint if any are out of place, foreign, but I’m relieved to know I’m at least not instantly infatuated with him.

Messer, acting as our unofficial liaison, motions to the empty seating.

“Please, sit,” he says.

Kai and Aurora move in tandem to the settee Messer had abandoned.

Aurora is shivering, and there’s no missing the way Kai places a comforting hand on her thigh. It’s a gratuitous show of affection coming from someone used to Alaha’s conservative customs, and I’m convinced he’s trying to bait one of us into a reaction. Which of us is yet to be determined.

But Messer doesn’t react, his smile firmly fixed in place. “Would you like anything to drink? We have wine, spirits—”

“With respect, I’d like to skip the formalities,” Kai cuts him off, tone serious. “Due to a high number of anonymous messages declaring my father as the rightful king of Kenta currently spreading throughout the territory and beyond, he’s currently ensconced in a meeting with Edmond and his council, where they’ll decide his fate. If they banish him from Kenta, he’ll be forced to return to the Alaha camp, where he’ll discover my absence.”

In other words, we need to make this quick.

Everyone in our group turns toward Acker and me. Fredrich, from his place at the bar, Irina’s as she continues to lounge on the other settee, and Messer, standing beside us.

No. Not in our direction, but mine. Acker looks at me with the same expectation as the others. “You’re the only person here who actually wears a crown,” he explains.

I don’t so much as blink for long moments, as I come to the realization that they planned this. I let my eyes convey my vexation, darting to Messer and Fredrich, but conclude there’s nothing I can do about it now. Not now everyone awaits my lead.

Letting my hand slip from Acker’s, I sit in one of the high-backed chairs set to the side of the hearth, facing away from the fire and into the room.

Acker takes the seat next to mine, posture relaxed as he sinks into the plush seat. Crossing an ankle over his knee, he retrieves a dagger from across the room, the hilt spinning in his hand in an obvious show of his gift. I give him a pointed look and he winks at me, and it somehow works to settle my nerves.

I’m not sure why they thought I have any chance of swaying Kai into an alliance, especially as I’m the person who didn’t, couldn’t, follow through with the first arrangement we had.

“I assume since you’re here regardless of the circumstances with your father,” I say, meeting Kai’s eyes, once gray, but now blue after his return to land. “That means you have a vested interest in this alliance.”

He leans forward, threading his fingers together over his bent knees.

“I’m interested in an alliance with you and the princess of Strou,” he clarifies.

I lift a brow at the boy I once thought I’d marry. “Messer said you want Acker’s throne.”

“That’s correct,” he says.

“Your condition is a little counterintuitive, don’t you think?”

“Oh?” he asks, eyes narrowing slightly. “How so?”

I shrug, as if the answer is obvious. “Acker’s my Match. If you’re in an alliance with me, you’re in an alliance with him. Or maybe you’re unaware of how a true Matching Bond works.”

There’s no outward change to his expression, but I still know him well enough to see how little he likes his intelligence being questioned. “Last I heard, you two weren’t on good terms. May I ask what changed?”

“Or is that just what we’ve led everyone to believe?” I can practically hear Irina’s words from earlier about how much I lie. “Maybe you should be questioning who’s been feeding you such information.”

His eyes flick to Acker beside me, assessing. “I want the Kenta throne.

Acker being your Match is of little consequence to me.”

“And if I did concede my seat?” Acker asks, refusing to look at me when my head whips in his direction. “What would you do with it?”

Kai’s focus moves to Acker for the first time. “Assuming my father is dealt with, I’d rule over Kenta and Roison as a whole.”

Acker scoffs. “Is Chryse’s territory not enough for you? Roison holds the majority of this entire landmass.”

“My people have lived in the confines of a tree grove for decades. I didn’t take them out of it just to turn around and cram them into whatever leftovers we can find of an already established territory.”

“It’s going to be difficult to integrate an entire population in with the Kenta,” I interject. “You’d have better success negotiating new boundary lines.”

Kai’s gaze hardens. “So, we can have less housing and resources than those within the cities?”

I can practically hear Acker’s molars grinding over the crackling fire.

Even Messer has lost some of his carefully constructed enthusiasm. He kicks off the mantle. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to get myself a drink.”

Behind Kai and Aurora’s place on the settee, Fredrich reaches behind the bar and grabs a bottle of wine and a glass. His pour is heavy, but Messer doesn’t let it go to waste, swallowing half the liquid in one gulp.

He lets out a sigh as he inspects the glass. “Is everyone sure they don’t want a drink? I feel like it could be really beneficial for all of us.”

Aurora darts a look over her shoulder at Messer before sharing a look with Kai. There’s a twitch at the corner of his mouth, a smile threatening to peek through. It’s the proof that I needed that this isn’t a stranger sitting before me, but a friend I once knew. Someone who shared laughter at Messer’s outlandish behavior.

“What if all of us agree to integrate your people across all territories,” I say, drawing Kai’s attention back to the task at hand. “More than a handful have already found their way to Maile.”

Any lingering humor on his face vanishes. “Then where does that leave me?”

“Well, which is it?” Acker asks, fiddling with the dagger. “Is it power you seek, or a better life for your people?”

Kai doesn’t shrink from Acker’s assessment. If anything, it emboldens him. “As someone who refuses to relinquish their own throne, the same could be asked of you,” he challenges. “Or is serving at your wife’s side not enough for you?” To add injury to insult, Kai’s gaze volleys between me and Irina. “Whoever it is you prefer.”

His words are cutting and I’m fairly sure I feel them in the pit of my stomach.

A series of images flash across my mind. Acker’s hand as he readies the dagger in his grip. Its release. The blade flying through the air toward Kai.

