Page 73 of Ties of Starlight

Idonea just fisted her hands in her skirts. “I hate this outfit. It’s the worst of them all.”

Nyrunn couldn’t decide; so far he thought all the outfits she wore for the rituals had merit. She’d been breathtaking in her wedding dress, stunning in the dress she wore for the Heava Dance, and this outfit brought out her lovely human characteristics that Nyrunn wished he could compliment without her believing it was a lie.

“At least you’re not stuck in this black leather. I’m goingto pass out from heat stroke before we reach the top.” Lady Asa pulled at the black bracers on her forearms. Both she and Frode were dressed head to toe in black leather armor. They’d both volunteered for the roles, but Nyrunn was still sending two guards with them to be safe.

Frode’s mouth hung open as he stared at Lady Asa.

Nyrunn cleared his throat. Frode snapped his mouth shut and looked up at the sky. “We should be getting some cloud coverage soon while we hike up.”

“Is everyone ready?”

Nyrunn glanced over his shoulder to see the Constella waiting for them, looking them over with a sharp eye.

“We’re ready, Constella,” Idonea answered, moving to cut through the camp to where the crowd was gathered at the base of the cliff to watch her and the “Night Elves” “kidnapping” her depart.

Nyrunn would have to stay behind until after they were out of sight. He reached out and caught her wrist. She turned back, confusion flaring through the bond, but before she could ask, he stepped forward and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. “Be safe.”

Idonea pulled back, the blush staining her cheeks again. “I should be telling you that. You’re the one who has to climb the cliff wall.”

“I’ll see you again soon.”

Idonea just hurried away, glaring at Asa who immediately grabbed her arm and started whispering in her ear about how sweet the two of them were.

Frode shot him a deliberate, knowing look. Nyrunn sighed.

What if his honesty was what made him lose all the progress he’d made with her?

Chapter 26

Idonea plucked another lily, her legs burning as they kept trekking up the incline. She added it to the crown she was weaving as she walked. The first life she’d had to do this, her crown had been a mess. She’d practiced weaving the flower crown, as Gytha had done so when she’d been taken captive to pass the time, but it had been haphazard and nearly falling to pieces. Now she was an expert at it. She didn’t even have to look at it anymore.

Their guards, also dressed as Night Elves, set the pace, one at the front and the other at the back. Asa and Frode flanked Idonea, keeping their eyes out for Star Lilies as well.

“I take it flower crowns were a hobby of yours as an elfling?” Asa asked, nodding toward the nearly complete crown in Idonea’s hand, almost perfect.

“I’ve certainly spent more than my fair share of time making them,” Idonea said.

She hated this hike. It was always excruciating.

She held the crown up in front of her; she only needed two more lilies and it would be complete. Magic thrummedin the petals and swelled every time Idonea added another bloom to their number.

The entire trip, Frode had been alternating between anxiously examining the trees surrounding the path for Moon Elves and examining Asa. Idonea didn’t know why Asa kept pestering her about her relationship with Nyrunn when she clearly had her own situation to contend with. Was she being willfully blind to Frode’s interest?

This was a first for Idonea. Being invested in someone else’s life this way, interested in seeing how all of this played out for the two of them, wanting Asa’s happiness as her friend.

“Oh, thank the heavens!” Asa huffed, doubling over when they spotted the peak at the top of their last incline. “If I’d known how steep this was, I wouldn’t have volunteered.”

It was funny. Idonea had spent so long among elves, never fully one of them, but they were the only people she could claim, and she knew exactly all the ways she never measured up. How she was more emotional, had less restraint, less poise, more violence, all written into the human part of her blood. How imperfect she was compared to their perfection.

But now that she was looking, she wasn’t actually so sure of that anymore.

Frode laughed, coming up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder as she huffed while they took a quick rest. “Dear Lady Asa, it’s alright. We don’t think any less of you. We all know you volunteered because you couldn’t bear to be apart from me for even a few hours.”

Asa straightened back up, hissing between breaths, “For someone who grovels at His Majesty’s feet any time he looks at you askance, you’re horribly arrogant. Not to mention delusional.”

Frode laughed, clapping his hand to his chest. “You wound me so. Besides, I thought you were the one who deemed every word I spoke to His Majesty as sarcasm. I can hardly both be truly groveling and also sarcastic at the same time.”

Asa took another deep breath, putting her hands on her hips. “You’re underestimating yourself.”

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