Page 285 of Lady of Starfire

“Ow,” Cyrus muttered, moving as if rubbing his leg beneath the table. Cassius was giving him a pointed look. “I guess if there was an actual witness, I can believe it,” he grumbled.

“You are a jackass,” Scarlett groused, dropping into her seat and crossing her arms.

“You are a whiny brat,” Cyrus retorted.

“Can we get on with this?” Azrael cut in, a hand coming to Talwyn’s lower back, ushering her in. “I have better things to be doing with my time.”

“Got a sand castle to build in all that sand, Azzy?” Scarlett drawled, picking up a pear tart from her plate.

“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered, pulling out a chair for Talwyn next to Ashtine.

Talwyn glanced at him. She couldn’t sit there. Ashtine was the Fae Queen now. Talwyn could not sit to her right.

“It is all right, Talwyn,” Ashtine lilted. “Sit.”

She slowly lowered into the chair, feeling everyone’s gaze settle onto her.

Scarlett’s entire demeanor had changed in a matter of moments as she said, “Where are you planning to live, Talwyn?”

Right to the point then.

“I…”

But she didn’t have an answer because she didn’t fit anywhere anymore.

“With me,” Azrael cut in. “This much has already been discussed.”

“And her role there?” Scarlett pressed, a hand coming to the table and fingers beginning to drum atop it.

“She will be my wife, Scarlett,” Azrael said in that low tone that promised violence if she disagreed.

Wife?

But that would make her—

Scarlett’s eyes slid to Talwyn. “And her role in your Court?”

“What business is it of yours?” Azrael retorted.

“Careful, Luan,” came a low warning from Sorin. “She may not be the Fae Queen any longer, but she is the High Queen of this realm.”

But Scarlett was still looking at Talwyn when she said, “I may have spared your life and extended your Staying, but that is the extent of the forgiveness I am able to offer.”

“It is more than enough,” Talwyn said.

“You cannot occupy a throne in a Fae Court. Not again,” she went on.

“I do not wish for one.”

“And what do you wish for, Talwyn?” came Ashtine’s lilting question.

Talwyn turned to her, her friend’s hands resting atop her rounded stomach. Briar’s arm was settled along the back of her chair, and Talwyn couldn’t help but think about how casual they all were. A year ago, this room would have been filled with tension and short tempers. The short tempers part was probably still true, but the rest?

When she just stared at her friend, Ashtine gave an encouraging nod. She wasn’t used to this— speaking about her feelings aloud. But she took a deep breath and said, “I wish for a purpose that does not involve a throne, whether that is helping train new forces or scrubbing dishes in a kitchen. Somewhere beside people, not above them. I wish for someplace to find that purpose. I wish for somewhere I can be with Thorne, and we have room to fly. I wish for somewhere close to Azrael, but not on a throne beside him. I do not wish for nor deserve such a thing. If that is what you are asking of me, I will decline it.”

“Do you feel you can find that purpose in the Earth Court?” Ashtine asked. “Or will you feel confined there?”

“I want to be with Azrael.”

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