It hits its mark, through one of his eye sockets. Blood spurts all over his wife at his side as she screams in terror before he slinks back against the couch. Dead.

Heart hammering in my chest, I blink away the scene, only to find nothing amiss. Kai remains seated and unharmed across from me, eyes intact, not a speck of blood in sight. I whip my head toward Acker who meets my gaze with a concerned pinch of his brow. As if I’m the one on the verge of killing someone and not him.

To anyone else in the room, he appears as calm and collected as he’s been since the moment Kai stepped inside, but it’s a farce. It’s been a while since I got a glimpse inside Acker’s mind, but I just got an unfettered view of his internal musings, and we’re currently skating on very thin ice.

Steadying myself, I redirect Kai’s attention back to me. “Acker’s seat on Kenta’s throne is not up for negotiation.”

Kai doesn’t waver. “That’s my condition. Take it or leave it.”

Messer circles around the settee, his easygoing grin slipping. “This alliance guarantees you a throne. Why risk not gaining one at all if this war doesn’t play out in your favor?”

“That’s only if we were to find a way to eliminate my father,” Kai says.

“Which I’m not sure is possible.”

“But would you have your own seat?” Irina interjects, soft voice cutting through the tension, drawing all the attention to her. “Or are you content to exist under your father’s thumb?”

Her words hit their mark. Kai’s face reddens with anger.

I’m impressed by Irina’s ability to read Kai so easily without ever having laid eyes on him before tonight.

“We can take care of your father,” I tell Kai.

He shakes his head. “You don’t have any idea what he’s capable of.”

“I can’t be influenced,” Fredrich says, laying his sword across his lap.

Kai shifts in place, eyeing my friend where he leans casually against the bar, seemingly without a concern for his well-being. “Are you sure about that?” Kai challenges.

Fredrich’s answering smirk is pure brass. “Care to test me, princeling?”

Calling Kai by an incorrect title works to further incense him.

“Stand up,” Kai commands.

There’s a long beat where Fredrich doesn’t move, eyebrows arching high on his forehead as he smirks at Kai. “Is that all you’ve got?”

Kai’s skepticism turns into determination as he stands from the settee.

“Stop breathing,” he says, voice echoing powerfully with the use of his full gift.

I’m alarmed by how quickly he escalated the severity of his command, the order leaving his mouth as if he’s issued it all too often. Probably more times than I’d like to know, honestly.

And yet, Fredrich is unchanged, his chest rising and falling evenly without a hint of effort showing.

“How?” Kai asks, eyes widening, either in fear or amazement, I’m not sure. Maybe both.

“All you need to know is that he’s fully capable of withstanding your father’s influence,” I say, not wanting to reveal too much about my friend’s ability to shield.

It’s obvious Kai is perturbed by Fredrich, even though he tries to hide it.

He takes in the room again, then the rest of us, as he considers the revelation that someone may actually be capable of resisting his father.

His gaze stops on Acker. As if he can see through Acker’s carefully put on façade and to the depraved thoughts hiding underneath. “Even so,” he says. “My condition for an alliance remains the same.”

Everyone is stunned by his decision, Aurora somehow the most of all.

She rises from the settee, her face set in a fierce scowl that she aims at Kai.

When he refuses to acknowledge her obvious displeasure, she turns her attention to Messer. Pleading isn’t something I’d ever believed Aurora capable of. Demanding is more her style. Yet, despite her still-steely demeanor, I get the sense she’s trying to convey a message to Messer, to implore him to act. He’s helpless as he stares back at her, his anger plain as day, and as his eyes shift to his former best friend, I’m worried about what he might say or do if I don’t intervene.

I stand from my chair. “The offer still stands on the off chance you change your mind.”

Messer’s helpless anger is now directed at me, but I subtly shake my head in warning. There’s nothing we can do to change Kai’s mind.

Begrudgingly, Messer moves to the hearth and lifts the coats off the mantle to hand them to Aurora as she’s closest to him, but before she’s able to take them, Kai is there to grab them from his hands.

I slowly step between them and usher our guests into the entrance hall in a show of diplomacy. The roar of the rain sweeps inside the cottage when I open the front door, along with a burst of freezing wind. Kai pauses at the threshold. At first, I believe it’s to steel himself before venturing out into the weather, but then he turns to look at me.

“Chryse knows you plan to renege on your agreement. He’s planning on seeking an alliance with Edmond if my father gets banned from court,” he says, appearing apathetic as he delivers the news. “Just figured I’d give you fair warning.”

Even though I suspected Chryse would likely go back on our deal, it still stings to hear.

I nod my thanks. “I hope you have a safe return.”

I shut the door behind them, blocking out the wind and rain. While I had hoped to weaken Edmond and Wren’s alliance with the messenger pigeons,

I didn’t ever consider that Chryse would join ranks with Edmond. They’ve been at odds on and off for decades. Then, when my mother killed Osiris, Chryse blamed Edmond for not stepping in to stop it, but I suppose anything is possible in this ever-evolving war.

The silence is loud as everyone comes to terms with our predicament.

That is, until a giggle erupts from Irina, cutting through the tension.

When I look at her, there’s a sheen of moisture in her eyes, and her giggles turn into a full-blown fit of laughter.

“What could possibly be funny right now?” Messer asks, as exasperated as he is intrigued by her amusement.

“It’s just that—” She shakes her head as she struggles to catch her breath. “The look on Kai’s face when Fredrich didn’t stop breathing—”

Sucking in another gasp of air, she continues, “He was so offended.”

It takes a second, but then we’re all snickering, tension finding release.

It’s effective in breaking us out of our melancholy. But as I watch the grin slowly fade from Acker’s face, I have an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.