Page 15 of Flame and Starlight

him to catch it. It had been too long since anyone had spoken to me like that. With his arm still around

my back, he smirked like he could read my mind and then lifted me up so that I stood on a single step

in front of him and released my hand. “You won’t need this,” he said, taking the fire from my hand and

hanging it on an empty perch behind him. “My magic lights this castle anywhere anyone needs it.” “Oh,” I said, adjusting my dress around my legs where the slits on my thighs had wound up closer to my hips. “Well, I came down here because you don’t get to just dismiss me like that. We were having a discussion.” I crossed my arms and stared at him. With me a few steps above him, he was

still taller than me, but not by much, and I could meet his cold glare.

“I am High Lord, princess. I can dismiss who I want, when I want.” He gave me a full smile, the

firelight glinting off his sharpened fangs, and turned on his heel, descending once again. I lifted my

dress again and followed him down.

“Where do these go? We’ve been going down them for a long time. Do they go underground?” He sighed. “No. If you continue all the way down, as I am doing, they open up to the ground

level.”

“Is that where your room is?”

At that, he laughed. “No, I am on the same level as you. I can show you later if you wish.” He

glanced back and winked at me. I huffed and continued to follow. After a couple more minutes, the

stairs ended into a dark wooden door. He turned the black handle, and it opened out into a wide

hallway that lit up as we entered. The floor was covered in a midnight-blue carpet that was so soft I

could feel myself sink into it with each step. The walls were covered in grand paintings of Fae in

crowns and suits and gowns, each one’s skin wrapped in a soft silver-blue sheen.

“Is this your family?” I asked, stepping up to a painting of a female that caught my eye. Her hair

was as white as snow and fell in waves to her waist where the image stopped. Atop her head was a

crown of stars and gemstones. Her eyes were the color of lavender and seemed to glow while

following me where I moved. The smirk on her mouth wasn’t playful like Asher’s. There was

something awful behind it. Like she was thinking of eating me alive. I shivered.

“They’re very distant relatives and past rulers of the Night Court.” That must’ve been all he

wanted to divulge because he was off again, striding down the hallway, wall sconces lighting his way

as he went. I jogged to catch up to him, my legs shaking with exhaustion from the day as I caught up.

“Can I help you with something, Alyssandra? Despite what you might think of me, I do actually have

business to attend.”

“I told you, we were discussing things, and you just decided you were done talking. But I wasn’t.”

I fell into step next to him as we rounded a corner. At the end of this hallway was a rounded door,

locked with heavy steel in several places.

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