Rayne of Fire

Rayne of Fire

by

Michelle
Young

“Fire and
water do not mix,” Rayne said logically. “Is that not why our territories have
fought for centuries?” Using her magic, she toyed with a small flame, allowing
it to dance in her open palm.

“Aye,” her
father said, massaging his temples, losing patience with this argument. “That’s
why this union is so important. I’ve worked a lifetime to bring peace to our
territories. This marriage will seal our treaty.”

They stood in
the throne room, along with a handful of castle guardsmen, awaiting Rayne’s
betrothed.

“This is your
destiny,” said her mother.

“I suppose.”

On the day of
her birth, the Great Oracle suggested the name Rayne, meaning queen. Her
parents had understood the irony, and now, so did Rayne. She smoothed down the
skirt of her pale blue dress, trying to untie the knot in her stomach. She’d
soon come face to face with her future husband, the prince of Aquarius. Just as
she had the innate ability to control fire, he possessed the same command over
water.

“I’m not so
selfish that I don’t understand the greater purpose of uniting our two
countries,” she said. She clenched her fist, extinguishing the dancing flame.
Understanding didn’t make her situation any more tolerable.

The brass
doorknob turned, and two more guardsmen entered the throne room. No one else
followed. “Where is he?” Rayne was anxious to get this initial meeting over
with.

“Rayne”—her
father cleared his throat—”we have a confession to make.”

“Arrangements
were made as a precaution,” her mother continued in a vague fashion. “You
already know one another.”

“What?” Rayne
snapped.

“I’m sorry we
kept his identity hidden.” His pleased expression belied the words.

“Good
evening, milady.”

Rayne spun at
the respectful greeting. Keegan, a knight who had served as her personal guard
for the past six months, approached.

Rayne’s eyes
darted from her parents to Keegan. “Nay,” she said in disbelief as she
frantically recalled all of the happenings and conversations this knight had
been privy to.

“Aye,” Keegan
said, ending his charade. “I am the heir to the Aquarian throne.”

“I can’t
believe you did this.” Rayne’s gaze fixed on her parents.

“It was a
necessary deception,” her father declared with regal authority. “A soured
marriage could prove worse for relations between Pyros and Aquarius than no
marriage at all.”

“I apologize,
milady,” Keegan said. “Our fathers believed it was for the best.” He bowed low
and then looked her in the eye. “Princess Rayne, will you marry me?”

Rayne
returned Keegan’s stare, but not his smile. “Nay. You tricked me. I’ve been
played a fool. You knew my identity while I remained in the dark about yours.”

Out of the corner
of her eye, she saw her father’s temper flare and her mother’s mouth drop.

Keegan spoke
before they did. “You have every right to be upset, milady, as I anticipated.
If your parents agree, I have a proposition for you.”

“What kind of
proposition?” Rayne asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Spend three
days with me alone, away from this castle. I swear on my honor I’ll not harm
you in any way.” He glanced at her father and then returned his brown-eyed gaze
to hers. “If, by sunset on the third day, you honestly do not wish to be my
wife, then I will release you from all obligation.”

Challenge
flared in the king’s eyes. “What about our treaty?”

“The treaty
is safe, regardless,” Keegan promised. “What do you say?” The question was
posed to all three of them.

Three days
and Rayne would be free. Suspicion crept in, and she wondered what other ruse
Keegan had planned. Her father’s expression told her she had to agree. With a
single nod, she sealed her fate, whatever that fate might be.

****

“Are you sure
this is a good idea?” Keegan’s friend and fellow Aquarian, Marcus, asked as he
helped Keegan attach packed saddlebags to the two horses.

