Fate and Destiny (The Fated Series, #2)

Chapter 44 - Darius - Never Alone

Fire blazes all around me, never once burning my skin or that of the people hidden within its depths from the man standing on the northern wall. He's not alone, but he's not currently my concern, no matter how much I want to push the flames threatening to snake up the wall to swallow him whole. No matter what, I need to keep Xaxias here.

The fire element has been stacking its strength, and the wind feels just as strong redirecting the smoke. I've been playing with the directions of the wind for the past few days, that way when the smoke did blow over the castle they wouldn't think it was me doing it and think lesser of my ability. There's no pain lancing up my arms, no real struggle to keep the large section of flames burning high and bright. Yet. I don't know how long I can hold it, and trying to keep the heat of the fire from burning my friends and the bags of explosive powder takes a lot of concentration.

I don't need to be near him to hear what he says, and something tells me he doesn't either.

"Come for something?" He asks, the air element vibrating with the scratch of his voice. My mind goes back to that day in the ballroom. His voice, the wave of death that constantly rolled off him as it does now, bucking and pulling to be set free - to kill.

"No. I just thought I'd take a page from your books and be dramatic to come say hello," I spout sarcastically, thinking about what Clare would say in this instant.

"Well, you have my attention now. So what is it you've come to say?"

I shake my head, letting a smirk rise to my cheek. "How many idiotic questions will you be asking today? Funny. I suppose that's an idiotic question in itself."

"You're quick-witted like your friends," he says through his teeth.

"Did you expect anything less? You can, after all, see that we're teenagers, can you not? We're naturally and annoyingly quick-witted."

"And meddlesome."

We drift into silence, the only sound of the elephant grass crackling under the heat filling our ears. I panic a little, trying to find something to say to keep him intrigued. My eyes move before my mouth can, focusing on the bored expression on Willdred's face. Never will I call him Will, not when the nicknames remind me of the one person he's broken more times than once.

Xaxias notices my stare, standing straighter as I will the flames to lick the few bricks in front of them. "I'm rather disappointed, Darius. I really thought that you'd burn Will where he stands."

"Willdred's life is not mine to take."

The fire is beginning to ask more of me, but I'm not feeling the effects of tiredness yet, so I keep pushing, inching the flames higher, and pretending that though they stay a few feet away from them, that they're burning every inch of them.

Xaxias sighs dramatically, making me roll my eyes. "Ah, yes. Sadly, I do not believe either of his pursuers will be able to put the knife in his heart. Tell me. Could you? Could you kill him?" He leans forward, my flames so close to his skin that I can feel his breath against them. It'd take a thought from me and...

I don't answer, taking the second to make sure no one hiding is burning. My fingers twitch in front of me, and then Willdred is clawing at his throat trying to swallow down the air that won't come. I keep my eyes on Xaxias, matching his challenging stare. I can see it in his eyes, even from here I can see it. He's daring me to kill, daring me to show him that I can and will kill if asked to. I don't have blood on my hands, don't have the names of those I've killed constantly echoing in my head, plaguing my nightmares. I don't have reddened hands yet, but I know what will be asked of me come the fight I'll have to throw to win. I know that after all of this, I'll have a long list of the enemy and ally lives alike to repeat to myself, but that list doesn't start with Willdred Maron.