Chapter 11 Flamekeeper
INDIE
I sat on the low wooden stool, still dizzy from whatever had yanked me out of my room and dumped me here. The young woman in white knelt in front of me, washing my feet in a metal basin.
She poured golden oil into her palm, rubbed them together, and began to massage the arch of my foot. I stared at the top of her head, waiting for her to speak. She didn't.
Women in orange and white robes had moved around me like ghosts when I first woke up here, chanting "Flamekeeper!"
They'd stripped me of my clothes without asking, washed me in scented water, and dressed me in a white robe with an orange sash. Then they'd left me in the hands of this woman.
And not one of them had answered a single question.
"Where am I?"
"Why did you take me?"
"What the hell is a Flamekeeper?"
"Is this about Zade?"
I couldn't take it anymore.
"Are you going to pretend to be mute too?" My voice came out hoarse, still raw from whatever fever had tried to cook me alive back in my room. "Or is silence part of the initiation package?"
She lifted her gaze for the first time. Her eyes were a soft hazel, almost gold, and there was no fear in them.
"I'm not mute," she said calmly. "My name is Eldora. I'm your personal attendant. Your assistant, if you prefer the word."
Assistant. Weird.
I pulled my foot back an inch. She didn't fight me. She simply waited, her hands resting lightly on the rim of the basin.
"Then talk to me," I said. "Because I've been asking questions for—what, an hour? Two? And everyone acts like I'm speaking in tongues."
Eldora dipped a soft cloth into the water, wrung it out, and began to clean my other foot with the same careful attention.
"We've been waiting for you a very long time, Flamekeeper," she said. "Longer than most of us have been alive. The prophecies spoke of the one who would carry the true flame, the one whose mark would burn brighter than any before her. When the elders felt your awakening, they knew the time had come."
She looked up again, and this time there was something almost like awe in her expression.
"Everyone is... excited. More than excited. Hopeful. The temple has not seen a true Flamekeeper in three generations. They believe you are the answer to our prayers."
I laughed coldly.
"Great. I'm thrilled to be your miracle. Now explain why I woke up here instead of in my own bed. Last thing I remember—" My throat tightened as the memory slipped in: Zade's hand between my thighs, his voice low and taunting, the unbearable heat building inside me until it felt like I would explode. Then darkness. Then this.
Eldora stopped moving.
"Your body was in crisis," she said. "The bond sickness had progressed too far. Your former mate—" She hesitated, choosing her words with care.
"He neglected the sacred connection for years. The rejection eroded your wolf, your flame, and your very vitality. When the true mate bond tried to ignite, it overwhelmed you. We felt the flare from miles away. The elders acted immediately."
"Acted," I repeated flatly. "You mean kidnapped."
"Protected," she corrected, gentle but firm. "The Flamekeeper cannot be allowed to burn out before she is ready. Not when so much depends on her."
I stared at her. "And what exactly depends on me?"
Eldora lowered her eyes again, resuming the massage.
"The balance," she said after a moment. "Between light and shadow. Between the living and the risen. Between the packs that tear themselves apart and the darkness that waits to consume them." She glanced up. "Between you and him."
My heart thudded painfully.
"Him," I echoed.
"The one who hears the dead," she said softly. "The one who resurrects. The one whose darkness is eating him alive. The prophecies say only the Flamekeeper can purify what has been corrupted... or end it forever."
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Zade.
They knew about Zade.
Eldora finished with my feet, rose gracefully, and offered me a small cup with cool water infused with herbs.
"Drink," she said. "It will ease the lingering fever."
I took it but didn't drink it yet. Instead I met her eyes steadily.
"If you've been waiting for me all this time," I said, "then you should know one thing."
She tilted her head, waiting.
"I don't believe in prophecies," I told her. "And I sure as hell don't belong to temples."
A small, knowing smile touched her lips.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is the truth."
She bowed gracefully, and then she stepped back.
I had the strongest certainty that wherever Zade was right now...he was already coming for me. And gods help anyone who tried to stop him.
...
Later that night, I lay on the narrow bed in my designated room, the silk sheets twisted around my legs as I stared at the full moon through the open arched windows.
I'd tried to escape earlier, slipping out during the evening chants. I'd almost reached the outer gate when the air shimmered, a gentle pull tugged at my core, and I was suddenly back in this room, summoned like a disobedient pet.
Now the heat was back with a vengeance. A deep, pulsing fire that started low in my belly and spread like molten flames through every nerve. My skin felt too sensitive. I writhed against the mattress, my thighs pressing together, desperate for friction that never quite came.
Outside, the women's voices rose in low, rhythmic chants. Sweat slid down my spine.
I kicked the sheet away, yanked the robe off, and threw it across the room. Naked, I arched off the bed, my hands sliding up my body. My nipples were already peaked and aching. I pinched them hard, gasping at the sharp jolt of pleasure and pain. One hand drifted lower, my fingers slipping between my slick thighs, finding the swollen heat there.
"Zade," I whispered feverishly.
I circled my clit, slow at first, then faster, imagining his hand instead—rough, possessive, unyielding. His mouth on my neck. His voice in my ear, telling me I belonged to him.
Another moan slipped out as I pushed two fingers inside my wetness, curling them.
My hips bucked as I chased the edge, my breathing quickening.
A sudden gust of wind rushed through the open window, cool against my fevered skin.
I froze, my eyes widening at the sight of the figure who stood a few steps away.
His violet eyes glowed, the moonlight half reflecting on his skin. The darkness around him seemed to cling to him as if it were alive.
My hand went still between my legs. Heat flooded my face, shame, need, and relief crashing through me all at once.
I scrambled for the robe, which was crumpled at the foot of the bed, clutching it to my chest. My nipples throbbed, painfully hard under the silk.
"Zade," I breathed, my voice cracking.
He didn't move at first. He just watched me. His gaze raked over me, slowly devouring me with his eyes. The air was thick with electricity, like the moment before a lightning strike.
"You're not supposed to be here," I said, clutching the robe tighter. "They said—"
"They said a lot of things." His voice was rough. "None of them matter."
He stepped forward, the floorboards creaking under his boots.
I swallowed hard. "How did you get in?"
A faint, dangerous smile curved his mouth. "You think walls or wards can keep me from you?"
My core clenched at the words. The heat surged again, fiercer, making me whimper.
He must've heard it. His eyes darkened further, his pupils blown wide.
"You're burning up, Bunny." He took another step. "And you were calling my name."
I shook my head, even as my thighs pressed together again. He closed the distance in two strides, looming over the bed. I could smell his delicious scent, it drove me to the edge of insanity, my wolf whimpering in submission before our alpha.
Gently, he cupped my cheek.
“You knew about the bond sickness,” he pointed out, his voice ever so soft. “ Why didn’t you tell me, bunny?”
Heat crept up my face.
"I didn't mean—"
"Liar," he whispered. "You meant to hide it from me.”
I parted my lips to speak, but then he snatched the robe and threw it aside. My chest heaved, and I squirmed as his eyes roamed over my body. Slowly, he took my hand and eased it down between my thighs.
“Zade, this isn’t—”
“Keep going. Let me watch,” he breathed, and my eyes widened.
“But—”
“It is not a request, bunny. It is an order,” his voice deepened, sending chills down my spine.
A shaky breath slipped from my lips as I slowly spread my thighs apart, watching his eyes dilate. Right then, there was a knock on the door.