Page 24 of Flame and Starlight

“You didn’t think I’d let you drive a horse on your own for your first ride, did you?” I took a deep breath, trying to calm my temper that was so quick to flare up around him. “I can see it now,” he said, letting go of my waist and putting both hands on the reins. He nudged my other foot with his, and I took it out so he could replace it with his. “Isolde would get tired of your smart mouth and run off into the woods, leaving you clinging on for dear life.” I rolled my eyes at how similar our thoughts were. “Or maybe she’d just throw you off.” I felt his laugh rumble in his chest.

The saddle wasn’t too small for both of us to be on it, but it left not even a handsbreadth between us. From my knees to my shoulders, we were pressed tightly against each other. Even sitting, he was at least a whole head taller than me. I turned back around to face forward as he gave Isolde a little nudge, and we were off at a slow pace.

I quickly realized that to ride a horse comfortably, your body, and your hips especially, have to move with the horse’s movements. As she walked on, we had to shift side to side slightly with each step. And since we were so close, our hips moved together in sync. My mind wandered a little too quickly to improper thoughts, and I felt heat crawl its way over my chest and up into my face, burning his dust on my neck. I knew he could probably feel exactly what I was feeling, but for once he was merciful and didn’t comment on it, leaving me to my own thoughts.

“I thought I’d take you to town.” I jumped. His words pulled me out of my own mind. His breath was warm on my ear, and I tried to lean forward slightly to give us some distance. “I can’t risk you being seen by anyone, but there’s a beautiful view from up above all the cabins on the hillside and the shops further down along the canals. There’s nothing like Astraea on a snowy night.”

“As long as I can ask you questions, you can take me wherever you want.” Isolde walked us over to the road that led from the castle and into the forest.

“Imagine that,” he said much closer to my ear than I thought was necessary. Suddenly he gave Isolde an order, and she picked up the pace, causing me to bounce up and down awkwardly until I found her rhythm and learned how to move with her instead of sitting stiff against her. It did, however, mean Asher and I were moving against each other more quickly as well. But we were going too fast for me to think about much more than holding on. I was a bit breathless, but a slow smile formed across my lips.

It was exhilarating.

CHAPTER TEN

Asking questions while going at that fast of a gallop was pretty much impossible, so I held my tongue as we rode through the forest. By the time Isolde slowed, I didn’t know if I was warm from his magick or if it was just from him. His hard chest and stomach held snug against my back, and his arms stayed wrapped around me the entire time. Slowing back to a lazy walk, he guided her off the path and through the thicket of trees. A warm yellow glow was just beyond the trees in a clearing.

Nothing could’ve prepared me for how beautiful it was. Directly down below our tree line was what looked like a Swiss skiing village. There were cabins dotted throughout the hill that wrapped around the entire valley. Down lower, there were brightly lit shops and restaurants lining each side of the canals, Fae walking in and out of them, their laughter swallowed by the snow. A few boats were tied off, covered in the few inches of fresh snow that had fallen in the past couple of hours.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

“It’s definitely one of my favorites.” He swung his leg around and landed softly on the ground below me. The cold air was sharp on my back at the loss of him before his magick found me again. He quickly grabbed my waist and pulled me off Isolde before I could object, and my feet struck the ground toe to toe with him. I took a step back immediately and bumped into Isolde’s side. She snorted and took a few steps away from me.

“Sorry,” I murmured to her. One side of Asher’s mouth tilted up as he took her reins and tied her off to the nearest tree.

“Good girl,” he said and gave her one last pet down her neck before turning to me. “I’m surprised the verbal assault hasn’t started yet.” He leaned one of those broad shoulders up against the tree to my side and crossed his arms, waiting.

“I need to know what your stake in all of this is,” I said, gesturing around me, arms open.

“What do you mean?” His eyebrows knitted together.

“Why come get me? I know that you thought my Fae side would kick in when you brought me here, but until then, I’m useless and weak. And even when she does decide to take over, what’s my purpose? Why make my unknown danger your business?” I was standing in front of him now, trying to look up into his eyes under the dark curtain of hair framing them.

He let out a long sigh and met my gaze. “I didn’t have some grand scheme in mind when I decided to get you. All I knew was what Theron could and would do, and I didn’t think it was fair for you to have to withstand that.” He eyed me with caution, weighing something in his mind. “He raised me,” he finally said. “And the things I endured there…” He went quiet and dragged his eyes over to Astraea below.

