all was because of one nagging question that needed answering. Then he would go through with the plan. “I bet that’s pretty upsetting.”
The intention was to rattle her, but his disregard seemed to cause the opposite. Lady Autumnsong reclaimed her mask and unfolded her arms. “Indeed. Now. There is one choice left for the two of us. You will tell me why she desires you so badly that she sent her man to antagonize you into doing something foolish. Then you will flee this gazebo. My guards will catch you. I will inform them that you attacked me in your escape attempt. You will be executed in a very public fashion. I will see it is as painless as possible. Death is not ideal, but I have it on good authority that it is preferable to what Luna will do when she has you.”
“What a coincidence. I heard the same thing.”
She folded her arms behind her back and examined him with no small amount of intensity. “This is not what I desired.”
“No. I don’t figure it is.”
“You will not cooperate.” She wasn’t asking. She was going to be very surprised.
“I will.” Kaie leaned back on the banister, hoping she couldn’t hear the way his heart was racing. He would give anything for another way. Any other way. But this was it. His only choice. “But first I want to know why.”
“Why?”
“Don’t play with me, Lady. Why are you so determined to oppose your niece?”
She frowned and turned away again. After a moment, her hands returned to the rail. “I’ve told you already.”
Kaie thought for a moment. It wasn’t a challenging puzzle. “Your son.”
A nod. “I realize this is quite a scandalous attitude for a woman of my standing, but I am very fond of my Peter.” She still sounded just as cordial as before. But this time it wasn’t anger that hid beneath the surface. “He was once quite happy. And so very kind. I knew of his preference for other men, and though it concerned me I did not forbid it. I arranged a marriage to a girl from a fine family. They knew each other quite well, and she was aware of his preferences and was not put off by it. I believe they loved each other, in their own way.
“Discretion, obviously, was key in this arrangement. Then Luna arrived. I do not know what occurred. All I know is the results. My Peter ordered his lover executed for attempting to escape. Then, on our annual trip to the capital, he made a very public attempt to seduce another noble’s son. The engagement was ended. My Peter stopped smiling. And now he does all that my niece asks of him without question.”
“So it’s revenge?”
She shook her head just a fraction. “No. All I want is my son back. I will find a way to pry Luna loose from this family. And then my Peter will learn how to smile again.”
Kaie sighed. He was hoping for something less sympathetic. He didn’t want to like this woman. “Alright. I mean thanks.”
Her lips pursed for a moment. “And your secret, Kaie Zetowan?”
“I have magic.”
Her mask slipped again. Her face paled. “No. I misheard you. Our conversation is finished. Run now and I will spare you her attention.”
“You didn’t mishear.”
She took two steps to cross the distance between them, pointing a trembling finger in his face. “You are a fool! Do you know what you are doing?”
“Pretty sure I do,” he muttered. He couldn’t summon the courage to speak any louder.
She shook her head, her hands going up to her beautifully wrapped arms and rubbing them, as if for warmth. “I will have to summon a Namer. Any slave found to have magic is given to the care of a Namer. They will use their magics to go into your head and rip out yours. Do you know how they do that?”
Kaie nodded, because Sojun told him. But the Lady Autumnsong wasn’t watching him anymore. Her eyes took on a glazed look he recognized quite well. They weren’t seeing the world around them anymore. They were locked on her own private nightmare.
“They rip out your mind. Your memories. Everything that makes you a person. Nothing is left. Not who you were, not what you might be. You won’t even think to feed yourself unless someone puts a fork in your hand and orders you to use it. You won’t even recognize your name. And so the Namer will give you a new one. It will be the same they give all the Named, the only one to give to such a creature. You will be Hollow.”
The shudder that ran through his body was nothing compared to the screaming going on in his head. Somehow, Kaie managed to keep himself rooted. “It solves both our problems.” He didn’t know where the steadiness in his voice came from, for he felt none of it. “Your niece can’t take me if a Namer comes for me, right?”
