🔥 The Path of Fire (Path of Light and Fire Book #1)(Completed) 🔥

NSP 4: The Seductress

Power is nothing and it is everything.

Fatima had been born with no fire in her veins. Not even enough to light a candle on a dark night. Despite this limitation she exceled, because she had something that others lacked: true, uncontested beauty.

That got her in the halls of power, but it was her cunning that kept her there.

She had bedded more men than she could count. Some were enjoyable and others were only a means to an end. On occasion they were both; those were the special ones.

She could not form attachments though. Men with power would be happy to bed her, true, but they would never wed. To rise to the top, she would need to birth a child of great power and ride her or his coattails.

Unfortunately for Fatima despite years of effort, childbirth did not appear to be in her destiny.

So she found herself essentially in exile. She was assigned to the border town Sikati, devoid of any real challenge or social life.

Fatima did not truly hate her fate. If she was being honest, this was an exceptional posting for someone of her infirmity, but she felt robbed of her chance to ascend higher in the social structure.

When she received a letter, in an unsealed envelope and smelling faintly of lavender, she thought it a prank of some sort from a bored courtier or a mischievous child. If she could delay a group of travelers for a few days, she would be rewarded.

'Do as I ask, and the power you seek will be yours.'

She hadn't needed much convincing at all. Important visitors were rare and to spend time with the Seriens (she found out after some delving) was an incredible opportunity. To bed one was as good of a plan as any. Turrent was the last of the three she wanted, but as it goes he made for a great consolation prize.

When she received a lavender-scented letter in the dead of night with Turrent, which said the flame of Yua was now inside of her, she did not place much stock in it. However, when she rose in the morning she felt dizzy and nauseous. Thoughts in equal measure betrayal and hope coursed through her mind. Was she poisoned or pregnant? She'd placed her hand next to the cold candelabra to steady herself.

It caught fire.

It was only a candle, but it was her ticket out of Sikati.

She'd made plans to retest. It was rare but possible for strength levels to change. She could feign a vision from her ancestor or something ridiculous as an excuse. To receive a threading would be nothing short of a miracle.

But the power was fleeting. Before she could finish making arrangements, the feverish feeling faded and with it so did the power.

A few days ago, she'd received another letter with the same scent, but with a hint of iron and salt this time. This time the power she gained would be permanent, it said, but she had to do something more than delay.

She had to kill.

She'd deliberated over it for the last few days. The power she gained would be useless if the Guan invaded and laid Yua to ruin, but when's the last time anyone had seen one? Their creations the ugars still prowled the Wastelands, but they were a manageable nuisance, disorganized as they were. Finally, she decided that even if such a danger existed, the remaining Seriens would be able to deal with it and this request was more likely to have come from Yulan or elsewhere in the Yuan court.

She put on her golden dress tonight; the one Yusabin had drooled over his first day in Sikati. Her attendants came to her with jewelry arrangements and makeup options and she allowed them to bring her to her most beautiful.

On her lips, she carefully used her lipstick made from basa venom, something she had used before to paralyze lovers before. Wassa had guards stationed around the Dice's Inn to protect the boy and she did not need to bring suspicion upon herself with their deaths. Just a well-placed kiss to the lips or neck was all she needed. Man or woman, it made no difference, no one was immune to her charms.

"Merchant Governor," the female soldier at the door to Dice's Inn said to her. "What brings you to Dice's Inn?"

Fatima gave the woman her best smile. "I am bored at my manse. Do you know where I could find a good time?"

The green-threaded woman blushed and swallowed. "There is usually a gambling den in the basement, but we've had to shut it down in protection of the Dragon. You're welcome to go inside and have a drink."

Fatima grazed her arm. When she tensed, Fatima knew the battle was over. "I don't suppose you have a moment to entertain me?"

The woman leaned forward and Fatima teased her by leaning slightly and making her come forward the most. She kissed her and the soldier vibrated in her embrace. Then she froze, stiff as a board. Her eyes widened and flitted from side to side. Fatima leaned her against the wall as if she were still on duty and walked inside.

Immediately Fatima's eyes were drawn to a man and woman at the bar. The man had the cropped blue hair of a Hruh-yite and the brown haired Afillo woman had the biggest, most gorgeous eyes.

They are such an interesting couple. If I were not engaged, I would invite them to my manse.

At the bottom of the stairwell, she went to reapply her lipstick, but was bumped by the couple, stumbling upstairs to ravish each other. The woman was moaning as the man kissed her neck, overdoing it. She shook her head.

You make them work for it.

Fatima spotted it under a table. She snapped her fingers at the man sitting nearby and pointed at her lipstick. His eyes bulged and he hit his head scrambling for it. He handed her the lipstick and she let her fingers trail along his cheek.

He will not wash it for days.

She walked to the door guarded by a male soldier. It was the only one of the entire hall, which marked it as Yusabin's room. Those with power too often let their strength cloud their better judgment. With a soldier stationed there, they might as well have painted a sign on the young man's forehead.

Fatima smiled and reapplied her lipstick.

I will not complain if they made my job easier.

She was more direct with the man, licking her lips and giving him her best 'screw me' face. He shifted his stance as his member stiffened.

She let her eyes linger there a bit, before looking up and giving him a quick wink.

Men were always the easiest.

The kiss she gave him sent him to his knees, freezing him in mock submission. Her fingers trailed across his scalp.

He is cute, but business first.

She reapplied her lipstick and opened the door to find a curved sword pointed at her face.

"You picked a bad time," the blue-haired man said. His shirt was ripped open as though he was in the middle of the act. The curly hair adorning his muscled chest made for an interesting surprise.

I must have the wrong room.

She needed to seduce this man and regroup. A couple of well-placed bribes would erase memories and bruised egos among the soldiers. 'It was Fatima having fun' they'd say and give false assurances that it wouldn't happen again.

It always happened again.

"Did she leave you?" Fatima put as much sympathy in her voice as she could muster. "She was a fool to leave such a well-endowed man."

"I didn't leave," a female voice said from behind. "I figured you might try to run."

A dagger point tapped small of her back. Fatima looked at her options and found none. They were clearly here to protect the Dragon. She should have seen it before, but her thirst for power had blinded her. Her life was forfeit.

Power is everything and it is nothing.