Free The Flame of Wrath by Christene Knight Page A

over her hips laid out the scenario for the young Queen.
                  Autumn had kept vigil over her until the last of her will had been spent and she was forced to surrender to sleep.
                  The sleeping woman demonstrated such peace. Her olive skin glowed in the pale morning light. Beneath its ethereal rays, she radiated like a vision.
                  The warm nuances of her hair flirted with the light. Airy and soft as newly brushed fleece, thick waves became an inviting bed to Aurea's hand. She watched as a lock of hair was embraced. It was drawn close then rejected as it was pushed away with each breath to escape the sleeping woman.
                  Aurea used only the sheer softness of her fingertips to compel a satiny lock from Autumn's romantic features. That simple act had seemed to mirror a hand drawing back a curtain. So much of Autumn's perfection was now exposed to her greedy young eyes.
                  Azure flames fell with gentle heat upon the supple lips stilled by dreams. Aurea lazily took in their shapeliness. Her eyes painstakingly traced the line of the woman's nose. Her eyes then ventured steadily lower to a jaw of strength and nobility. She smiled, seeing a bit of Angelos shining through in his beautiful daughter.
                  Thoughts of Angelos III caused her body to tense. What must the nobles think of her? She had collapsed during her first night as their ruler.
                  She was called away from her own self-loathing by the sound of a deep inhale. It would not be long before Autumn woke. Even now, the woman's lashes fluttered as if battling against the sleep which had conquered her. She smiled softly. Her protecting angel.
                  A frown knit Aurea's brows. Released from the haze of a spell, the Queen noticed Autumn's wings for the first time. They were mere ghosts of what they had been. Their graceful length had been plucked and robbed of their former beauty.
                  Aurea's scoured the room before at last she found the petals' new home.
                  A pot of herbs mixed with an abundance of Djidjiga petals had created the intoxicating scent to fill the air with such potent healing properties. The Queen memorized the various herbs lining the nearby table knowing that all those things combined had granted her solace. As she found herself growing stronger by the fragrant moment, she was struck by understanding. She sighed.
                  With her wings broken, Autumn endeared herself all the more to the young sovereign. If it were possible, Autumn had become more beautiful in her fragility. She was a fallen angel.
                  Whimpering quietly, she drew in a slow deep breath. Autumn stretched. She blushed then smiled sleepily as she found eyes watching over her. She tensed suddenly realizing over whom she had been laying. Respectfully, she immediately sat up. As she rose, she murmured her profound apologizes for having lain against her ruler.
                  Aurea could only shake her head, silently insisting that there was no need for apologies.
                  Together, they surrendered to a great stillness. That silence grew to a violent swell. When at last Aurea found her voice, it was a quiet thing. “You stayed,” she said.
                  Autumn nodded slowly.
                  “Why?”
                  Another silence filled the room. This one's life lasted far longer than its predecessor.
                  Autumn extended her hand. It loomed so painfully close to Aurea's that the heat of it was all but unbearable. Then timidly the distance between them was closed. Her hand came to lightly rest upon Aurea's while the Queen stared with a trembling breath to their joined hands.
     

Chapter Four
     
    The stars cast their beautiful spell