Page 11 of Flame and Starlight

Suddenly, gigantic wings erupted from his back, the wind from them forcing me to take a few steps back.

“Holy shit,” I breathed. They were enormous and made him tower over me more than he originally had. Both wings started out as a deep grey at his shoulders and faded out into a bright white that blended in with the snow around us. “Where the hell were you hiding those?” The words came out in more of a squeak than I was proud to admit. That same shit-eating grin that I had seen Asher wear so often was now on his face.

“I can magick them away whenever I want. All my clothes have slits in them over my shoulder blades so they can come out whenever I need them.”

“They’re beautiful,” I said and reached out to touch their feathers. They looked like the softest silk. He stepped back, and they folded back in and away. Magicked out of sight.

“Thank you, but touching a Fae’s wings is very”—his violet eyes flashed—“intimate.”

I felt my cheeks flush with heat. “I’m sorry,” I said, bringing my hand to my mouth.

“It’s okay,” he said through a laugh. “I just don’t think we’re on that level yet.” He winked, and I flipped him off. He laughed harder. “Ash wasn’t kidding about your attitude.” He slapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s go, Alys. Let’s get this over with.”

And with that, he was off, loping at a much slower speed than I knew he could go. I started after him, not enjoying the feel of the icy-cold air filling my lungs with each breath. Within minutes, my chest was burning, and I just knew my legs were going to cramp up and fall off at any moment. I was desperate for him to not hear my labored breathing, but I knew there was no fighting it. I was sure Mavka, wherever she was in the castle, could probably hear me drag each breath in harder than the last.

“If you’re getting a stitch in your side,” he said, sounding not out of breath at all, “breathe out for as long as you can before you take another breath in. That should help.” I could feel my ponytail slapping the back of my neck. The layers that I was thankful for earlier were now going to smother me. I was going to literally sweat to death. Trickles of it rolled down my spine. I peeled my gloves off and shoved them into my coat pockets.

“Can you…magick away…some layers?” I asked between breaths.

“How many layers?” He wagged his dark eyebrows.

“If I wasn’t so out of breath, I would punch you.” He turned around and started jogging backwards. “Show-off!” He smiled and snapped his fingers. And just like the night before when Asher had made food appear out of nowhere, Emric had made a couple of layers disappear. The icy air made the sweat on my skin feel like it was freezing in place, but at least I was cooler now. “I need a minute,” I said, slowing to a walk.

“We’re halfway through—I think you should just keep going. We need to push your body, Alys.” He jogged circles around me as I stopped and bent over, hands on my knees, heaving gulps of air into my lungs.

“Fuck off, Emric. I’m not a full Faery. I’m a human, with a barely healed gash on her face and a body that is very much not used to physical exertion.”

He studied me for a minute, trying to see how serious I was. He must’ve decided not very.

“Okay, Wheezy, you’ve had a minute,” he said, giving my ponytail a tug. I whipped around on him, but he was already running again. “If you can catch me, you can punch me. How about that for incentive?” he yelled back at me. I took off after him, pushing through the fire in my legs and lungs. I was determined to catch him. One thing I knew for sure: when I did reach him, and I did punch him, I would be imagining it was Asher’s smug face my fist was making contact with.

I did not catch him. And when we got back and he took me to a big open room on the first level of the castle, he proceeded to kick my ass. I was assigned hundreds of crunches, lunges, multiple types of upper-body workouts, and even some boxing. My legs were pudding, and my arms were heavier than my entire body, so every punch I threw probably hit as hard as falling paper.

My hair had almost completely fallen out around my face, and it clung to my forehead, my cheeks, and my neck. I felt disgusting. I could not imagine how I must smell. When Emric told me we were done for the day, I fell down on the floor in pure exhaustion and relief that it was over.

“Humans are so dramatic,” he said, looking down at me.

“Shut up, Emric, and just sit down here for a minute before making me walk a mile to my room.” He sat down next to me and took a drink of water. I stared up at the ornate ceiling and followed the gold swirls in the molding. “My friend Ashley did this to my head.” I pointed at the cut on my forehead that was almost healed thanks to that little tin of magick. “I’m not sure why she would’ve done that? Could Asher have forced her?”

“I don’t know if that’s a conversation for us to have. Ash would probably prefer to answer your questions.”

I sat up and looked at him. “I would have a hard time believing anything your High Lord says anyway. So why don’t you just tell me?” I took a drink of my own water, and he rolled his eyes, resigned that I probably wasn’t going to give up on it.

“Most High Fae have the ability to glamour humans. There was no other way to get you out of there without causing suspicion.” He watched me from the corner of his eye. “I’m sure he used a lot of glamour that night on a lot of people to get you out safely.”

“Safely,” I snorted. “Minus my head being thrown full force into a mirror and then a hard-ass sink. Minus the bruises all over my arm from him supposedly forgetting his strength. Minus the river water I unintentionally swallowed and then vomited back up.” I mentally gagged at the memory. “You people must have a very loose definition of safe.”

“You people?” he said, gripping his chest. “You wound me.” I kicked his thigh as hard as I could, which was more of a tap. My muscles strained at the effort. Tomorrow was really going to suck. “He got you here alive. I think that’s safe enough.”

“He also has his own version of a microchip on my shoulder,” I said, motioning to the dust. “I’m basically his dog.”

“You are far too important to be considered a dog, Alys.” He stood up and offered me his hand, and I grabbed it. A jolt of emotion went through my arm at the contact, flooding my mind with amusement and the all-too-familiar taste of worry. I yanked my hand out of his and stood up on my own. I stared down at his hand, still hovering there in midair. “You okay, Wheezy?”

I wiped my hands on my pants. That was the second time I felt emotions that weren’t quite my own.

“Yeah,” I said and changed the subject, hoping he thought I was just weird. “And why am I so important?”

“That one is definitely going to come from him.” He cut me off when he saw my mouth open to protest again. “You won’t get this one out of me. You can ask Ash tonight at dinner.”

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