Flame and Starlight by Dana Isaly

Chapter Eight

The next couple of weeks passed uneventfully. The healer, Kyrin, kept me in bed for three days after that night with Asher. I was surprised at how worn-out I actually was. My body had a lot of bruises and bumps to heal over those few days, and I had slept through most of them. The handprint on my throat took the longest to go away, but there was hardly any pain thanks to the elixirs Kyrin had left me.

After those three days were up, Emric showed up at my door bright and early every morning. We sank into a routine pretty easily after my body got used to it the first week. I was able to run around the entire lake in one go, so Emric had started pushing me to do it twice. I started lifting heavier weights, so Emric added more. I actually learned how to throw punches, so Emric started teaching me how to really fight. I was actually learning pretty quickly, and my strength was building faster than I thought it would.

No matter how hard he pushed me or how exhausted I was, my Fae side never kicked in. I was long past the point of frustration. If this was going to be my new life, I needed to not be this fragile little human. I was too weak and vulnerable against their strength. Emric had to hold back with every move he made when we fought just to make sure I didn’t go soaring across the room.

I told him so many times that I needed to be able to fight with him at his full strength because every Fae I’d be up against had at least five times the strength any human did. Every time I brought it up, he would just roll his eyes and tell me he wasn’t going to risk breaking my bones.

Some days, different Fae that Emric trusted would join us, giving him a break from taking my hits. Ideon was Emric’s second-in-command and was often stationed outside my room. Some days he would take over for Emric and let me take jabs at him, and other days he would merely lie on the floor and make snarky comments about my stances and moves.

One day while we were taking a water break, Ideon stood with his back to me, talking to Emric. If Emric saw me creeping up behind Ideon in my bare feet, desperate not to make a sound, he didn’t betray me. And the moment I was close enough, I swung my leg out and kicked Ideon hard in the back of the knee. He didn’t fall, but it knocked him off-balance and backwards long enough for me to reach up and grab his tunic at the neck and pull him down. He landed with a very satisfying thud, and Emric and I burst out in laughter.

“Touché, Wheezy,” Ideon had said. He’d adopted the nickname Emric had given me as well, even though I was far past wheezing at physical exertion anymore. He jumped back to his feet and gave me a hard pat on the back. “Maybe we underestimated you. Care to have a fair fight?” He got into position, and I tied my boots back on, ready to try again.

Every day I woke up at sunrise and trained with Emric until lunch. I took to eating lunch in my room after a bath, and I went exploring in the afternoons. A guard always followed me, making sure I wasn’t getting into trouble or that trouble didn’t find me. I got a sense of where pretty much everything was from the kitchens to the many, many guest rooms. There were a few great rooms that were covered in dust. It must’ve been a long time since anyone had danced in them.

Early on, I’d stumbled across a library that had to be filled with thousands and thousands of books. The English major inside of me melted at the sight when I first found it. There were rows and rows of them filling up the entire room. The ceiling was curved, and the big windows arched to match it.

Most afternoons after I had made some laps around my new home, I would make my way there to curl up in one of the deep cushioned chairs against a window and read until the sun began to set. It smelled like old leather and yellowed pages in there, and I wished I could bottle it. From the library windows, I could see the lake slowly icing over more and more each day, completely covered except a few spots in the middle where it was deepest. The mountains in the background sat there collecting snow under the soft pink-and-blue sky.

I hadn’t seen Asher a single time since the night he came back slashed to hell. After a week of dining with Emric in that massive room, my temper flared and boiled over. Asher had brought me here and then dumped into a big empty castle with little to no answers and hardly anyone to keep my company.

“Is there a reason I’m being ignored by him?”

Emric looked at me and smiled. “He’s away taking care of things. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows here all the time,” he said, taking a long drink from his wine. “There’s unrest in our world right now, and he’s trying to keep it at bay.”

I sighed and went back to eating. I had come to learn over the past couple of weeks that Emric was willing to answer a few questions here and there, but he wasn’t an open book.

It was lonely. Yes, I had Emric, sometimes Ideon, spotted throughout the day, and Mavka the few times she came to my room. And even though there were plenty of Fae walking around all day every day, none of them dared even look at me, let alone talk to me. I started to wonder if Asher even had any friends. Did anyone have any friends? No one came to visit, and the only Fae I could see around were either staff or guards.

I missed having someone to talk to. I missed going to school, to work, and going out with everyone. I hadn’t shared a real connection or conversation with anyone in over two weeks now. Granted, I had Emric to talk to during our training. We joked around and laughed with each other, and I felt friendly towards him, but I couldn’t really trust him. I had to assume everything we talked about was promptly reported back to Asher.

