Read Online Fantasy of Fire (The Tainted Accords Book 3) by Kelly St. Clare - Free Book Online Page A

Because I’d been the intended target. But the person didn’t count on Kedrick pushing me out of the way. I still wish, every day, he hadn’t. But this regret didn’t mean I’d waste Kedrick’s gift now Jovan had forced me to see his brother’s actions in this light.
    “I only ask because those arrows look like Seedyr wood.”
    Hamish gives me a so-what look at my comment.
    “On Glacium, this wood is considered too weak for weaponry,” I add, teeth gritted.
    “Oh, that,” he says cheerfully. “It’s all in the drying of the wood and the way you cut it.”
    I’m staring at the arrows like a starving man looking at food, but I can’t help it. In one sentence Hamish has answered a mystery that has plagued me for months. “Are the traders here right now?” My voice is unrecognizable.
    “What’s wrong?” Hamish asks. I glare at him and he backs up.
    “They’re over there.” He jabs a fingers across the clearing.
    I study the six men gathered in a tight group on the outskirts of the Meeting Island. All of them are tall. All of them have dark hair. After half a revolution, I still have only a pitiful amount of information about Kedrick’s killer.
    A sobering thought strikes me. What if more than one of them was involved?
    “Which traders go to Osolis?” I struggle to keep my voice from shaking. The assassin had first struck there. He’d also tried to kill Ashawn on Glacium, but that wasn’t until much later.
    “Firo, Nosh, and Jude.”
    I take note of the three lean men Hamish points out. My hands tremble beside me and I realize they’ve been doing it for some time. Why don’t I feel anything when I look at these men? There’s no change in the burning wrongness I feel. No resounding clarity, or sense of condemnation. I always thought I’d know when I came face-to-face with the murderer of the first boy I loved.
    Now, six men stand before me and I have absolutely no idea who it could be. But I know the perfect way to get each of them to talk! A few broken fingers will get me my answers. And then I can end this once and for all! I feel the lick of white-hot rage as my fury directs my line of thought.
    Hamish puts a hand on my shoulder. “Willow?”
    I scowl up at him and he flinches back, his hand covering his mouth. Shock splices through the weight of my anger, enough for me to recognize I’m seconds away from losing it. And I can’t. I can’t lose it. I take shuddering breaths. I’m not here to find Kedrick’s killer. But I’ve destroyed the pathway now! Glacium is safe. Maybe it’s my turn to do something I want. I struggle to suppress the overpowering rage before it consumes me.
    Glacium and the Ire have just forged an alliance. I am playing the part of ambassador to King Jovan. There are over fifty Ire folk here right now, plus the leader of the Ire. If I torture five men, and kill the sixth, I can count the alliance over.
    Peace used to lead me. Does it still? Or is peace for naïve little girls, like the person I used to be?
    My teeth are clenched so tightly, they feel like they’re going to break.
    “Fuck!” I whisper, curling my hands into fists. There are too many people here. Unless I want to undo everything I’ve accomplished with Adox, I need to walk away.
    I still want peace.
    “Hamish,” I snap.
    He jerks from where he watches me, two meters away. I take another breath. “Hamish.” My voice is calmer. False calm. Inside I’m a churning mess. I want to snap the traders like twigs. I want Glacium to be safe. I want to forge a lasting union between two peoples. I want revenge on the person who slaughtered Kedrick like an animal!
    Hamish edges closer and I turn to him.
    “I need everything you know about those six men. Everything. Right now.”
    * * *
    I fly in a stupor for the majority of the trip back to Glacium. Hamish’s information and my anger are the only things keeping me awake. One day, when everyone is safe, I’ll return. And Kedrick’s killer will meet the end