Author's note:

I do not own Wings of Fire or any of the characters— they belong to Tui T. Sutherland.

"No, Qibli, I don't want to kill Thorn." Onyx said, exasperated. "I told you, I don't want the throne anymore. It'd tear my father apart, and I know for a fact that if I so much as looked funny at the Queen, you would murder me… and she would do the same for you."

"Ok, ok!" Qibli said, surrendering. "I just needed to make..."

"Yes, I know you wanted to 'make sure' yet again, Qibli." said Onyx. "But will you ever truly trust me?"

"Ok, Onyx, cut the "injured victim" act. You know as well as I do that two years ago, you coveted the throne and tried to assassinate Thorn." Qibli chided her.

"Fine." said Onyx flatly. "But I changed. I did, Qibli. And I need you to believe me." She turned and flew off, anger plain on her face. Qibli sighed and went after her. "Onyx, wait!" he called. She spun around, and they almost collided. "What do you want now?" she growled.

Qibli made a placating gesture. "I just needed to tell you why I can't trust you yet," he said. "But I wasn't trying to make you angry. I just wanted to… make it so we didn't have to be snapping at each other's throats every time we have a conversation. And yes, I know, it was me who brought up the topic, and I freely admit that I knew full well that it was a touchy subject."

Onyx's expression softened. "I forgive you. But it would be nice if you would let us have a natural conversation every once in a while instead of you always bringing up my… earlier tendencies."

"You mean your natural urge to go about murdering queens all over the place?" Qibli asked, his mouth crinkling a bit as he suppressed a laugh. Onyx let out a grudging chuckle, and then came closer to fly with him.

Later, in the royal rooms, Onyx came to Qibli's room. She handed him a note and then left silently. A bit creeped out, Qibli locked himself into his room and sat on his bed before opening the note.

Dear Qibli,

I hope you know how much your friendship means to me. I love spending time with you, but I have come to have a few other feelings crop up as I have come to know you. I realize that this wording doesn't sound much like me, but my mother made me learn how to write to sound 'formal and royal,' to fit her words. Well, to get to the point, I like you, Qibli. I believe, knowing what I know, that I love you, and I hope that you share my sentiment, and I await your reply.

Love,

Onyx

Qibli felt confused for a moment, then it clicked into place. Onyx loves me. He thought, in wonder. He searched himself for a moment, then found a warm place that heated up and made his heart speed up when he said her name or thought of her to himself. Does that mean that I love her too? He asked himself. He decided to go to Thorn for advice. When he got to her rooms, he found her sitting at her desk and going through paperwork. "Yes, Qibli, what can I do for you?" she asked, smiling at him.

"I have a dilemma," he said. "Onyx sent me a note. It says that she likes- or, rather, she loves me. I believe that I love her back... but I can't really tell. I was wondering whether you could help me. Do you know what it is like to be in love, and, er, how it might feel? I know that you and, um, Smolder are... well. You know what I mean. But anyway, that's beside the point. Because if you could tell me just what it's like to love someone, then maybe I would know if what I'm feeling is love." Queen Thorn looked suspicious.

"You trust her?" she asked, frowning a bit.

"Yes." Qibli replied steadily.

"And you love her back?" Thorn persisted.

"Yes. Or, I think so."

"If you truly do, it is not my place to tell you how you should feel. You will find out for yourself. But you would be well to tell her that if she hurts you, she may as well already consider herself dead." Thorn said darkly.

"Oh yes… she knows." Qibli said, his mouth quirking a little as he recalled their earlier conversation.