Every day I woke up wondering if Aoife would come find me. Every day that ended without her showing up was a disappointment, and that hope of being taken home was quickly dwindling. Asher’s seed of doubt he planted in my mind about her getting close to me for nefarious reasons was growing, sprouting roots, and taking hold in my heart. I didn’t want to believe that my best friend would have been spying and plotting behind my back. I just didn’t think she had it in her. But obviously a lot of things I had believed weren’t true. I believed my world was the only world, and that clearly wasn’t true, seeing as I was now living in one ruled by magick.

I still hadn’t told anyone about the emotions I could sense from people either. It terrified me when I had first arrived and Mavka touched me. I knew those emotions weren’t mine, but I had written it off as exhaustion. But then when Emric had touched me and I had that same feeling, I knew it was some sort of dormant power awakening in me. Which was just the perfect talent for an anxious person to have. My entire life, my mind had held me back from doing so much, terrified of the thoughts of other people. Social anxiety, my therapist had labeled it. Now I was able to feel others’ thoughts every time they touched me.

I got more curious and a bit braver with each day I was here. I would let Mavka touch my bare skin as she buttoned my clothes or handed me a cup of tea. Each time her emotions would flood into me, tasting sweet and soothing. I would make contact with Emric throughout our training more often than I would at first. My fists would come into contact with his bare arms or face, and I could feel his emotions pour over. His were always focused but on edge, like he was just waiting for me to burst into fireworks.

“Where are you today?” Emric asked, bringing me out of my trance. He threw a right hook, and I dodged it, not bothering to swing back. I took a step back and held up my hands to signal I wanted a break.

“I’m getting frustrated,” I said, running my hands over my face. “I’m getting stronger, better, but not inhumanly so. I’m still a very breakable human.”

“You’re breakable, but you’re stronger. You’ve got muscles forming, and you’re getting much better at hand-to-hand combat.”

“You’re fighting at my human level, not your Fae level. If you did, I’d be dead in a few minutes.”

“Give yourself more credit. You’d survive at least five.” He smirked, and I punched him in the arm.

“Hilarious,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Look, I have never been around a halfling that was stowed away in the human world for so long. Normally halflings, or changelings, are brought back here much sooner. Your magick is buried very, very deep. We just haven’t kick-started it yet.”

I stared out one of the windows while I thought hard about telling him about how I could feel other Fae’s emotions and thoughts. On this side of the castle, I could see the front gardens leading out into wide-open fields. They rolled gradually up and down until they ended in thick pine trees. The road that normally split them down the center and led into the woods was covered fully with snow, no tracks to be seen.

I knew whatever I told Emric would get back to Asher, but maybe it should. Maybe if I told Emric, word would get back to Asher, and he would come back and give me some answers. I had been living here for over a fortnight with very little information as to what his stake in this whole thing was and what my future was going to look like. Because there was no way I was going to stay here for the rest of my life just training with Emric and reading in the library. I sighed.

“I think that a little bit of my magick has actually made itself known,” I said at last. I braved a look at him out of the corner of my eye, but his posture hadn’t changed. He just looked at me with questions in those violet eyes.

“And what little bit would that be?” As if out of his control, his eyes flicked to my still-rounded ears and then back to my face when he found nothing had changed there.

“Okay, I probably should have told you both this when I first got here, but I wasn’t sure what was actually going on until recently. I wanted to make sure I knew what I was talking about before I brought it up.” He looked at me and nodded, telling me to continue. I took a deep breath and flexed my fingers a couple of times. “I can feel your emotions.” His eyebrows shot up so fast I thought they might fly off his face. “Only when we touch,” I amended. “And it’s not just you. It’s Mav, too. I guess anyone I touch, really.”

Thinking back to the times Asher had touched me, I realized that last statement wasn’t actually true. I had never been able to sense what Asher was thinking or feeling. The only insight I got into his brain was his shadows and biting words.

“That’s definitely new,” he said, crossing his arms. I caught some wariness in those eyes. Like me keeping this from him had been an invasion of privacy that he didn’t appreciate. I couldn’t blame him. When I found out that Asher was able to sense my feelings and also keep track of me with his stupid little cloud of dust, I wasn’t too keen on the idea.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” I jumped up and sat on the table that was pushed against the wall and watched him think it through.

“So,” he said, turning to face me, “let me try and understand how this actually works. Can you hear my thoughts when you touch me? Like actual words?”

