Page 13 of Flame and Starlight

nights out, and coffee dates. Had I ever seen her with her hair up? There was no way she had skin like

Asher’s, luminescent and silver. But…had she seen Asher’s dust when she tried to brush whatever it

was she could see off my neck? Was that what she was staring at in the break room at work? “She is High Fae. She has more than enough magick to hide the less-human things about her. Also,

she isn’t High Fae of the Night Court, so she wouldn’t have the dusting as I do. She’s from Autumn,

and they have blackened fingertips, like they’ve been dipped in soot, from their ability to harness the

power of fire. She would be able to hide that from you—it really doesn’t take that much out of us to

hide those types of things.” He waved a hand in front of himself, and the dusting that normally

covered his skin disappeared. His hands pushed his obsidian hair back from his face, and his ears

were rounded like mine.

“So, let’s say I believe you. You’re saying she was sent there to watch me and eventually take me.

Take me back here? Which means that instead of being dragged here unwillingly and thrown into a

place full of people I don’t know, I could’ve gone with Aoife in a much less jarring way. I could’ve

stayed with Aoife, someone who actually likes me. An actual friend. But because you stole me, I’m

stuck here with you.”

His eyes narrowed as he relaxed, and his dust settled back over his skin, barely shimmering but

definitely there. The shadows around him stretched to cover his entire body, covering him in a storm

cloud of temper. I finished all the food on my plate while he watched me, taking deep breaths and

willing his shadows back into place. They didn’t scare me as much as they had previously, I realized.

I leaned back in my chair, full and a little chuffed at how upset I had made him.

“She will figure out that you took me, Asher. She will come for me.”

“I would very much like to see her try.” The power that seeped into the air was almost

suffocating. “You should believe me when I say, Alyssandra, that Aoife was not and is not your

friend. She was sent there to eventually bring you into this world, and what would have met you at her father’s court would not have been safety. The High Lord of the Autumn Court is cruel and would not

have treated you as nicely and as fairly as I am treating you.”

I scoffed, and he stood quickly, his chair flying several feet back and toppling over. He loomed

over me, his shadows snuffing out the candles on the table, leaving only the light from the fireplaces. I

kept my breathing easy. I refused to let him taste my fear.

“Your shadow work was intimidating the first couple of times, Your Highness,” I ground out and

stood up to close some of the height difference between us. He still towered over me, but I held my

ground, our noses so close they almost touched. “But now I recognize them for what they are—mere

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