Lady Autumnsong’s eyes focused again, returning to his face. Her mask was in place once more, but Kaie could swear he saw sadness in the brown depths. “Correct. You will be confined in a special cell until the Namer is done with you. Then you will be unfit.”
From the sound of the word, she meant unfit for anything. But that was something Kaie didn’t really want to know. So he bit back the question. “Even if you kill me, you can’t be sure the witness and the girl who was attacked will be safe. Your niece will be upset, and she might ask for one of them. Or you might need to set a more severe example. But this… If it was just my magic lashing out, they’re not to blame. And you aren’t taking me away, the Namer is. This will keep them safe, right?”
After a long moment, Lady Autumnsong tilted her head in agreement.
Kaie nodded. Just as Sojun said, “Then this is the solution.”
“Please.” It was such an odd word, to hear from a woman like Autumnsong. “Don’t make me do this. Take my alternative. Please.”
She was testing his resolve, and it wasn’t nearly strong enough for that. “Why do you care? This is better for you, too. Your niece won’t be mad at you for losing me.”
Now he was certain he saw sadness. She was almost about to reach over and take his hands, he thought. But she didn’t. “I remember every Hollow made from my estate. Every one of them visits my nightmares. I care. Is there nothing I can do to dissuade you? I will send the two away. Sell them. Get them out of Luna’s reach and safe from any further punishment.”
Kaie faltered. That was a solution he never considered. If they were safe, he didn’t need to do this. He would care just as little about Amorette and the others he brought death to with his head cleaved from his neck. And it was so much less terrifying.
Except, powerful as Lady Autumnsong might be, she could never be sure the two would end up together. Nor could she guarantee that they would be treated as well. Vaughan sacrificed so much to give Peren her own home, to bring her fruit for her birthday. If they were sent away, could he get her any of that? She wouldn’t be upset about those losses, he was sure. But she would never be happy trapped inside all day, making bread and washing dishes. Autumnsong couldn’t promise Peren would be running deliveries in her new home. He could not steal what little happiness they found for themselves.
“Mistress Autumnsong, I have magic.”
TO BE CONTINUED
KAIE’S STORY CONTUNUES IN:
Blood and Fire Saga Book 2: Forgotten
OR!
Get the whole first half of the Saga (plus a few extras!) in one big lump! Box Set Style!
Blood and Fire Saga Box Set 1: Empire
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Acknowledgements
First and most importantly, we need to thank everyone else who helped build this world. There are so many, and I don’t know names for at least half. But there are a few that deserve special attention: Kate C., Phil S. and Larina W., you guys breathed life into something flat and over-done. It’s only because of the unexpected (and in one case, terrifically traumatic) paths you took the world down that we have anything to write about at all.
Nathan, was under no obligation whatsoever
, yet he spent hours picking apart every bit of this book. He says he was mean, but don’t you believe it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Finally, to those people who took a chance on Burnt and the Blood and Fire Saga. Especially the ones who took the time to review it. You people are amazing.
About the Authors
Lyn lived in Michigan, where it’s too cold too often, until very recently. Now she lives in Columbia Missouri, where it’s hot and humid pretty much all the time. She spends entirely too much time there playing video games and watching Netflix. Sometimes even with people!
She started reading when she was six years old, when she met a girl younger than her who could read the whole menu at a restaurant and she could barely spell her own name. Within a month she was reading chapter books. Four years later she started writing a horrible story about orphans. Since then, she's devoured just about every book she’s come across and found better things to write about.
She's a fan of amusing t-shirts, shiny new electronics, sci-fi TV shows and cartoons. It’s also a safe bet that she’s into anything remotely dorky. And Batman. Especially Batman.
Michelle lives in New York. She is not amused by the recent moodiness of Mother Nature there. She has always loved writing and reading and started out writing poetry, of which only two were ever sent into poetry competitions. The first story she ever written will never get published, because she wrote it