“No,” I said and picked up an apple I brought for a snack, taking a bite. “I can’t hear what you’re thinking like stream of consciousness. When our skin touches, it can’t be through clothes. I just feel how you feel. If it’s a really strong emotion or if you’re really focused on feeling one thing, I can kind of taste it.” I took another bite and pulled my legs underneath me as he sat down next to me, not having to jump up.

“What have you felt from me?”

“I only really touch you when we are fighting, and so you’re really focused and honed in on that. Not much room for emotion. Sometimes, though, I can feel your hesitation, like you’re wondering if the next punch you throw will be what sends me over the edge.” I swallowed another bite and smiled. “One time I touched you while we were both laughing at something Ideon had said, and your joy tasted light and fluffy like marshmallows.”

He snorted softly at that and shook his head. “You know I have to tell Asher this, right?”

I rolled my eyes but nodded. “Any insight as to where this magick comes from or why I have it before you go running to His Highness?” He took the apple out of my hand and bit into the other half.

“If you keep calling him that…” He trailed off and shook his head with a smile. “I’m not sure where that gift comes from, Alys.”

He saw it as a gift? I couldn’t really think of it that way, yet anyway. I didn’t see where it could help me in this world, still in a human body. If anything, it probably made me more of a target.

“As far as I know, none of the High Fae from any court have that ability. Do me a favor?” he said. I took my apple back and nodded. “Don’t tell anyone else this, okay? Let me speak to Asher and see what his thoughts are.”

I gave him a salute and jumped off the table. “Promise,” I said and chucked the apple core into the bin. “We still have a bit left before lunch.” I wiped my hands on my leggings and rolled my neck. “You going to come fight me, or have I worn you out?”

He laughed and made his way towards where I was back in the middle of the room. “Careful, Wheezy,” he said, cracking his knuckles, “or we’ll find out just how long you can last against a Fae at full strength.”

I leaned back, hand on my chest, with an exaggerated bark of a laugh. “Do you think His Highness would be pleased if you killed his little pet?” I asked as I squared up.

“Hm, not sure.” He took a few steps towards me, and I backed up, still watching and waiting for him to strike. He took a giant leap towards me and laughed as I backed up quickly into the wall behind me. “Why don’t we ask him?” By his tone, I deduced it was Asher behind me, not a wall. I sighed deeply, still slightly pressed against him, refusing to give him a reaction. I turned around slowly and looked up at him. His stupidly beautiful mouth was cocked to the side, and his eyes were more blue today as humor danced in them.

“Welcome home, Your Highness,” I said and dipped into a low curtsey. The humor left his eyes, and that smirk dropped off his face. Defeated, he clasped his hands behind his back and turned his attention to Emric behind me.

“Lunch in my office, please, Emric. Thirty minutes.” I stood up out of my curtsey and stepped out of his way as he walked past me.

“Hey!” I shouted after him and ran to keep up. I caught his bicep—his very hard bicep. He stopped and looked down at where my hand, dwarfed next to his arm, held on tightly. He looked back up at me.

“Yes?”

“I haven’t seen you in two weeks,” I stated lamely. I cursed myself for letting his muscles distract me.

“Miss me?” A smile played on his lips, and his shadows swirled a little closer to me.

“I missed getting answers. I tried to ask Emric questions, but I may as well try to get water out of a rock.” I heard Emric snort at that.

“I will see you tonight at dinner, Alyssandra,” he said. I nodded, and my eyes drifted past him. I knew his lunch with Emric would be filled with updates about me, about my new gift. But I didn’t want our entire dinner to be about that. I needed to get answers to questions that had been floating around in my brain rent-free since he had left. I looked back to his face when I realized he was still standing there staring at me. My eyes moved to where his shadows had come closer now, rolling over my hand and up my forearm. They didn’t feel as cold as they used to. Now they felt more like fresh air, cool but not freezing.

And, oh my Gods, I was still latched onto his arm. I dropped my hand like he was fire. His shadows scattered like I had startled them. His grin widened to a full smile, showing off those alarmingly straight, white teeth, fangs poking gently into his bottom lip.

“Wear something pretty.” He winked and walked out of our training room. “I’ve missed the company of pretty women these past weeks.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Emric, who was trying very hard to pretend he hadn’t been watching me embarrass myself. He had busied himself with cleaning up the equipment around the room.

“You got this? I’m starving, and it sounds like you have places to be.”

“Sure thing,” he said. “Go get ready for your hot date tonight.” He laughed deeply at that, finding himself very funny. I flipped him off and ran out of the room, eager for the rest of the day to pass quickly. Not because I was eager to see Asher, I told myself. I needed more information, and he was the only way I was going to get any.