Sacred Flame: His Enemy, His Mate (BL)-Chapter 57: All nice and pretty

Kain Locke

"Sure, sure." She chuckled, turning back to her work. "Keep telling yourself that."

"I really don’t." I said exasperatedly and she glanced at me with a knowing smile on her face. I mean I don’t care about him, whatever happened to him is not a problem of mine, and I was up all night not because I cared or I was worried. I don’t, right? Moreover, why should I?

"I know, child." She flashed another smile and nudged her head to the bed, "The ice prince is still fast asleep, so the ice princess wouldn’t mind coming into the kitchen with me, right? We gotta brew these herbs for him too."

I shot her a flat look. "Ice princess?"

Irene smirked. "Unless you prefer something like ’snowflake’? Or Elsa, that one has a nice ring to it."

I scoffed, pushing up from the chair, and let out a groan, "I already offered to help in the kitchen." I answered, hoping that will somehow derail this conversation.

"Of course, dear," she hummed, already making her way toward the kitchen. I followed behind, rubbing the stiffness out of my shoulders. The exhaustion was catching up to me, but I shoved it aside.

The kitchen was small but cozy. A wooden counter stretched along one side, cluttered with clay jars, dried herbs hanging from hooks, and a kettle already resting over a small stove.

Irene set the basket down and started sorting through the leaves, muttering to herself. "Grab me a pot over there."

"This one?" I asked, showing her the medium size one.

"No, the larger one." She replied, motioning to the one at the bottom..

I brought it out and gave it to her, leaning against the counter, and watching her do what seemed like magic to me. "What exactly are we making?"

"A decoction," she said simply, pulling out a small mortar and pestle. "Helps flush out poisons. Won’t work instantly, but it’ll keep him from getting worse. I heard it when Ryan was telling you about his condition.. I happened to be close to the door."

"It’s okay." I answered with a faint smile. I folded my arms. "By the way, you seem to know a lot about poisons."

She gave me a sidelong glance, "You live long enough, you pick up a thing or two. Especially in a place like this." she said, dumping some rinsed herbs in the mortal.

I frowned. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

She began crushing the herbs, her movements slow and deliberate. "It means you and your friend aren’t the first to stumble in here with enemies on your back. This town may look quiet, but people caught in one or two dangers, running from trouble? That’s nothing new."

I fell silent, thinking back to last night. How quickly those people showed up to chase off the ones after us. How fast the nurse had been called. Like they were used to handling this kind of thing.

Irene glanced at me again. "You’ve got that look."

I raised an eyebrow. "What look?"

"The look of someone connecting dots." She poured the crushed herbs into a small pot and added water. "Tell me, child. You think whatever mess your friend wouldn’t come for you... I mean those people looked really dangerous."

I hesitated. "...It’s his mess."

She snorted. "Right. And you just happened to be standing next to him when the knives came out?"

I looked away, clenching my jaw, wondering why she’s talking as if she knew us, as if she could see through me like a house made of transparent glass.

She let the silence settle before shaking her head. "Denial’s a funny thing. But you’d do well to start asking the right questions."

I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair. "Like what?"

She turned to me fully, her expression unreadable. "Like who really wants him dead." She said, putting the pestle on the counter, before fetching the pot I brought out earlier and scooping some of the crushed herbs into it. "You just don’t know, it might be too late before you realize a thing."

My stomach twisted. I had been so focused on the poison, the attack, the fact that Kael wasn’t waking up. But I hadn’t stopped to think who had done it, the poisoning? And why? Of course I wouldn’t know, only he does.

Irene held my gaze for a moment longer before turning back to the pot, stirring the mixture. "I used to have two like you."

"Watch the pot," she said, stepping away to grab a cloth.

I swallowed and moved closer, staring at the darkening liquid as it bubbled softly.

She used to have two like us, what was that supposed to mean and most importantly, used?

But when she returned and I looked into her eyes, although she had a smile on her lips, just the type anyone could have, even if they’ve long died and grew rotten inside.

The kind that masks pain, the kind that hides suffering, that gives people the illusion you want them to see, but now I’m looking beyond that mask, I can see it clearly, because it’s so me.

"He was an Alpha you see, strong like that one in there." She said, nodding towards the closed door, "A fighter he is, we’ve been together because we were all we have. Typical story, his father died, and I raised him all by myself. We were happy, he was happy, we all were, did you see them yesterday? All of them. Even though all that’s left of this place is ruins and crumbles."

Irene’s hands trembled slightly as she stirred the mixture. The scent of crushed herbs filling the small kitchen, earthy and bitter, laced with something unspoken.

She scooped more of the crushed herbs into the pot, her motions precise, almost practiced.

"But then the war came. Arcania war." she continued, her voice quieter now, almost like she was speaking more to herself than to me. "Flames swallowed the town, warships lined the shore, and the beasts came, mighty, frightening. We were strong, but they were stronger."

I have no idea why she was saying this to me, but I listened, my fingers tightening around the edge of the counter.

Outside, the world was still now, but I could almost hear it, the crackle of fire, the screams, the roars of whatever creatures had torn through this place, had torn through everywhere in the world ten years ago.

She inhaled deeply, shaking off whatever ghosts haunted her thoughts. "The town was wrecked. Destroyed, and after the war, some fled. Others stayed. This place, this ruin, is all we have left. And people like Ryan, for instance. He was only passing through, visiting his grandmother. Found her sick and never left. He’s a good person. Not many of those left in the world."

She turned to me suddenly, eyes sharp with curiosity. "And that man? The one you dragged in half-dead? He’s such a fine, handsome gentleman. Are you..." she trailed off.

I bit down a laugh before it could slip out. If only she knew.

A smirk tugged at my lips. Kael Dreaven, a gentleman? "Oh, yeah. He’s the gentlest of them all. As calm as a dove."

Irene chuckled, shaking her head. "You two look good together."

"What?? No..." She’s mixing it all up, me and Kael weren’t a thing!

Before I could argue, she tapped my shoulder, giving me that same knowing smile. "No need to be embarrassed. Like I said, I used to have one like you, him and his mate, all over each other."

Something in her voice shifted, just slightly. I caught it before I even saw her expression. That forced smile. The weight in her eyes.

"The war took his mate," she murmured. "He couldn’t bear the grief... I never suspected, never asked, I didn’t want to open his bruise, I thought I had it under control so I never did try to talk it out with him. I never knew he was hurting inside, and one day he went after them. I couldn’t stop him, call it guilt or whatever but..."

I felt a chill creep into my bones.

"He never returned." Her voice broke, but she quickly suppressed it before a tear could slip.

I swallowed. The words sat heavy in the air between us, thick and unmoving. Now it’s clear why she would allow us to stay in her house, but us being here is just like salting her bruises. She’s broken. She’s hurting as well. And we might just be a reminder of what she’s trying to forget.

This is... "I never knew. I’m... sorry."

She waved a hand, brushing it off like dust. "Come on now. It was a long time ago. It’s fine." But the way she turned away told me it wasn’t.

She dusted her hands on her apron and forced some lightness back into her tone. "I’m going to make us some food, and I’ll need you out of the kitchen. Can’t risk you poisoning us." she said, stepping past me, but not before giving me a quick glance. "And you? You should get some rest, you really should or your eyes are going to get all red and saggy. You won’t even look pretty anymore. And a little secret, Alpha likes their Omega’s looking all nice and pretty." She winked.

"Oh goodness... I’m not his Omega!" I groaned loudly but she only smiled.

I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep but I have to get away from this endless teasing so I nodded anyway. "Yeah. I really need to sleep." I said my escape, even though we both knew that was a lie.