“What choice
do I have?” Keegan gave the leather strap a final tug. “I won’t force her to
marry me.” Six months ago when his father, king of Aquarius, and Pyros’s king
devised the plan for Keegan to meet Rayne under false pretenses, he hated the
idea. When the king assigned him as Rayne’s personal guard, he hated the ploy
even more. He’d gone along with this plan for the sake of peace, but never
dreamed he’d find Rayne so captivating. Now, Keegan could no longer agree to a
marriage of convenience. “After three days, she’ll either kill me or realize
she loves me.” His words were light, even though they carried more than an
ounce of truth.

“If the
Raptors don’t kill you first.” Marcus crossed his arms and leaned against the
pasture’s fence. “Rumor has it they’ll do anything to stop this treaty. If the
war ends, so does their profit.”

“I know how
to avoid the Raptors.” Keegan brushed off the warning. “You worry too much.”

Marcus looked
skeptical. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing.” He
didn’t need Marcus talking sense into him right now. “Just be here when I get
back.”

Footsteps
sounded from behind. “Keegan,” Rayne demanded, “tell me where you’re taking me.”

He looked
over his shoulder. “Where fire and water live in harmony.”

The sun
highlighted her loosely braided auburn hair. Some of her long curls escaped and
framed her beautiful face. Her green eyes considered him for several heartbeats.
“There is no such place. Even in nature, fire and water cannot live together.”

“If you say
so. Although,” Keegan argued playfully, “I’ve been by your side nearly every
waking moment for the past six months, and we’re both still standing. I daresay
you were growing fond of me.”

A blush
stained her cheeks even as her eyes narrowed. “Only because you wore the façade
of my personal guard. I assume that masquerade has ended?”

“Of course,
milady.” He bowed his head slightly and then reached for her hand to help her
mount her mare. “It may surprise you to know the man who wishes to be your
husband is no different from the man who served you.”

She jerked
her hand away. “Aye, they’re both deceitful,” she retorted. Gracefully, she
swung into her saddle.

****

They traveled
for a long while, meandering through the thick forest. Rayne’s anger simmered,
but frustration slowly replaced it. They rode single file, with Keegan in the
lead, to seemingly nowhere. The afternoon sun peeked through the forest
ceiling.

Keegan twisted
his upper body to face Rayne. “You should drink something,” he said for the
fourth time, holding out a waterskin. “You could get sick. That would make for
a very unpleasant three days.”

She had
refused earlier, but now her mouth was as dry as sand. Grudgingly, she took the
skin and guzzled the refreshing water.

“Keep it.”
Keegan showed he had a second, water-filled skin in his possession.

Rayne hmmphed
under her breath. Dense brush, fallen dead trees, and narrow passageways made
their progress painfully slow. Rayne hoped the sooner they reached Keegan’s
mystery destination, the sooner this ordeal would come to an end. “Stand aside.”
She maneuvered her horse past Keegan. Opening her hand, she created a flame and
tossed it onto the dry ground. It obeyed her magical command and intensified,
steadily moving forward, burning a path in its wake. She concentrated on the
contained ball of fire and pushed it to move faster.

Sparks flew
off the fireball and ignited the dry, kindling-filled ground on both sides of
its path. One by one, she used her magic to contain them, but there were too
many. Several smaller fires escalated beyond Rayne’s control. She struggled to
keep her horse calm amongst the flames. Swallowing her pride, she turned to
Keegan in alarm. “I can’t extinguish them all. Is there anything you can do?”

Keegan sat on
his steady, war-trained stallion, staring at the fires. He raised his hand in a
sweeping motion. Water sprouted from the ground and sprinkled down from the
surrounding trees, gradually saturating the flames. Within minutes, only wisps
of smoke and a few glowing embers lingered. A charred path lay ahead of them.
Keegan brought his horse next to hers. “Are you all right?”

“Aye,” she
answered, dumbfounded. “Where did all that water come from? I thought you only
controlled water, not created it.”

“That’s
correct. Even though you can’t see it, water is everywhere—deep in the ground,
in the clouds, even trees and fresh wood contain a certain amount of water. I
can summon and manipulate that water, no matter how minute the amount.” His
tone was even, but Rayne could tell he bit back a triumphant smirk.

