A Kiss of Fire (A Kiss of Magic #2)(85)

The only way to fix the problem was to take his brother’s place as leader. Now that the Kiltians had occupied much of the new land, it would be impossible for the Sarens to retake the land and they would stop paying the yearly tithe. There was no way for them to enforce the tithe. They could not afford to go to war again, now could they? They had proven that by not bringing war to their doorstep over the capture of the Saren woman. Instead they had simply recaptured her for themselves at little to no cost for themselves.

He was glad they had taken her back. It would have been better had she been killed. Knowing his brother, he would not rest until he had her back, but if his mind was preoccupied with getting the woman back, that would leave him exposed to other attempts on his life…which Vich would see were made. But each attempt risked exposure. Each attempt had to be carefully planned.

He realized he was taking too long to answer his mother, so he hastened to say, “Of course not, Mother. I know my place.”

“Do you? Because you often speak out against your brother. You try and undermine him at every opportunity—“

“Mother, I only try to point out the ways in which he can improve his reign. If I did not question him then who would? He would become a careless dictator with no one to keep him in check. I do what I do to make a better ruler of him.”

“I have always thought this to be so. I am glad to hear you say it.”

“Of course. You fret over nothing. If someone has made scurrilous accusations against me then I will meet them face to face and prove to my brother I mean him no ill will.”

He would have to make certain his Jadoc were with him at all times. In fact, he very suddenly felt exposed. He backed away from his mother.

“If you will excuse me, Mother, I will find my brother and confront him. I do not want him to think I have anything to hide.”

“Your brother will no doubt find you first. And he will be glad to hear you mean him no harm.”

“He can be assured of it.”

Schooling his thoughts, Vich took his leave of his mother. He kept his thoughts perfectly controlled until he was back within reach of his Jadoc compatriots.

Little did he know it was far too late already.




A part of Sin was crushed by his brother’s betrayal. Sure, they had had their differences over time. Many differences. In fact, they had constantly disagreed on how things should be done. But Sin had always thought that that was his brother’s way of making him a better ruler. Much in the way he had claimed to their mother. It was one of the reasons why he had always allowed him free voice against him in public as well as in private. He had not wanted to be surrounded only by people who would agree with him on every point.

In the end he had felt they were brothers. Family. There for one another when it was most needed. To think that his brother had taken his animosity so far as to make attempts on his life and on Ariana’s was unforgivable.

Especially because of the danger to Ariana. The threat to himself was inconsequential to the danger Vich had put Ariana in.

Ariana.

He owed her a great debt. If not for her he would never have known to look to his brother for the source of the danger they had been in. Now, what to do next? He obviously had to remove the threat, but how? Imprison his brother? Kill him? His brother had a loyal following of subjects, those who disagreed with Sin as well on many topics. He could be excommunicating himself from them by taking such a drastic action. And what of Vich’s wives and children? Could he deprive them of their husband and father?

He would not kill his brother. He would not do to him what his brother had planned to do to Sin. He would not sink to that level. He would imprison his brother until such time as he felt his thoughts were reformed. Until his goals became pure again. Several years without freedom should see it done. In the meantime, Sin would take a wife and create an heir.

But for that he needed Ariana back.

For no other woman would do.

Just as he was about to arrest his brother, his brother disappeared. Somehow he had gotten wind of the coming arrest and had made his escape. But Sin’s trackers were hot on his heels. It was only a matter of time before they caught up with him. His brother was used to living a comfortable life. He would not do well in the rough cold country he would now call home. He would give up and come back and live imprisoned in luxury. It was only a matter of time.

So that left one other thing to contend with.

Ariana.

He had to get her back. But he knew this time there would be no hope of taking her the way he had before. He had to come up with another way. But he couldn’t go after her in any way until he was healed and his brother was caught. He couldn’t leave his kingdom unattended, and with his brother no longer able to take over for him, that left the running of the country to his mother in his absence.

He would go after her. He couldn’t bear a future without her. He loved her. He had loved her for so long. Hadn’t she seen that? Didn’t it mean anything to her that he would devote himself to her entirely? That he would do anything for her? The only thing he wouldn’t do was exactly what he was asking her to do. To give up her kingdom. It was an untenable situation. What was the solution? There had to be a way.

He hoped he would find the answer by the time he was healed enough to go after her.





Chapter Twenty-Four


Ariana walked through the capitol building, impervious to the cold in temperature but unable to get warm all the same. There was something cold and bereft inside of her, as though a part of her was missing.