Soul Blaze by Aprille Legacy Read Free Book Online Page B

myself, for just a
second, to enjoy the heat. I kicked my boots off and
wiggled my toes in the warm dirt. I had my eyes closed,
half smiling, when I heard someone approach. I opened
my eyes and turned towards them.
“My gods. It really is you.”
    The man called Phoenix stood in front of me. His dark
hair hung loose, brushing the tops of his shoulders. He
looked down at me, his eyes full of something that made
me shiver.
Don’t hesitate
    I rose from the bench slowly. Suddenly, the thought of
the white fire consumed me, and before I could control
my actions, I’d swung my right sword across my body, on
a path directly towards his throat.
    He moved quicker than should be possible. In a flash,
he’d deflected my sword with only a small dagger. I felt
my arm cross down, in a position that I knew I couldn’t
guard from. Obviously Phoenix realised it too, for he
reached down and gripped my wrist tightly until I was
forced to release the sword. It fell to the soft ground with
a thud.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his eyes full of
confusion.
    I didn’t respond, instead reaching behind me to the
small of my back from the dagger I kept there. I inwardly
cursed myself for only snatching the right sword, but the
left had slipped from my grip.
    Phoenix saw what I was doing, and whilst my hand was
still behind my back, he held it there and pulled me close.
He looked down at me, our bodies pressed together.
“Let me go!” I snapped, struggling, but his hold was like
iron.
“Sky, this isn’t you,” he said, his eyes searching mine.
“Why are you trying to hurt me?”
    “I’m not,” I replied, still trying to wrench free of his
grasp. I saw the white fire in my mind’s eye again. “I’m
trying to kill you.”
He frowned, the lines appearing between his bright
orange eyes.
“Why?”
“He’s an accomplished liar. Anything he tells you is
false at best.”
    “Because you took my memories from me!” I choked
back sudden tears as I said it. “They said you took my
memories... I lost a whole year.”
    Suddenly, all of the pent up frustration of the past few
weeks of being kept in the dark burst forwards. The tears
that had been welling in my eyes spilled down my cheeks
as I felt the full brunt of shame hit me.
I was trying to kill this man. Though evidently, I hadn’t
done a very good job, my intentions still stood.
    “I didn’t take your memories, my love,” he said as I
cried into his chest. “Iain did. And I know you don’t
remember anything, so it’s purely my word against his,
but I hope you believe me.”
    “I don’t know what to bloody well believe anymore!” I
sobbed. “I’ve been played and used and lied to but I don’t
know who by! I don’t know who’s telling the truth. I don’t
know who’s lying. It’s driving me insane.”
He cupped my face in his hands and made me look up
at him.
“Do you remember anything?” he asked softly, and for a
moment it sounded as though he was pleading.
The sunwas setting...
    “Something,” I whispered, suddenly recalling my flash
back in Ar Cena. “I remember... a sunset. A sunset over a
forest. And it was so beautiful.”
He smiled, and brushed a thumb against my cheek,
much like I’d done to his portrait.
“Our first kiss.” He told me softly.
    “And,” I said, images now flying before my mind’s eye.
“I remember yelling... and screaming,” I narrowed my
eyes, struggling to recall. “Fire, I think. And,” I looked up
into his eyes, which were only inches from my face. “Your
eyes. Immense sadness.”
    He pressed his forehead against mine and closed his
eyes. I didn’t mind a bit. His presence was calming the
frantic need for my magic. It was dulling the obsession.
“Our last kiss.” He said finally.
    I closed my eyes, my lashes brushing his cheek. I felt
his hand leave the one behind my back and work its way
up towards my hair. I didn’t stop him as he undid the tie
holding my hair in a bun. The