Page 33 of Flame and Starlight

“This is ours.”

He pointed to the tree house in front of us, and it was all I could do to not push past him and run

into it. It sat perfectly in between limbs and branches, staying upright, I assumed, by magick. He walked forward and opened the door, letting me walk in and wander around while the other Faery pushed our trunks into the main living space.

All of the walls were made out of a warm wood, with large windows on every wall. In the main room, there were a couple of deep couches and cozy-looking chairs. Ours had a bookshelf with a ledge in the window next to it for reading. There wasn’t a kitchen, but there was a bar fully stocked with plenty of alcohol. Back the small hallway was a bathing room, and the last door was the bedroom. The only bedroom. The bed had to be a king-size it was so large. It was nestled against the wall to my right which let guests stare out the wall of windows that opened up to nothing but a forest covered in snow.

I felt Asher come up behind me as I stared out of the windows. I turned around to see him leaning against the doorframe.

“One bed?” I asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Don’t worry, little duck. I’ll take the couch.” I rolled my eyes. “We’ll need to leave in a bit for the welcome dinner. You’ll need to change.”

“I need to bathe as well.”

“Your clothes are in the bathing room. Choose one of the evening gowns Mav packed.”

Getting ready, I had no desire to stand out, so I picked a black gown that was long-sleeved, velvet on the tight bodice, but then tulle took over at my waist and fell to the floor. The cut of the neckline was nowhere near as modest as the one I wore earlier as it dipped all the way down to where to tulle began, but it was either a scandalous neckline or more eye-catching colors and fabrics. I left my hair down, and it fell to my chest in dark waves.

I dug through the bag of makeup that Mavka had packed for me and quickly did my eyeliner and mascara and pulled everything together with black lipstick. I would definitely fit the part of being on Asher’s arm cloaked from head to toe in his favorite color.

But I was wrong about blending in. The moment I saw Asher, I knew there was no way not every single eye would be on us this evening. His hair was still combed back, showing off every inch of his annoyingly perfect face. The black suit he wore fit every muscle in his body so well that I could see each outline. There was a thin crown of starlight resting atop his head, and I realized I’d never seen him dressed as High Lord before now. His shadows were tucked tightly against him, fully under control and barely moving. I had never seen them so reserved.

“Beautiful,” I thought I heard him murmur as he eyed me from head to toe. “Each of your dresses,” he said louder, “have slits in the back in case you need your wings. But if we can keep them hidden, I think that’s best. They’re too unique; they’d set off too many questions.”

I felt heat dance across my shoulder and up my neck under his gaze. If I could see his dust, I knew it would be dancing and swirling under my skin.

“I haven’t really had time to train them either, so let’s hope for both of our sakes I don’t need them.”

“I have something else for you,” he said, gesturing me over to him. I stopped in front of him, and when he opened his hands, a necklace dangled between his fingers made of the same silver starlight as his crown.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, reaching out for it. Before I could touch it, he gestured for me to turn around. When I did, I lifted my hair up off my shoulders and let him put the necklace on me himself. It was cool against my skin and sat right in the hollow of my throat. “Thank you,” I breathed and turned back around to face him.

“That starlight will just be one more thing that lets them know you’re mine,” he said, souring my mood.

“So it’s like a dog collar,” I deadpanned. He smirked and then suddenly reached and ran his hand up my right thigh until he felt the steel of the dagger resting against my skin. My breath caught in my throat, and I was frozen until he took his hand away.

He’s a murderer, Alys. Get a grip on yourself.

“Just making sure.” He winked. “Hungry?”

“Famished.” For what, though, I couldn’t quite say.

The dinner was held in a large dining hall in the village. There were tables that could hold about ten people placed across the room in even lines. Each table was decorated with green swags that fell to the ground, pine cones, large pomegranates and cranberries, and holly. There were candelabras lit on every table, creating a soft evening glow in the room.

Asher sat me down to his right before reclining in his own chair. There were wine decanters scattered about the table, and I picked up the one nearest us and filled his glass first, ever the dutiful soul. I looked around the table and saw every set of eyes glance our way at least once. A month ago, I’d thought Faeries were just a story, and now I was one, and I was sitting in a room surrounded by them. I filled my own glass and took a sip to calm my nerves.

I would never get used to how amazing everything tasted now that I had changed. I could taste every underlying note of flavor in the wine, and it warmed my blood. I ate my food in silence while Asher made small talk with the table. After everyone was settled, no one really looked at me anymore. All eyes were on him, hanging on every word and every laugh. I could see every female’s eyes glued to his mouth,= like he was the most eligible bachelor here. Maybe he was.

Two glasses of wine down and I scoffed at the thought. Asher turned his head towards me and asked me a question with his eyes.

“Something amusing?” they seemed to ask. I rolled my eyes and went back to eating.

“So, Asher,” the female to his left drawled. “Who’s this precious little thing to your right?”

I looked up, realizing she was talking about me, and met her ice-blue eyes. She was so pale she was practically translucent, and the red lipstick she had chosen made her white teeth glisten like pearls.

“Lyssa,” he said, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, “is just a soul I took pity on. She accompanies me everywhere to make sure my needs are met.” I inwardly groaned at the innuendo. I filled his wineglass to further his point.

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