Page 45 of Flame and Starlight

“Don’t worry, little duck. I would have to take far more from you than what I did. And you would have to do the same to me. What I did to you was to make you feel good. Judging by your tears of joy,” he said with a smirk, “it worked.” And then he literally patted himself on the back, and my fingers itched to palm the dagger at my side and throw it at him.

“Don’t look at me like that, little duck,” he said, his eyes darkening. His hand encased my jaw, and he bit my lip. “I love that murderous little gaze you have. And unless you want round two, I’d wind it in.” Even though my body responded in a way that told me I very much wanted round two, I decided to take his advice and go home. I needed a bath and a nap. My back was already starting to ache after the flying lesson. If I had to be presentable tonight for another dinner, I was going to need a few hours of rest.

“Let’s go home,” I said, pushing his chest. I tucked my wings away.

“As you wish,” he said and scooped me up in his arms. I leaned my head against his shoulder and watched the world pass us by as he took us back. On the way back, a thought popped into my head with such aggression it didn’t feel like my own. I wondered if his feelings were seeping into me, but as I searched through my own emotions and my own mind, this thought wasn’t his. It was mine.

I suddenly knew I would do anything for him. I would fight for him. I would die for him. I would do anything I had to do to stay here forever. He looked down at me and smiled. One of those rare smiles that reached up to his eyes and crinkled the corners. I would do anything I had to do to make sure he always looked at me like that. Something had changed in the past few days. I knew it in my soul that he was mine and I was his. And there was no going back now.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Asher rubbed my soon-to-be sore muscles in the bath and then sat next to me on the bed while I curled up for a nap. He traced featherlight circles on my arms while reading his book until I fell asleep. And when I woke up, he was still there, still reading, with his fingers tangling themselves in my hair.

“Do we do anything special for the Solstice tomorrow?” I asked with sleep still heavy in my voice.

“Zemira will give gifts to everyone at dinner. We do a lot of things that you would probably consider Pagan-like? She’ll have Yule logs burning at dinner, and she’ll give each guest a Yule log to burn in their cabin. The kids will be encouraged to go gather pine leaves and make their own evergreen wreaths and little decorations for the trees. Dancing will take place outside in the forest instead of inside.” He shrugged.

“I love Christmas,” I said, snuggling up closer to his side. “My mom used to decorate the entire house from top to bottom in warm lights and pretty decorations. There would be a Christmas tree in every room. Even as I got older, we would still keep up the Santa tradition. I would have to ask Santa for presents as well as her.” I laughed at the memories.

“You miss her.”

I looked up at him. “I do. But I’m excited to start new traditions here, in this world.” He smiled at me. With you.

“I saw a dress that Mavka packed for you. And I’d like you to wear it tonight. Everyone is encouraged to wear the colors of their court tomorrow night, so I’d like to see you in some color tonight.” He rolled off the bed and pulled out a deep red gown from my trunk. It had long sleeves and was made of some sort of gauzy, see-through fabric on the top with a dangerously low neckline and red beading covering every square inch of it. It would look like the beading had been placed directly on my skin. The bottom was pure red silk with a high slit on each thigh.

“Where’s the rest of it? And it’s see-through?” I sat up and ran my fingers down the beading as he held it out to me.

He rolled his eyes at me and laid it on the bed. “Get dressed,” he said as his lips met mine in a bruising kiss. “I want to look at you all night in this thing, knowing I get to rip it off of you later.”

I stared at his back as he walked out of the room, still half-stunned that he wanted me.

“And wear your crown,” he tossed over his shoulder.

“Tiara!” I shot back at him. “It is not a crown,” I mumbled to myself.

You could definitely see the faint outline of the dagger on my thigh in this scrap of fabric he called a dress. The slits were so high that it peeked out with every step I took. Thankfully, the beading on the chest was strategically placed with thicker fabric behind it to cover my chest. The chance of a nip slip was still high, though. I clasped my starlight necklace around my neck and let it lie against my collarbone, his shadows drifting slowly there even though he wasn’t in the room. My tiara sat heavier on my head after he called it a crown, a new weight behind it.

“I’m practically naked,” I said when I felt him come into the room. More of his shadows billowed around me like smoke.

“Everyone is going to be looking at you tonight and wishing they could take you home,” he said, moving behind me. “But they don’t get to touch you. I do. And if they try, I will hurt them. If they do, I will kill them.” I swallowed. “After babysitting you this past month, I’m eager for a fight.”

Gods, he was beautiful. He was dressed all in black except for his shirt that was bloodred to match my dress. His hair was wild and curled around his face, framing it perfectly. He wrapped his arms around me, and I watched the muscles in his arms flex and move under his tight jacket. Sometimes I forgot how strong he was, how many people he had killed. His power was raw and moved under his skin like his shadows.

He flew us into town, and instantly I felt something was off. I looked up at him, but he seemed unfazed, like nothing felt off to him. I chalked it up to my nerves of seeing everyone after we had been together. I told myself it was stupid to feel embarrassed because my role was his plaything from the start. But I knew now that something had shifted between us, and I worried they’d see it written all over my body.

The air moved differently around me. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different tonight.

“The wind feels strange,” I whispered as he sat me down.

“Could be your lack of clothing,” he quipped and took my hand in his. I made a face at him and followed him into dinner.

It seemed to pass normally except for the feeling someone was watching me. I dismissed it as the revealing clothing and my paranoia. But I couldn’t shake it. I tried to look around the room over my wineglass, but everyone was focused on their own conversations, not paying any more attention to us tonight than they did any other night.

Some males’ gazes lingered on my chest, but the moment Asher caught their eye, they quickly averted theirs. I smiled every time, loving the possessiveness that pooled around him. His shadows clung to me tightly, covering a lot of the skin that would’ve been on show otherwise.

Asher laid his arm on the back of my chair, and I felt him twist my waves through his fingers. I turned to look at him, and his eyes were gorgeous in this light. He leaned in and kissed my cheek and then found the shell of my ear. His breath was hot, and it made me burn. My magick cracked and sizzled under my skin.

“I like watching your eyes light up for me,” he whispered. I closed them and took a breath, trying to get my power under control. The last thing we needed was everyone to see my eyes turn a bright glowing white. I smiled and caught his mouth with mine.

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