Flame and Starlight by Dana Isaly
Chapter Fourteen
I watched as Mavka pulled each dress off a rack and explained what they were for. I had day dresses, evening gowns, and plenty of cloaks, gloves, and hats. I wanted to ask why I would have to change so many times throughout the day, but she looked as though she was enjoying herself, and I didn’t want to spoil it. Each dress got meticulously folded and placed into a wooden trunk at the foot of my bed.
I stood, leaning against the bedpost, watching as layer upon layer of fabric was packed up for me. I was dressed in a long-sleeve dress with a neckline that stopped right at my collarbone. The material wasn’t as heavy as velvet, but it was thick and warm and brushed the ground when I walked. The cut in the side of it that ended just above my knee was the only part of it that exposed any skin. It was a sage-green color, and the heels I was told I had to wear were nude with a thick heel.
“Why do I have to dress up for the carriage ride there?” I had asked Mavka as she buttoned the long line of buttons up my spine.
“When you get there, you will be seen by many High Fae. You have to look the part.” The so-called “part” she referred to was the story Asher had come up with in the past few days. I would be a soul that had begged for her life back, and in exchange for a lifetime of servitude, he spared “my pretty face,” were his exact words.
As Mavka placed the last dress in my trunk, Asher waltzed into my room like he owned the place. Which, I guessed, he technically did. His normally unruly waves were combed back out of his face, accentuating the sharp lines of his cheekbones. He was, as always, dressed head to toe in all black.
“I could’ve been naked!” I exclaimed in his direction. Mavka balked at me and paled, but Asher didn’t miss a beat.
“How unfortunate I didn’t come earlier, then.”
“Very funny. Are we ready to go?”
“We are. Mavka,” he said as she clicked the trunk closed. “I’d like a moment alone with Alyssandra.”
“Of course,” she said and patted his arm on the way out.
“Do you remember your name that we settled on?” He toyed with the heavy fabric around my bed.
“It’s not like it’s drastically different. I’ve had people call me Lyssa before in my life.” Only one, I thought, and Thomas’ handsome face flashed before my eyes. Asher nodded.
“I have something for you.” He walked over to me and pulled a dagger from out of his back pocket. It sat inside a stiff holder with two long leather straps that came out of the back. One near the hilt and the other at the tip. “Fae can only be killed by the wood of an Ash tree.”
I felt my eyebrows scrunch together. “Are you named after a tree that can kill you?”
“Theron’s idea of a sick joke.” I swallowed and reached out to touch the handle. He let me pull it out gently. It felt smooth, and I liked the weight of it in my hand. I had trained with swords and daggers of all sorts with Emric, but this felt different. This one felt like mine. I tossed it in the air with a flick of my wrist, and it flipped backwards once before landing safely back in my palm. “Anyway, there is dust from the Ash tree that lines the inside of this holder, and so every time you pull it out, it will come out coated in the stuff. If you draw blood, you’ll likely kill them.”
Knowing that this could also kill me now, I gingerly pushed it back into its holder. He knelt in front of me and leaned back on his heels. He looked up at me through his dark lashes.
“It straps around your thigh. I’ve made sure all of your dresses for this trip are loose enough that it won’t be seen. May I?” His question caught me off guard as I realized what he was asking to do. I swallowed thickly and nodded. I could feel my heartbeat in my throat…and in other places. “Which is your dominant hand?”
“Right,” I croaked. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’m right-handed.” That stupid smirk pulled at his lips as he pushed the fabric of my dress back. The slit in my dress went up my left leg, so it was a bit awkward for him to gain access to my right.
The moment I felt his rough fingers graze my skin, gooseflesh broke out over my arms and up my spine. This time, it wasn’t agony that I felt from him, but something more like hesitation and another that almost felt like excitement. The latter made the heat from his dust on my shoulder almost painfully hot. If he noticed, though, he didn’t say anything.
His hands went higher, and I cringed, knowing he was about to strap that thing around my thigh. My thighs were never considered small, especially not after I had been training for weeks and adding on muscle. They were thick, and I worried that the straps wouldn’t be long enough.
He reached my midthigh, and his free hand grabbed the back of it and pulled it closer to him with a firm grip. That feeling of hesitation I got from him earlier disappeared.
Get a grip, Alys. He is a murderer.
I almost lost my balance but managed to grab onto the bedpost and remain upright. When I looked down at him, about to scold him for almost knocking me over, what I saw in his eyes made my body go warm and my face flush. My magick pulsed through my body wildly, begging for a release. Asher saw my reaction, and his nostrils flared slightly. I was no longer worried about what he might think of my thighs. He was looking at me like I was water and he was on fire. My brain kept sending alarm bells off, but my body wasn’t listening.
He situated the dagger much higher up on my thigh than I thought was necessary, almost brushing exactly where I wanted him. But any ability to speak and tell him off in my normal sassy way was gone the second he had touched my skin. The straps fit around my thigh easily, and he secured it tightly. His thumb ran along the edge of it while keeping his eyes locked on mine.
Those few seconds could have been hours. Time slowed, and all I could see were his eyes that looked more blue than grey in the moment. His hands dropped, skimming my leg the entire way down. When he stood, his mouth tilted to the side, and the old, overly confident Asher was back.
“Just promise not to use it on me,” he said and winked. “We leave in five.”
The door shut behind him, and I clung to the bedpost, hoping my legs would start to work again.
* * *
After I got the feeling back in my legs, I made my way down to the carriage. Emric helped toss our trunks onto the back. And when I say toss, I mean he was actually tossing them through the air.