“But you’re the High Lord of the Night Court. Why were you raised by the Autumn Court?”

“Because I’m bastard born. My mother was from the Night Court, low born. She worked in the castle, and when Theron visited, he took one look at her and took her for his own. She was married to Theron as soon as they stepped foot on Autumn soil. She tried to escape him once and came back to the castle looking for refuge. My biological father was the brother of the High Lord here and remembered her and demanded my uncle take her in.” He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his windswept hair before settling them into the back pockets of his pants.

“She was here for months. She and my father fell in love. But she was married to the High Lord of the Autumn Court which meant they couldn’t ever be together unless Theron gave her up. Which would never happen. She was his. My father would never be able to take her as his true Mate.” My face must’ve betrayed my question there. “We choose our Mate when we’ve found the male or female who we want to spend the rest of our lives with. It’s similar to human marriage but much more complicated, and that’s a story for another time.” I nodded, and he continued.

“I guess Theron got sick of it and told my uncle, the High Lord, that my mother belonged to him and that if he didn’t hand her over, there would be war.” He paused at the look on my face. “Yes, little duck, Fae will go to war over what we deem is ours. And he viewed her as his property.” My body went cold. His shadows were dancing around him. “So my uncle’s hand was forced, and they were made to give her back. But she went back with a surprise.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes as he gestured to himself. “I was already making her belly round by the time she made it back to him. He hated me. He was already an evil man. But his hate for me was something wild and unruly. He would beat me for no reason. He taught me how to fight but with real weapons, even as a child, leaving scars all over my body. And if I showed any sign of weakness, he would beat me until he thought it was gone or I pissed myself with pain.”

He shivered, but I knew he wasn’t cold. I didn’t know what to say. I could see a small Asher, bruised and bloody, shoving down his fear and tears, and it broke my heart. I stared at him in silence as a minute ticked by. I was seeing him in a new light. Maybe he was mean and sarcastic because he had some serious deep-rooted trauma. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as I had painted him out to be.

“Don’t look at me like that, Alys,” he said, his voice turning dark and rough. I flinched at his tone. “What you’re looking for, you won’t find. Any shred of humanity I had died on Autumn soil. I don’t need nor do I want your pity.” I took a step back from him, shying away from the anger I saw shining in his eyes. He smiled, but this time it was ugly. His fangs glinted in the starlight. “These tattoos I have? They mark deaths that came from my hands. And as you can see, I have a lot of them.” I took another step back from him and was stopped by the rough bark of a tree. My heart hammered in my chest like a caged animal.

I swallowed my fear and tried to buried it deep. I didn’t want him to feel that from me. I thought back to when he was shirtless on the couch, practically bleeding out. His arms, shoulders, chest, and stomach were covered in intricate tattoos, all connected. I never saw his back, but the way they flowed over his shoulders, I assumed it was covered as well. Were his legs? The thought of that much death made my stomach roll. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, willing my heart back into its normal rhythm. When I opened them, he was in front of me, that same evil smile spread across his lips. His shadows were billowing around him like a storm, blocking out anything else around us.

“I know I’ve been keeping this from you, but I think it’s time you knew.” He tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. The gesture felt threatening. “He’s your father, Alys.”

My entire body went cold as death. He nodded like he could feel the dread course its way through my veins. He grabbed my chin between his thumb and forefinger and forced my eyes to his. He was so close now I could feel his breath on my lips. “You have his eyes,” he whispered. “Every time I look at you, all I can see is the man that beat me half to death and made me watch as he drained the life out of my mother.” A lump formed in my throat, and tears threatened my eyes.

He dropped my chin and created some distance between us, his shadows reluctantly following. I stared at the ground as I took everything in. Of all the times I imagined what my father was like as a child, I never imagined he would be someone capable of the things Asher was accusing him of. The crushing weight of despair forced my shoulders to sag and my limbs to go numb. How could I have been related to someone so awful? I tried to put myself in Asher’s shoes. Looking at someone every day that only reminded you of your captor, your abuser… He must hate me. I wondered if that was why, when he was at his weakest and in so much pain, he had attacked me. Just blind rage at the honey eyes he had seen so many times as a child.

But another thought occurred to me. If Theron was my father, that meant Aoife had to be my sister.

“Wait. That means Aoife is my sister? Is she your sister?” His eyes finally found mine again, and he nodded.

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