Touch of Flame

Clearly, stallions and sheep were different kinds of men so riding a stallion…

Riding a man…?

Like…

She tossed her pen aside having some idea from what she read and all of her conclusions were that it was a sexual act. A position to be specific where the woman was on top.

God! It was both good and bad that she read those books and these shameless men… really? What made him think she would want… to…

Her shoulders fell in defeat and then her mind provided her with some explicit images of being in that position. Malachi on his back in between her pink sheets with that gaze he had when he wanted her and her sitting on top of him.

Her heart almost failed to beat at the thought. She was suddenly burning.

Pushing herself away from the table she reached for the cane when a knock came from the door.

“Come in.”

Mara stepped inside, looking a bit worried.

“What is wrong?” Ravina asked.

“It is the peelers,” she began.

Ravina frowned.

“My husband worked on the rest, not even resting at night, and… today he found them all ruined.”

“Ruined? How?”

“The forging process, someone ruined it and threw them back into the fire.”

Ravina was disturbed. “Who would do that? Is the place locked? Are there people working with him?”

“Whoever did it, does not want you to do well.” She pointed. “And they are brave enough to do such a thing.”

She was hinting at something. Saul. It was the only one she could think about.

“Do you suspect anyone?” Ravina asked although she knew she wouldn’t say if it was Saul.

Her gaze wavered. “I don’t know.”

Ravina nodded. “I’ll take care of it,” she said. “Do you know where I can find Saul?”

Her eyes widened.

“Don’t worry. I won’t go there with accusations.”

Mara’s eyes darted. “You will probably find him in the courthouse or his home.”

She gave her the direction. “You shouldn’t go there. Maybe talk to Malachi or… don’t! Just forget about the peelers.”

“Today it is peelers, tomorrow it will be something else. Avoiding a problem won’t solve it.” Ravina said.

Mara didn’t know what to say. “Just… be careful. I don’t know what you plan to do.”

“I will just talk. Don’t worry.” She assured her.

Using her cane she stood up and decided to go find Saul.

The courthouse was a large white mansion and she had to ascend a few stairs to get to the front door. There were no guards and she could just walk inside.

She stepped into a large hall, walking on a shining marble floor, and ahead there was an extravagant staircase that led upstairs. Only a few pieces of furniture lay scattered in the hall, making the place look empty and every step she took and the sound of her cane hitting the floor echoed in the hall.

Instead of going upstairs, she decides to explore the bottom floor first. All the rooms had minimal interiors making them look simple and clean. They had a large library and seeing books again made her feel warm. She pulled out one of them from the shelf and opened it.

The letters reminded her of when Malachi wrote his name. He didn’t write rubbish. It was the dragon language. She forgot what it was called. Was it Targas?

Even if she couldn’t understand, she just turned the pages and studied the letters. Perhaps she could spend her time learning the language. She needed to find things to keep her busy anyway.

“What brings you here?” Saul’s voice caused her to jolt.

She turned to him, the book still in her hand. “I came to see you,” she said taking a moment to put the book back before turning to face him again.

He stood straight, chin up and folding his arms over his chest. His gaze burned with resentment as he watched her.

“Do you cook?” She asked. “Like you older brother.”

He raised a brow, wondering where she was going with her question.

“I do. Why do you ask?”

“I was thinking of sending you a peeler as a gift. Have you heard about the new vegetable peelers?”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “I did. How kind of you to send gifts but princess, I would not accept anything you invent.”

“I understand. No problem. Now you won’t be able to receive them anyway. They were destroyed.”

“Oh, how sad.” He said.

“It is. A decent man spend his time and strength to make them and someone ruined them.”

He tilted his head. “Are you accusing me, princess?”

“Not at all. I just know you are the king’s right-hand man. I don’t want to bother Malachi. He must have a lot to do as a king so I came to you. It is a concerning incident for people’s business to be ruined like this. Should it not be investigated?”

He smirked. “I have bigger things to deal with that you are the cause of.”

“You seem to have difficulty dealing with politics. Perhaps you can help me and I can help you.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “You think I need your help?”

“Perhaps after you listen to my first advice you might change your mind,” she told him.

He scoffed. “Alright. You give me your advice and I will give you one that will save your life.”

“If you heed my advice it will save many of your people’s lives.” She said. “How long do you think you can keep hiding before you are found? Do you think destroying my father’s invention will stop my people? The development of new weapons is faster than ever before. People are not trying to invent tools to better their lives because you can only live a better life once you survive and my people are under constant pressure to survive. That is their only focus and the more you push, the harder they will push back because now they know they that they can fight back.”

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Bonus dedicated to tiloca. Thank you for the supergift <3