She cursed
herself for being so careless with her abilities. Although grateful for his
intervention, part of Rayne hated that Keegan had rescued her. At least she had
cleared a decent route enabling them to travel at a less tedious pace. Rayne
had no idea where they were going, yet she urged her mare a half-body length
ahead of Keegan.

Without a
word, Keegan picked up his pace until he was ahead of Rayne. She coaxed her
horse into a canter. When he matched her pace, she kicked her mare into a full
tilt run.

Keegan
matched her speed. “I know where this path ends. Do you?” he called to her.

Rayne didn’t
care. There was something exhilarating about the race. She leaned forward and
surged into the lead, leaving Keegan in the trail of kicked-up mud. At the
faint sound of her name, a grin spread her lips as she glanced over her
shoulder. She returned her attention forward a moment too late. Rayne yanked
the reins. Her mare stopped, turned, and reared in protest, sending Rayne
soaring. The river broke her fall. She slapped the surface of the waist-deep
water and shrieked in shock and rage.

Keegan
chuckled. “I tried to warn you.” He dismounted and stretched out his hand.

“Leave me
alone.” Rayne splashed water at him. The water hovered in midair for a moment
and then plummeted back into the river, never touching him. Furious, she tossed
a flame at his feet, which he easily stomped out with his boot. Getting out of
the river proved difficult as she wrestled against the weight of her saturated
dress.

Again, Keegan
crouched by the riverbank and extended his hand. “Let me help you.”

For a second
time, she swallowed a lump of pride and accepted his hand. He pulled her onto
land. She untangled her legs from her dress and scrambled to her feet. “You did
that on purpose!”

Keegan rolled
his eyes. “I can’t command water to create an entire river. Your own ego landed
you in that river.”

She stomped
backward and gathered up a portion of her skirt to wring it out. “Can you
command this water away so I’ll be dry?” It wasn’t exactly a polite request.

Keegan folded
his arms over his brawny chest. “I
can
.” His tone made it clear that
can
and
will
were very different.

Rayne planted
her hands on her hips. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

“And what’s
that?” Keegan asked with raised eyebrows.

“Trying to
show me that fire needs water. Riding for hours so I’d crave a drink, allowing
my fire to burn a path while your water kept it under control. Next, you’ll
probably take me to a village blacksmith, where fire heats metal to mold it,
and water solidifies its shape. I know there are a million examples, but it won’t
work. The problem is that in every instance, water ultimately squelches the
fire. It overtakes and destroys it, never allowing the fire to maintain its
properties.” Rayne plopped onto the ground. “I won’t allow a husband to smother
me.”

Keegan sat
beside her. “Is that what you think? That I plan to change you into something
you’re not?”

“Isn’t it? I’ve
heard Aquarian women are dainty and elegant. I’m not like that.”

Keegan
smiled. “I understand exactly who you are. You like to ride for hours and hate dressing
for formal occasions. You want a say in political matters, though you have no
patience for rumors and half-truths. You are afraid of nothing, save snakes,
like to sleep with a window open no matter the weather, and detest citrus
fruit. I know who you are and have no intention of snuffing out your fire. Stop
trying so hard to hate me.” He waved his hand toward the river. The water from
her clothes, hair, and skin slipped back into the river, and within moments,
she dried completely.

As her
personal guard, Keegan had stayed with her day and night, listened to her rants,
and even made her laugh. He’d seemed interested in her opinions and had
obviously paid attention to the details of her life. Rayne released a heavy
sigh. “Hating you
is
getting harder to do.”

“I know.”
Keegan winked and flashed a broad grin. After a long moment, his gaze broke
away from hers, and he considered the area. “We’ll camp here for the night.” He
then tied a canvas to three trees, fashioning a makeshift shelter, gathered
some firewood, and set up their bedrolls.