Touch of Flame

Ravina was back in her room and Ester wondered what had happened. “Did you do the experiment?”

“No!” Ravina’s eyes widened.

Ester’s shoulders fell. “Well, I hope you at least got some warmth.”

She did. Ares gave her comfort, but now after all of it, she was left feeling colder because of the thing in the back of her mind. He left her in more panic and turmoil. He left her realizing a few things.

Ravina needed warmth more than she cared to admit, but she knew allowing herself to feel would also be exposing her heart to more suffering, and with someone like Ares who was on a mission, she couldn’t do that. She did not want to go through the pain of another loss. No!

Then, what was she supposed to do? A marriage with him where she couldn’t escape his comfort would put her in such a situation where her heart would be vulnerable again. She was ready to give him everything, her partnership, her body even children but her heart was off-limits.

Brushing off whatever little comfort she found, she went to look for professor Ward’s notes.

As much as she didn’t want to see the prisoner right now, just thinking of him made her feel sick, she knew she didn’t have much time to work with him if she was to leave with Ares soon. And after what she witnessed yesterday, she became even more determined to eradicate his kind. One way to end those nightmares would be to end the monsters in them.

Ravina read through the notes thoroughly this time, feeling her rage grow and her heart harden even more as she recalled everything. The lives taken yesterday, the homes ruined, the child and his mother that almost got burned with her, and the memories of the terrorizers. She must never forget her mission. She also had her sister to find.

Ravina looked at the page.

Breedmates.

A male breedmate was very protective of his female breedmate. Once he found her, he became possessed by emotions like possessiveness, jealousy, and a strong desire to protect and provide for her. To create a safe environment of comfort and stability for her.

Ravina paused. He was possessed by such emotions?

She laughed out loud alone in her room. Malachi would protect her? Provide for her? She continued laughing. Alright, now she began to feel like she was wrong about the breedmate theory.

She looked at the page again.

A breedmate shares the pain of his or her breedmate. Nothing was more painful for a breedmate than the loss of his or her breedmate and if one of them got hurt, the other one felt the pain equally.

She scoffed. So Malachi would hurt if she got hurt? Yes, she was definitely wrong about the breedmate theory. If this was true then she could just go down to him and cut herself.

Wait! Maybe not that kind of hurt since it didn’t cause her pain.

She turned the page and continued to read. She skipped over what female breedmates did and proceed with the males.

The males described their breedmate as their greatest weakness and strength. Their breedmate completed them. They defined it as something more than just a choice of the best breeding partner. They described it as fate bringing two souls together. Others believed that it was simply the compatibility that made them connect on a deeper level.

Ravina nodded. The fate part she could agree with. Fate did bring her and Malachi together, just not for the reasons named. She shut the notebook, realizing that she had been wrong all this time.

Frustration gnawed at her. Her hatred was fueled even more. She still didn’t want to go to the prisoner and now that she didn’t need to test her theory she had no reason to, except for perhaps releasing her anger. She wanted to see his face when she let him know that they killed three of his own. Oh, she would enjoy it.

Taking her bag of tools that she didn’t need except to fool the guards, she went to the cave.

This time she found the prisoner pacing, the chains making noise because of his constant movement. He looked worried and lost in thought that he didn’t look at her right away as he usually did. Only when he heard her footsteps did he turn around.

He was angry. No. He was enraged, even more than when she first saw him brought to the castle. Perhaps her uncle had already been here and told him they killed three of his own.

Good. At least he was affected.

“I see you are in a bad mood today.” She drawled, swaying closer.

He walked in the opposite direction to meet her in the middle while watching her with disgust.

***

Malachi felt like tearing her apart. She had to come at this moment when the breedmate pull was messing with his mind. He had ignored Ares, not spoken a word to the man so as to not give him the satisfaction of lashing out but his control was snapping. He had held back enough to chase away one of them and now she was here to test him.

As she unfolded a chair to sit upon he knew she wanted to stay here for a while.

“I thought to keep you company in those hard times.”

What hard times?

She tilted her head and watched him closely. “You know… I am a bit disappointed in you. Although we are enemies, I found you…” She pretended to be thoughtful. “Clever? Brave? Strong? Anyway, whatever good I thought of you is gone.”

He paused, not having a good feeling about the good mood she was in. Certainly, she got hold of something? His brothers?

“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I always found your people to be cowards. I mean who attacks the weak otherwise, but aren’t you different Malachi?”

He frowned.

“You are strong. You don’t prey on the weak. You are a just king, who protects his people and fights fairly. You don’t just burn down villages with innocent people and cause terror. You are not one of the terrorizers, are you?”

Terrorizers? That was what they called them back then. When he used to cause terror with his father and brother.

“You are not brave, that is for sure. Nor are your people. They clearly want to save you but they dare not come to the castle. Instead, they attack helpless people.” She shook her head.

There was an attack? It seemed like his brothers finally gave up waiting. But they wouldn’t just attack a village. They would make a plan.

“I hope the cowards were not your brothers because if they were… I understand the loss of a family member.”

It could not be his brothers. No!

“But don’t worry. They were not chewed. I made sure we burned them to ashes and then let the wind blow their ashes away.” Her eyes burned into his. “There is nothing left of them.”