Page 24 of Steeling Light
“Mother,” I say, acknowledging her presence and nothing else.
She looks from me to Rhion, her eyebrows rising in surprise. “Prince Rhion,” she says with a deep curtsy, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“Countess Adelynne,” he responds with a nod. “It has been too many years.”
She smiles at him, and I see right through it. She doesn’t want Rhion here. Anyone from the nobility of the Great Houses scares her. They’re dangerous in a way that no one in Selithar is, and it would take so little to take away the life she enjoys so much. She’s powerful here because of her position and her skills at politics, but all of that is just fake power. If Cole or Rhion came here and decided they didn’t like what she was doing, they could simply destroy everything. Literally. No amount of gossip or politicking would stop them, either.
“I’ve been busy here,” she says softly. “Selithar’s concerns may not be as grand or important as Draenyth’s, but they are concerns, nonetheless.”
Rhion chuckles. “Cities have to be governed, no matter how small.” He turns to me and says, “I’ll bid you goodnight, Ainslee. It seems I’m not the only moth finding the flame tonight.”
He lifts my hand to his lips, and with a slow sensuality, he brushes his lips against my fingers. It’s formal and almost impersonal, but the feeling of his lips against my skin, even my fingers, sends me soaring.
Without waiting for my response, he releases my hand and walks away. I can’t help but follow him. After the way he felt, the way he’d talked to me… I can’t help but watch him. This is not the boy I was friends with. He’s so much more than I remember.
“Why is Rhion Rahn in Selithar, Lee? You said that no one was safe other than the House of Steel, and now the Prince is on my doorstep?”
This isn’t my mother speaking. It’s the Countess of Light worried about her people and House. “You don’t have to worry about Rhion. Don’t let the gossipmongers talk about him, or you may end up having to worry about his father, but that man is no danger to anyone in Selithar. He’s here for me, and that’s all.”
My mother blinks, her confusion obvious. “Why’s he here for you? Are you in danger? I don’t know what we can do to protect you from the Prince of Steel, but I’m sure there’s some way we can smuggle you out of the city without him knowing.”
I shake my head. “He’s…” How do you explain to your mother that one of the most dangerous men in the world just wants to spend time with you? “I’m not in any danger. We have an agreement—a magical agreement—that protects me. He’s looking for something, and both of us are stuck waiting for a few weeks before we can continue our respective searches, so in the meantime, we’re exploring the city.”
It’s like the fear that had been bubbling up inside the Countess of Light vanishes, and she goes from the woman with a crystal crown on her head to my mother in the blink of an eye. “And you weren’t going to say anything to me? You’ve been here for more than a week, and you've spent ten minutes with me. Why are you avoiding me?”
I stare into her ice-blue eyes that match her so well. “Because, Mother, I didn’t want to be paraded around the flock of hens that surround you constantly. I wanted to stay far away from the Keep of Light. I wanted to rest and relax for a few weeks because my life has been harder than you can imagine for a very, very long time.”
My mother stares at me for a few moments, and then she does something I don’t expect. She reaches out and hugs me. I don’t know what to do. I probably should hug her back, but I don’t. When was the last time she hugged me?The day she left Draenyth.
“I’ve missed you, Lee. I know that you’re off doing important things with Cole, but I have missed you and your brother so much. You don’t have to come to the Keep of Light. I don’t know why you hate it so much, but I can meet you wherever you want. I don’t need to introduce you to anyone. I just…” She pulls back, her hands going to my shoulder, and looks at me with pain in her eyes. “I just want to talk to my only daughter.”
I swallow hard and realize how snarly I was with her. She’s done nothing wrong. She’s just… the Countess of Light. My mother embodies everything I hate about my bloodline. Adelynne Emlyn is who I could have been if I’d never met Cole, and that’s a future I’d have hated.
“I’m sorry, Mother. I just…” She pulls away completely, seriousness replacing the sadness almost immediately. “You’re complicated. The House of Light and Selithar are complicated for me, and I wanted to avoid as much of them as possible. The only reason I’m not holed up in an inn is because Rhion has been very pushy about experiencing everything Selithar has to offer. But how about we meet for coffee tomorrow at lunch? We can spend some time catching up.”
My mother smiles at me as if I’d just given a child a bag of candy. “That would be wonderful. How about Spice? They have fabulous little blackberry teacakes.”
I give her a smile, and while everything in me wants to run, I say, “That sounds perfect. I’ll see you there tomorrow around noon.”
Then, surprising me yet again, she reaches out and pulls me in for another hug. “Thank you,” she whispers. Then, just like Rhion, she pulls back, gives me a smile, and leaves me alone. As soon as her Light is gone, the world glows once again. It only reminds me of the things Rhion said.
I shake my head and walk back to the inn that I’m staying at. What I thought was going to be the most boring month of my life has become one surprise after the next.
Chapter 13
Every season, the House of Light will host a ball with no restrictions on entry. Anyone may attend, and there will be no cost associated with it. If the City of Moonlight is supposed to be known for its celebrations, then the least we can do is make sure the people who make this city so wonderful get to enjoy those celebrations as well.
~Adelynne Emlyn, Edicts of Selithar
Ainslee
Selithar is divided into four sections just like Draenyth, except instead of the Keeps being in the center, they’re on the outside, and all four of the districts meet in the center like four slices of pie. That central section is where all the government buildings lie, and unlike Draenyth, there are no Kings or Queens here. The leaders of the four Lesser Houses rule together rather than separately.
Just outside the government sector, in the Light District, sits an unassuming little coffee shop called Spice, where my mother waits for me. Today, I’m wearing another woman’s face. I stole it from one of the many girls in Draenyth that Darian had a fling with. Pretty, but forgettable. She was a trader’s daughter, I think, and the hands that I’ve shifted irritate me because of the thick calluses she earned while loading and unloading their carts.
Hands and eyes are the two most personal parts of the body to shift. They’re how we experience the world, and touching a door handle with these callused fingers truly feels like I’m wearing another woman’s skin while the dimples on my cheeks don’t bother me at all.
When I step into the entryway of Spice, my mother’s eyes immediately go to mine, and her smile is as bright as if she were at a dance. She knows me even though I look nothing like myself. I guess the more detailed shift didn’t work as well as I’d hoped.
