Blue Flames

EPILOGUE

Arthur's POV

Arthur did not mean to eavesdrop.

But he could not keep his distance from Elle. Not so soon after he'd almost lost her. Again.

He'd lived for centuries. He'd seen horrors that would make the most depraved of human criminals weep. Countless things and people had tried to kill him and failed. But one slip of a girl might just manage to stop his heart.

Right now, he was sitting several seats behind her because she'd warned him with bodily harm, while waving her puny fists at him, if he didn't stop hovering.

Arthur didn't remember the last time someone shook their fists at him. If it ever happened, they would have been ten feet under. When Elle did it, all he felt was a spark of laughter in his soul.

They were in the fae parliament where the High Council would convene. A building one hour ride north of the castle. The edifice put the colosseum to shame. A round chamber held tiered seating arrangements, sloping down to a circular stage. Red velvet covered the plush benches, the stairs leading down to the stage and the stage itself were a black marble streaked with bloody veins. The domed ceiling was a skylight covered in colorful, stained glass.

Elle was a few seats down, in front of him, with the little fox beside her. Noah sat by Arthur's right.

"That asshole," Elle whispered to Irene, her attention on members of the men chained around the stage. Mercenaries who'd survived.

"Who?" Irene asked.

"That guy with a beard, third row from the left."

"What did he do?"

"He slapped my ass. He said he'd show me a good time," she said. "Who's having a good time now? Bastard."

Arthur barely kept himself from reacting. His gaze found the man Elle was speaking about. Yes. He just found a new target to relieve his stress. Men who do not keep their hands to themselves when it comes to women deserve their hands chopped. Men who dared touch his mate would suffer far worse destiny.

Rami was a living example of that. Others might think Arthur had tortured him because of his scheme to open the gate.

Arthur tortured him because of what he'd done, and what he'd intended to do, to Elle. And he wasn't even finished yet.

Noah cleared his throat next to him, amused. Arthur sighed. "You're lucky Elle is fond of you."

"I see," Noah said. "That is a relief."

The seats were almost full. All his siblings were in attendance, along with the witches, the shapeshifters' representatives, and the fae king himself.

Idar sat next to Taro across the chamber from him. Leon sat alone in the very back of the seats.

Hours after Elle was kidnapped and the earth almost split under Arthur's fury, Rami had sent a message demanding to get Arthur, Orion and more members of the Five in a certain location. It was easy to guess his goal; to get enough magic flow in order to enable the spell's success.

Arthur had contacted all his siblings. Only Venus and Burak had come. Of course, Idar and Leon lived the farthest, in South Africa and New Zealand, so they wouldn't have made it in time anyway. But Arthur would always remember that Burak and Venus were the ones who responded to his call, when no one would have blamed them had they refused. After all, the life of one person wasn't worth starting a reign of terror for.

But they had come, and Arthur owed them.

Venus and Burak came down the steps just then, Venus sat beside him while Burak grinned and continued down to sit next to Elle.