Page 4 of Steeling Light
It's better to hide my Light bloodlines by embracing the Steel because of how obvious it is and how many people are wary when they smell freshly forged metal. When I sit down, Mari hurries over to me. This far away from the Keep of Steel, I’m sure that my uniform is a rarity, but even she knows what it means and how much trouble it could cause her. She’s a Wyrdling, after all, and the House of Steel isn’t known for its love of the weaker races.
“What can I do you for?” she asks as her hands ball in the linen dress she’s wearing. “I’ve got a fresh batch of coffee dippers if you’re looking for something a bit on the sweet side, and there’s always fresh coffee waiting. If you’re here for something else, it may be a bit since I’ll need to make it.”
I give her a smile, and then I realize that she’s looking right past me to someone standing behind me. “That sounds wonderful,” a deep voice rumbles. “Two orders of coffee dippers and two chocolate coffees, please.”
I whirl around and try to push my chair back, but it doesn’t move an inch as it presses against thick thighs. A mountain of a man with golden hair stands behind me, dressed in the latest fashion of Draenyth. Brocaded in pure gold thread, the silver fabric looks impossibly bright. It shines with a light that I know isn’t from the sun’s reflection.
It’s enchanted with Light magic. I snarl at him. “What are you doing here, Rhion?”
He just smiles. “Oh, is that any way to talk to your commander, soldier?” His eyes go to my uniform, and there’s no question of whether he knows who I am. He’s just playing with me. “Now, let’s try to stay civil, old friend. Then I won’t have to capture you and turn this meeting between friends into something very different and much less entertaining.”
“What are you doing here?” I repeat, my voice lowering.
He sits down beside me, and it’s only then I realize Mari is gone. “I’d heard that the coffee at this little shop was some of the best in the city, even if it was made by a Wyrdling. I guess even humans drink coffee and make food, though, so it’s not such an affront to my delicate sensibilities. Now I’ve answered your question, and it’s your turn to answer mine. What areyoudoing in Draenyth? Last I heard, you were hiding far away from here. Somewhere in one of the southern human kingdoms, isn’t it? You wouldn’t happen to know where our mutual friend is, would you? He’s not here as well, is he?”
“No, he’s far away. I’m here all alone.”
Rhion raises a blonde eyebrow, and the corner of his lip creeps up to match it. “Let’s at least pretend that we’ve known each other our entire lives. You never go anywhere alone. Your brother is probably sitting at one of these tables wearing a disguise just like you. Should I start stabbing people to get you to tell the truth?”
“I’m telling the truth,” I hiss. “My brother isn’t anywhere near Draenyth, and neither is Cole. I’m here all alone.”
Rhion’s eyes don’t leave my gaze as silence lingers, and he slowly nods as if he’s decided something. “I guess I should expect a visit from one of your shadowy friends soon. It sounds like the smart thing for me to do would be to keep you close.”
“No one’s coming for me anytime soon.”
Rhion slides his chair closer to me, the wood squealing against the stone at our feet under his incredible weight, and it draws every eye in the Firelight Café. Dread wraps around my heart as he leans down, not worried at all that every person here is watching him. “Why should I believe you? Why should I trust you, Ainslee? You and your friends have done everything you can to stop my father and my House from accomplishing our goals. You snuck in like a thief in the night to steal the Painted Crown from us and put it on a damned Wyrdling’s head. Why shouldn’t I throw you in a steel cell and use you as bait for your friends?”
The way he says my name reminds me of when we were children. No one called me Ainslee except him. I was always Lee to everyone else, my mother included. I was Darian’s little sister. I was Cole’s friend. But to Rhion…
I meet his gaze as I say, “Because you know we’re not in the wrong. We’re just trying to fix the things your father and Casimir ruined.” He doesn’t respond, and his gaze doesn’t waver even a little. A second passes, and I say, “Rhion, we used to be friends. What changed?”
“Everything and nothing.” The words are an obvious weight, and his gaze finally leaves my face, moving to my hands. He reaches out and runs his fingers over the back of my hand so softly before meeting my gaze again. “Hands and eyes. They’re the parts of the body that you’ve never learned to shift well.” Like an artist criticizing another’s sculpture, he lifts my hand ever so delicately and says, “A soldier’s nails would be flawed. Her hands would have thick calluses from wielding a spear. There would be marks where her armor had rubbed, where her gauntlets had scraped repeatedly. But yours… yours are as smooth and soft as ever. The same hands I’ve known for almost a thousand years.”
I don’t try to move, don’t try to pull away from him as he smiles almost innocently at my hand before putting it back on the table. Then he stands up. “Leave Draenyth, Ainslee, and don’t come back. I may want to kill your brother and best friend, but I would prefer not to use you to do it. Please don’t force my hand. Enjoy your coffee and then fly. Stay any longer, and I won’t have a choice. Goodbye, old friend.”
Then he walks away, leaving me alone at the table wondering how I managed to survive it. And I know it’s only because Rhion let me go. Rhion Rahn, the enemy’s son and my second oldest friend.
That’s when Mari brings coffee and dipping sticks.
Chapter 4
The House of Light is both the strongest and the weakest of the Lesser Houses. On the surface, their illusions can do so little. But Vesper was the only reason the Flight survived the long escape from the hunters. Without her, we would have fallen into despair. She was the best of us, and that is why I knew Nyth would need her powers.
~Sidon the Strong, The Future of Magic and Dragons
Rhion
“Dragons damned Selithar. Why couldn’t it have been Myrrhaen or Elaris? At least those would have been interesting.”I’d overheard her say it at the market. She always struggles to shift her eyes and hands, and she prefers not to shift her voice. I’d never forget that voice, but then again, I could find Ainslee anywhere. She’s always been like a… No. I cannot think about her like that.
Ainslee is going to Selithar by herself. I’m sure of it. But why? She never goes anywhere without Cole or Darian. I know her. I always have. She…Stop that.
Why is she alone now? It must be important, but notthatimportant. The real question is why she would come here first if she needed to go to Selithar? Cole and his Wyrdling smelled like humans when I fought them two days ago, so all of them are most likely in that southern kingdom. The human scouts must have reported our positions. That’s the only way Cole would have known where we were.
If they were staying in that kingdom, Selithar would be a northwestern flight while Draenyth is almost due north. Why take the detour? She must have come to Draenyth for information first, and now that information is leading her to the City of Moonlight.
Could a relic be hidden in Selithar? Maybe. I wouldn’t put it past my grandfather to hide the Steel Gauntlet from my father there with how much disdain he has for the Lesser Houses.
I stride into my father’s bedroom, the only place he stays anymore. He doesn’t even look away from the map of Nyth. “What do you need?” he asks.
