Read Online Fortress Of Fire (Book 4) by D.K. Holmberg - Free Book Online
Authors: D.K. Holmberg
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words. He showed me what he saw through his eyes, but he didn’t explain what it meant.”
“We never traveled all the way to the fortress. Mother kept us along the borders for the most part. Until she decided to drag us into the heart of Incendin. That’s when the hounds got our scent and followed us. I remember seeing bright flames in the distance but not knowing what they were. What if that was the Fire Fortress?”
“I don’t think anyone has ever really seen the Fire Fortress. Lacertin said he was trapped there for years, but other than him, no one really knows anything about what it’s like in Incendin.” Tan glanced over to the window, the curtains now closed and blocking most of the sound from the street below. Some wind whistled through the window and left the lower part of the thick curtain swirling on the ground. “Had I not made a mistake with the lisincend, we’d have him to ask.”
Amia reached across the distance between them and touched his leg. “Do you really think he would’ve answered?”
Tan sighed. Was that what the lisincend had warned about before burning himself up? Had he known what Incendin planned? “I don’t know. With enough spirit shaping, it’s possible.”
“Those twisted lisincend used spirit in their creation. It resisted any attempt I made at learning what it knew. There was no shaping we could have done that would have helped us.”
“That’s not the reason you wouldn’t try,” Tan said.
Amia wouldn’t look at him. “I won’t shape like she did.” She took a deep breath and sat back in her chair. “There’s something more that you’re not sharing. What is it?”
“Incendin should be defeated. Fur was stopped. Alisz after him. They no longer have the First Mother to turn the Doma shapers. In spite of all that, the Fire Fortress burns brightly. If they’re not creating new lisincend, what else could Incendin be doing? And now Asboel goes for vengeance, unwilling to bring me on the hunt with him.”
“Good,” Amia said. When Tan gave her a look, she shook her head, golden hair spilling down her shoulders as she did. “Let others worry about Incendin for once. Haven’t you done enough?”
“Now you’re sounding like my mother.” He didn’t mean for it to sound like an accusation, but it came out that way regardless. “And they’re not defeated. Incendin still has its fire shapers. Lisincend remain. And the barrier no longer protects us from the hounds.” With everything they’d been through, it felt as if they were in greater danger than ever. “We don’t know anything about what Incendin will do next. Without the barrier, we’re exposed. You’ve seen how hard it is to stop even one of the lisincend. If they continue to create more—”
Amia leaned toward him, heat flashing in her eyes. “We will stop them. And there are only so many fire shapers able to make the transformation.”
Tan understood the draw of the power the shapers sought, but there was risk involved. From what Lacertin had shared, only about half the shapers survived the transformation. “Power can’t be enough, not for that.”
“Sometimes there is no why, Tan. Sometimes darkness and hate comes without reason. Can there be a reason why my people were destroyed? Why my mother was burned in front of me? Why the Aeta tortured me?” She shook her head. “If there’s a reason, I don’t want to hear it. After everything we’ve been through, we deserve a chance to find peace. Both of us deserve that. You’ve lost the same! Your home was destroyed. Your father was killed fighting Incendin. Even your king—”
Tan cut her off. “Althem was never my king.”
Amia took a calming breath and swallowed, closing her eyes as she rested her head on her hands. “I wish we could stop running and fighting. I wish I didn’t have to feel afraid anymore.”
Tan pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I’m tired of being
“We never traveled all the way to the fortress. Mother kept us along the borders for the most part. Until she decided to drag us into the heart of Incendin. That’s when the hounds got our scent and followed us. I remember seeing bright flames in the distance but not knowing what they were. What if that was the Fire Fortress?”
“I don’t think anyone has ever really seen the Fire Fortress. Lacertin said he was trapped there for years, but other than him, no one really knows anything about what it’s like in Incendin.” Tan glanced over to the window, the curtains now closed and blocking most of the sound from the street below. Some wind whistled through the window and left the lower part of the thick curtain swirling on the ground. “Had I not made a mistake with the lisincend, we’d have him to ask.”
Amia reached across the distance between them and touched his leg. “Do you really think he would’ve answered?”
Tan sighed. Was that what the lisincend had warned about before burning himself up? Had he known what Incendin planned? “I don’t know. With enough spirit shaping, it’s possible.”
“Those twisted lisincend used spirit in their creation. It resisted any attempt I made at learning what it knew. There was no shaping we could have done that would have helped us.”
“That’s not the reason you wouldn’t try,” Tan said.
Amia wouldn’t look at him. “I won’t shape like she did.” She took a deep breath and sat back in her chair. “There’s something more that you’re not sharing. What is it?”
“Incendin should be defeated. Fur was stopped. Alisz after him. They no longer have the First Mother to turn the Doma shapers. In spite of all that, the Fire Fortress burns brightly. If they’re not creating new lisincend, what else could Incendin be doing? And now Asboel goes for vengeance, unwilling to bring me on the hunt with him.”
“Good,” Amia said. When Tan gave her a look, she shook her head, golden hair spilling down her shoulders as she did. “Let others worry about Incendin for once. Haven’t you done enough?”
“Now you’re sounding like my mother.” He didn’t mean for it to sound like an accusation, but it came out that way regardless. “And they’re not defeated. Incendin still has its fire shapers. Lisincend remain. And the barrier no longer protects us from the hounds.” With everything they’d been through, it felt as if they were in greater danger than ever. “We don’t know anything about what Incendin will do next. Without the barrier, we’re exposed. You’ve seen how hard it is to stop even one of the lisincend. If they continue to create more—”
Amia leaned toward him, heat flashing in her eyes. “We will stop them. And there are only so many fire shapers able to make the transformation.”
Tan understood the draw of the power the shapers sought, but there was risk involved. From what Lacertin had shared, only about half the shapers survived the transformation. “Power can’t be enough, not for that.”
“Sometimes there is no why, Tan. Sometimes darkness and hate comes without reason. Can there be a reason why my people were destroyed? Why my mother was burned in front of me? Why the Aeta tortured me?” She shook her head. “If there’s a reason, I don’t want to hear it. After everything we’ve been through, we deserve a chance to find peace. Both of us deserve that. You’ve lost the same! Your home was destroyed. Your father was killed fighting Incendin. Even your king—”
Tan cut her off. “Althem was never my king.”
Amia took a calming breath and swallowed, closing her eyes as she rested her head on her hands. “I wish we could stop running and fighting. I wish I didn’t have to feel afraid anymore.”
Tan pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I’m tired of being
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