The Primordial Flame

The final straw.

The temperature in the room plummets to absolute zero.

A heavy, suffocating silence descends upon the study as my words hang in the damp air like a freshly drawn blade. Arden’s golden eyes widen in sheer, unadulterated shock.

The colour drains from his face, leaving his skin as pale as ash, his jaw slack as he gapes at me.

Behind him, near the door, Collette lets out a sharp, horrified gasp. She flinches as if struck, her hands flying to her mouth as she shrinks against the stone wall, wishing the earth would swallow her whole. Vane’s eyebrows shoot straight up into his hairline, his jaw dropping as his gaze slowly, dramatically pivots from Collette to Arden.

Bram remains perfectly still, but a slow, dark, terribly satisfied glint ignites in his dark eyes.

"Ame." Arden stammers, his golden eyes darting frantically between me and Collette as his mind scrambles to build a lie out of dust. "Ame, wait, that's, it isn't what you think, I can explain."

"Save it, Arden," I interrupt, my voice dangerously calm, smooth, and laced with absolute contempt. I step back toward the desk, picking up a quill as if he were nothing more than a minor annoyance I'm ready to dismiss.

"You spent two days lying to my face about being down in the hold with Vane, thinking you were so clever. So go on. Take her."

I look up, my gaze locking onto his wide, trembling golden eyes one last time, my lips curving into a cold, triumphant smile.

"Take Collette to our cottage," I whisper softly.

"Because as far as I am concerned, you no longer exist in my world."

Arden stands frozen, completely ruined, as the weight of his own lies crushes him in front of the entire guild.

Arden's face contorts with desperate, unhinged frustration. "Amelisse, listen to me!" he growls, reaching out and forcefully grabbing my arm, his fingers digging roughly into my skin as he tries to yank me back toward him.

Before he can even finish pulling me, two heavy boots strike the stone floor simultaneously. Vane's hand flies to the hilt of his dagger, and Bram snaps forward like an uncoiled spring, his face dark with lethal rage.

SLAP!

The sharp, thunderous crack of my hand tearing across Arden's cheek vibrates through the small stone room.

The force of the strike snaps Arden's head to the side, breaking his grip instantly. He stumbles back a half step, clutching his reddening face, his golden eyes wide with total, stunned disbelief. Bram and Vane freeze mid stride, shock washing over both their faces as they stop to watch the fire blazing in my eyes.

I step directly into Arden's space, my chin lifted, my chest rising and falling with cold, furious power as I point a trembling finger straight at his chest.

"Don't. You. Dare."

My voice isn't a scream, it is a venomous, razor sharp whisper that cuts deeper than any blade.

"I gave you everything, Arden," I spit, holding his wide, golden gaze as tears of cold rage threaten the edges of my eyes. "I gave you my heart and my innocence. Something I can never get back. So don't you dare dishonour me more by grabbing me like that again!"

Arden stands completely paralyzed, his hand still pressed against his burning cheek. The arrogance is entirely gone; the golden eyes that used to charm me are now hollowed out with fear and shame. Behind him, Collette lets out a stifled sob, and even Vane looks down at the floor, stunned into absolute silence by the raw truth of my fury.

Bram steps up beside me, his towering shadow swallowing Arden whole. He doesn't draw a weapon, he doesn't need to. His eyes are fixed on Arden like a death sentence.

"You heard her," Bram rumbles, his voice low, heavy, and terrifyingly calm. "Get your hands off her, and get out of this room.”

My head snaps toward Collette, my cold, furious gaze pinning her where she stands cowering against the wall.

"And you," I say, my voice dropping into a deadly, razor thin whisper that makes her flinch violently. "Why are you sobbing?"

Collette’s breath hitches, a tear spilling over her reddened cheek as she clutches her tunic tightly, her mouth opening to stammer out an apology.

"You have been trying to get him back from the beginning," I cut her off, taking a slow step toward her, my eyes narrowing into slits of pure disdain. "Not once did you think or care about how it would affect me, so drop the act already. Wipe your face and get a grip."

Collette chokes back her sob instantly, pressing her lips into a tight line as she frantically wipes her cheeks with the back of her sleeve, looking down at the stone floor in absolute, humiliating defeat.

Without offering either of them another glance, I turn my back on them completely. I walk back over to my high backed leather chair, the heels of my boots clicking sharply against the floorboards, and sit down.

I take a slow, deep breath, pressing my trembling palms flat against the cold surface of the mahogany desk, willing the white-hot fury in my blood to settle into something sharp, controlled, and lethal. I pick up my quill with a steady hand, my shoulders squared, instantly transforming back into the calculating strategist who holds all their fates in her hands.

Vane steps forward with a grim, solemn expression, grabbing Arden by the shoulder and jerking him toward the passage. "Out. Both of you," Vane mutters, shoving a silent, hollow eyed Arden through the doorway while Collette scuttles out behind them like a ghost.

The heavy oak door slams shut once more, sealing the study in absolute quiet.

Bram slowly pulls his chair back up right beside mine. He doesn't say a word to disrupt my focus, but his warm, steady hand reaches out, sliding across the desk to cover mine, his fingers locking gently into mine, offering an unyielding anchor of strength as we stare down at High Lord Carrion's ledgers together.

I turn my head toward Bram, letting out a long, ragged breath that rattles in my chest. The hot, sharp edge of my anger slowly melts away, leaving only a deep, exhausted honesty between us.

"I'm ok," I say softly to Bram, my voice barely above a whisper in the quiet study. I look down at our joined hands, watching his thumb trace small, steady circles over my knuckles. "I didn't want to make a scene, but, I couldn't hold it in any longer, Bram. Having to lay in his arms last night, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't live a lie."

Bram’s dark eyes soften, filled with an intense, fierce warmth that grounds me instantly. He reaches up with his free hand, his warm fingers lightly cupping the back of my neck, gently tilting my face toward his.

"You don't ever have to apologize for standing your ground, Ame," Bram rumbles low, his deep voice thick with quiet devotion.

"Knowing he had his hands on you broke something inside me last night. You bore the burden of that farce long enough. You owe him nothing."

I lean into his touch for a brief, quiet moment, drawing strength from his steady presence, before looking into his eyes with a thoughtful frown.

"Do you think we should still keep us quiet?" I ask softly, searching his face. "To keep the peace within the guild?"

Bram’s thumb gently brushes across my cheek bone. A faint, dark smirk touches his lips, dangerous and entirely self assured.

"For now? Let them think you simply cast him out for his betrayal," Bram whispers, his gaze locking onto mine with intoxicating intensity.

"Arden is broken and humiliated. He has no standing left here. If we go public right this second, it gives him a bitter story to hide behind to make himself feel like the victim. But if we wait? He will have to watch you discard him completely, watch us lead this guild into the West Reach, and spend every second wondering when he lost you."

He leans in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my forehead before drawing back just enough to look at me. "Besides, keeping us a secret in the shadows makes every touch that much sweeter."

I let out a genuine, quiet laugh, the remaining tension draining from my shoulders as I squeeze his hand tightly.

"Then a secret it remains," I say, a sharp, confident smirk returning to my lips as I turn my focus back to the heavy leather-bound book open on the mahogany desk. "Now, let's finish breaking High Lord Carrion."