Page 29 of Flame and Starlight

“What do you mean?” Asher asked, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed his eyes seemed to linger on me.

“We may have had it wrong. I mean, we know she has Fae in her. We know that side has come through now. But I don’t see any sign of the Autumn Court.”

I looked down at my hands, thankful my fingertips were free of soot. I flexed them in and out of a fist, testing to see if there was a sense of fire there. Nothing but empty palms stared back at me.

“Her ears are pointed, she’s got our strength, and I can smell her from here.”

“Excuse me?” I cut in sharply.

“You smell different,” Asher said with a wave of his hand, dismissing me and going back to acting like I wasn’t there. Like it was the most normal thing in the world for them to be able to smell me. “What’re you thinking, Emric?”

“I’m not saying I have the answers, but what I am saying is that she could be a different kind of changeling. Up until very recently, it was done quite often. She could’ve been sent out there to protect her identity. What if her mother—” Emric looked at me reluctantly before continuing. “What if her human mother isn’t her birth mother.”

I stopped breathing. “Wait a second. There’s a lot for me to digest there.” They both looked at me as I began to pace in front of Asher’s desk, my steps only slightly wobbling. “Are you trying to tell me that I now smell like a Faery and that the woman that I grew up believing was my mother was not, in fact, my mother?”

“Alys.” The commanding tone of Asher’s voice stopped me in my tracks. I turned to meet his eyes and blinked away the tears from my own. “She was still your mother. She still raised you. But I’m thinking Emric may be right. I think she may not have been your biological mother. Nyxa gave you life —she saved you. Gods are not known for their kindness. And I cannot imagine her bestowing such gifts on someone that’s half human.”

Ouch. I felt myself flinch. Ever since I got here, I was just a weak, useless human. A mortal that was more of a liability than anything.

“She has to have a motive, a reason,” he finished.

“So I’m not a halfling, then? What am I?”

“I’m not sure. But you do smell more like a Faery and less like a human. There’s something different on the edge of your scent, but I can’t place it.” Both of their nostrils flared slightly as they tried to catch my scent.

“Okay, can we not smell me, please? That’s just fucking weird.” I crossed my arms over my chest and made my way back to the bar. I took another shot of whiskey straight from the bottle.

“If she’s something other than Fae and human, she is far more important than anything Theron has planned for her. If he actually has anything other than death planned,” Asher said flippantly with a wide smile lighting up his face, fangs out for me to see on either side of his mouth. I flashed my newly grown fangs right back at him with a clack of my teeth as I bit the air in his direction. He smiled appreciatively and downed the rest of the whiskey in his glass.

I looked out the window and watched the stars dance against the sky and sighed. I felt like I was losing my mother all over again. I already had to watch her wither away and die a painful death once in my life. Now here I was, finding out that she might not have even been my mother. And if she wasn’t, who was? Was my real mother just as evil as they claimed Theron to be? I couldn’t imagine any decent person sleeping with such a horrible man.

“I think I’ve had enough excitement for the night,” Emric said, standing. I looked at him over my shoulder and smiled at him.

“Good night, Em,” I said.

“Night, Wheezy,” he said with a wink, and the door clicked shut behind him. I walked over and took his spot on the couch, letting the heat of the fire mingle with the heat from the whiskey.

“You don’t smell bad, if that’s what you’re worrying about,” Asher said, joining me on the couch, handing me another glass of whiskey. I rolled my eyes.

“Trying to get me drunk, High Lord?” He smiled and took a sip from his own glass. He looked from me to the fire, and when his eyes met mine again, the smile had left them.

“I’m just thinking you’ve had quite the night. Whiskey isn’t a cure-all, but it definitely won’t hurt.”

I nodded and drank deeply. I sank further into the couch, curling my toes under his thighs, and sat the glass on the floor.

“What do I smell like, then?” I asked, stuffing my hands under my legs. He reclined his head and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. There was something attractive in the primal way his nostrils flared.

“Like sweet oranges and spiced chocolate.” His voice came out deep and gruff, like it fought its way out of his throat. The way he was able to pin down my scent so clearly shocked me, but I recovered quickly. I had always been able to smell him, so I guessed it wasn’t that strange to have a scent.

“Okay,” I said, mimicking his posture, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. “You have a scent, too, you know.” I felt him shift his attention towards me.

“And that is?”

“Jasmine and cedar. Sometimes the scent on your shadows kind of remind me of cold mountain air.” He made a small approving noise, and we fell into silence.

I could feel my newfound power vibrating beneath my skin. I was hyperaware of everything in the room. The fire felt hotter, the aftertaste of the whiskey tasted sweeter, and Asher’s magick felt stronger, palpable in the air around me. I could sense him there, the heat from his thigh warming my toes that curled into the cushions. It felt like his power called to mine like magnets to metal. It was a tangible thing, moving and purring against mine.

“What’re you doing?” I thought I heard him ask. But blood was rushing through my ears as I tried to control my magick. I sensed his breathing pick up, shallow and quick. I reached out in my mind, imagining his magick as his shadows were, midnight black and swirling, and gently took it in between my fingers. I smiled. His magick was soft as silk and crawled slowly up my forearm, like it was searching for the manifestation of my power.

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