My Willful flame

Chapter three

By the next nightfall, I would slip away in the dark as I had done before. The wilting fields would cover me and the darkness would shield me completely. Mayra would go to Smith City as agreed. I needed allies and fast. No one would be able to overthrow the capital with a one-man army. I needed soldiers.

But for now, for this night, I would enjoy the peace it brought and look at the stars. They reminded me of the time in the gardens when Xander and Selene visited me. How much I missed them couldn't even be measured. I had blamed Mayra for Selene's death, even though I knew Sarvin was the one to blame. He had known what bringing me would result in. I should have known then, the danger I was in. But I was blind too. 

I had been too trusting in strangers who claimed to love me. They all had things to gain. But he didn't. Xander had let go of the thing he wanted most just to stay by my side. To make me feel safe and protected, he endured pain and torture. I couldn't even stomach to think what they were doing to him now. Gods only knew the cruelty Djevel would bestow on Xander. But I knew he was alive. It wasn't a feeling I had, but sheer hope. Hope that Djevel was the father I thought he was.

He had many opportunities to kill Xander before, yet he never did. He could have ambushed us on the cliffs but waited until the right moment. When he thought I was dead he retreated leaving Xander with only threats. Djevel bargained with Aleron to let Xander be turned over to him and his men, ensuring his life. With the disdain I knew Aleron had for Xander, it must not have been an easy thing for Djevel to manage.

I gathered they would have taken him back to their home in ice territory, to the origin of the black lake. They intended to break him there, to mould him back into the killer he was before. Mayra said that's what they did to every Mile man wanting to break the code. Granted no one had ever broken it for soft feelings so the punishment Xander faced had probably been worse. If it hadn't been for his sacrifice, and his care, I would probably have fallen for Aleron's act and given in to his proposal. I would have bonded myself to him and done the one I swore to never do. If it hadn't been for Xander, I would have been dead a long time ago. I owed him freedom.

A scream tore my attention straight ahead. I rose fast, listening, waiting. Had my ears deceived me? Had the howl been an animal? It sounded like a woman's cry.

Just as my doubt started festering another scream came and an explosion of light lit up in the distance. Something was happening in the village. I stiffened, my eyes widening. Mayra came out fast, seeing the same as I did, she gasped. Screams began travelling across the fields as the houses lit up in flames. 

Not knowing what I would find, I ran fast, down the porch stairs, across the gravel road, and into the fields of dying crops. I could hear Mayra call me back, but I didn't listen. Something was happening. People were crying out in pain. I would get discovered this way but it didn't matter. I prayed it was just an innocent house fire but as I got closer I knew it wasn't. More screams came and through the grey grass, the fire burned brighter and higher. The muffled sounds of people's cries became clearer as I ran closer. The crops ended and bare grass lay ahead.

The village was in flames. People were scattering, crying, begging, and running for their lives in between their homes engulfed in a fiery storm. Then I saw their dark-plated armour, the swan emblem, running amongst them. Aleron's soldiers. But they weren't there to protect or to stop the fire. They ran with torches and swords, cutting down peasants and setting fire to their homes, not caring for the screams trapped inside.

One man stumbled, throwing up his hands, just managing to beg for his life before being cut through by a steel blade. The soldier retracted his weapon as the man slumped back onto the ground. He let his torch fall, setting fire to the body.