“Oi!” I said as mine hit with a thud. “Mav took ages packing that perfectly. A little tact would be nice.”
“I think your precious dresses will survive.” He offered me his hand, and I gave him my gloved one. “Have fun,” he said with a wink and helped me up into the carriage. I settled back on the cushioned bench so that I was facing forward. I had been on trains where I would sit backwards, but they were smooth with big windows I could look out of. Something told me this wouldn’t be the smoothest ride.
Asher whispered something to Emric so low that even with my new Fae-enhanced ears I couldn’t hear. When Asher climbed into the carriage, it tilted slightly with his weight and then settled as he sat on the bench across from me. He was so tall that his knees brushed mine until he made his way to the opposite side, giving himself room to stretch out his legs and cross them at his ankles.
The ride was just as I thought it would be: long and rough. As it crossed over the dirt roads, it rattled, and with every bump we hit, and I thought my teeth would vibrate right out of my mouth. At one point I was holding on to the door so tightly that I cracked it in half.
“Shit, sorry,” I said, pulling both of my hands into my lap. “I guess I’m not used to the new strength yet.”
He eyed the door and then me curiously before his gaze tracked back out the window. The silence between us was palpable. I didn’t know what to fill it with, and he didn’t seem interested in trying, lost in his own thoughts.
The hours passed, and I could feel myself fighting sleep. The loll of the carriage moving back and forth was like being rocked to sleep, albeit roughly. I reclined my head back against the stiff cushions and closed my eyes.
“No point in going to sleep now,” Asher said, jolting me back to life. I stretched and yawned, my muscles aching from being in one position for so long.
“Are we almost there?”
“Almost,” he said and turned his attention to me. “Remember our story, and stay close to me.”
“I know, I know,” I said and rolled my eyes. “I get it. You spared me because I’m pretty, I serve you because of it, and I’m ever so grateful for the opportunity.”
“We’ll be staying together in the same cottage,” he said, ignoring my sarcasm.
“Cottage? We aren’t staying in a castle like yours?”
His small smile was real this time. “The High Lady has one, but for the Solstice celebration, she does things a little different. You’ll see.” He pointed out the carriage window, and I made my way down the bench to get a better look. He pulled his legs back to him to give me room.
The road we were on was surrounded by the biggest pine trees I had ever seen. They had to be as big as the Redwoods in California I had heard stories about. There were beautiful tree houses dotted throughout them, all connected by swinging wooden rope bridges. In every one, a soft, warm light poured out of the windows. I looked back at him with the widest smile on my face to find him watching me.
“We get to stay in those?”
“We do,” he said and looked out the window as well. The trees began to clear out, and we came to a stop. I couldn’t get out of the carriage quickly enough. Asher opened the door for me instead of having to wait for the driver to do so. I jumped out, and he was hot on my heels.
We had stopped in what looked like a large town square that was surrounded by Tudor-style buildings. A huge Christmas tree was directly in the middle, filled with lights of every color. Around the tree were market stalls filled with people pulling out their merchandise and setting up for the Solstice event. Fae were mingling around, looking at what the merchants had to offer and laughing with one another. It felt so…normal.
“This is beautiful,” I whispered to Asher as he watched me take it all in.
“It is,” he said. Abruptly, he at the footsteps coming towards us. I moved to his side so quickly that I bumped into his back, his shadows splaying out like disturbed dust. I moved half a step away and kept my eyes on the ground. I didn’t have to ask who it was. I could feel power, almost as strong as Asher’s, pulse through the air.
“High Lord of Night,” she said, her voice like velvet. “You’ve ventured outside of your castle, I see.” He gave a short bow, and I followed suit with a curtsey. Asher had explained to me before leaving that the visiting High Lord or Lady is the one that bowed. He also told me to follow his every move.
Look at me, I thought. Being the dutiful little pet.
“I wouldn’t miss your Solstice celebration, Zemira,” he said, straightening back to his full height. I kept my eyes trained on his shoes.
“And who’s your friend, Asher?” I felt her eyes slide to me. He pulled my arm into his and brought me forward. The clothes between us couldn’t stop his emotions flowing into my body. The last thing I needed right now was his nerves mingling with my own, but I fought through them with a smile as I met her eyes.
She was the most beautiful Fae I had seen yet, and probably ever would. She was just as tall as Asher, if not taller, and her red dress hugged her every curve. Her skin was dark, and her eyes were as green as an emerald. Her ebony hair flowed down to her waist in tight spirals. I couldn’t pull my eyes from her.
“This is Lyssa. A poor soul that begged for her life on Mayassar. I know it’s against the rules, but I couldn’t ignore that pretty face,” he said, grabbing my jaw and pulling my face towards him. He dragged his thumb across my bottom lip, and my breath caught in my throat at the intimate gesture. “She’s my little plaything now, fetching me wine and food, among other favors.” He dropped my face, and my eyes instantly fell back down to the ground, my cheeks burning red.
Murderer. Murderer. Murderer.
“Well, we are so happy to have you, Asher.” Her hand reached out and squeezed his arm once, and then she turned and went to greet more guests that were arriving. I tugged my arm from his.
“Plaything? Really, Asher?”
He smirked and took my arm back, pulling me in the direction of a man that was loading our trunks onto a cart. “Just trying to make it believable, little duck.”
I decided to drop it and just be happy that I was out of the same four walls for the first time in almost a month. I took in our surroundings as we walked off into the forest to find our home for the next five days.
