Touch of Flame

Malachi was frustratingly carving wood to make another horse. A part of him remembered the terrified woman last night. The one that woke up in cold sweat and tears and then she cried herself to sleep. The pain in which she cried had shocked him. He had felt it deep in his chest like infected wounds being poked at constantly. And he knew what he felt was only a sense of her pain. Not the raw emotion. Not the one she was dealing with.

If not for his bloody instinct that he was unable to control, he would have left her there terrified to know she made a mistake thinking she could be here with no consequences. If not for his damned instinct, she would be dead by now. That was how much she enraged him but perhaps if there was no instinct involved he wouldn’t be so enraged either.

Malachi had still not spoken to Saul. Now that he could somehow imagine the loss of a breedmate and understand it a little better, he felt worse for his brother.

As he continued to carve, Aaron came to the backyard. “Is Ravina with you?”

Malachi looked up. “I thought she was with mother.”

“Well, she was with us and then she disappeared. I am sure you could find her easily.”

Malachi could care less about finding her right now.

“Let her be.”

“I don’t think that is a good idea.”

“Well, since she is so smart, maybe she can take care of herself,” Malachi said.

“She is actually smart,” Aaron said. “Just not mindful of herself. She could be in danger.”

“That is even better.”

Aaron frowned. “She is not bad, you know. If you talked to her.”

Malachi paused and looked up at his brother. A smile curved his lips. “She is really good. Seems like she managed to manipulate you.”

Aaron narrowed his eyes and his frown deepened. “Perhaps she has, although what I like the most about her is that she doesn’t pretend to be nice and she speaks her mind even if what she says sounds rude or harsh.”

“You are not being careful. Just stay away from her.” Malachi said and went back to focus on his carving.

“And if I don’t want to?”

He paused and looked up again. “I am looking out for you, Aaron.”

“How about treating me like an individual first?”

Malachi blinked surprised. This woman really got into his head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, why can’t you listen and stop belittling everything I say?”

Malachi was confused. “I don’t do that.”

“Yes, you do. You and Saul have become just like father. I supported you to dethrone father. After all, you were taking a different path and inspiring everyone else but now you are back to being the same, while Saul is taking Joel and Kenan to the grave with him.”

Malachi frowned.

“You are angry about Ravina. Why? How are you any different? You went to the castle to burn it down but you are angry because she is here to destroy you?”

Malachi blinked.

“And if you think that the mating bond is more sacred than human life, then guess what? Your breedmate is human now.” He laughed ironically.

Malachi watched him disturbed. She got into his head but he had to agree that the situation was indeed ironic and that he was being unreasonable. But that didn’t change the fact that they were enemies and now she was turning his brother against him.

Aaron stopped laughing and looked at him with a serious expression. “I’ll leave you alone to carve your horses. Let’s see if your guilty conscious can bring them to life.” Then with a shrug, he left.

Malachi looked at the half-carved wood in his hand. Guilty conscious?

His memories went back to when his father was alive. “Father, let’s stop this. I can’t do this anymore.”

“What do you want to do, Son?” His father had asked in his authoritative voice.

“Stop this terror and enslavement. These people have families like us.”

His father had raised a brow. “You think if you stop there will be peace?” His father laughed. “After all those years of dragons ruling, do you think humans will shake hands with you? Listen, son, order is very important. That is how the world works. If you give up your rule, they will rule over you.”

“I am not doing this anymore, father!”

His father frowned, his gaze hardening. “Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. You are doing both the humans and our people a disservice. With this attitude, you will make our people suffer.”

Malachi snapped back to the presence. Now his people lived in hiding. His father was right. After so many centuries of dragons ruling over humans, they wouldn’t just shake hands with them.

As he thought so, he remembered Ravina’s father. The man who made him believe there could be peace between them for a moment. The day after they denied his peace treaties, Malachi hadn’t been able to forget about him. Hope sparked in him which led him to think that his sister, a dragon could actually live with a human.

Aaron would not understand this. He could not understand that he did try to change but it doesn’t work. He did not want any more loss because of his naivety.

He continued to carve but he couldn’t focus. Guilty conscious? Bring them back to life?

He tossed the wood aside and went to look for Ravina. That princess better stop messing with his family and causing division. To think that he actually felt bad for her last night. He scoffed. She could die of that pain for all he could care.

He tried to find her scent but it was nowhere near. Did she try to escape? He shifted and flew to scan the area quickly and her scent oddly led him to the temple. As he landed outside, he shifted back swiftly.

Malachi saw her back as she lay on a mat while priest Chanan played the flute outside on the other side of the temple. Stepping inside he walked around and saw that she was sleeping.

What was happening?