Page 69 of Steeling Light
“Ainslee,” he said, standing up at his desk. He was a gruff man who was more serious than not, but there was also a touch of softness in him, and Ainslee recognized it.
“Father,” she said respectfully, but she didn’t bow or cower. She was the King of Steel’s betrothed, after all.
“How have you been? It’s been a very long time.”
She smiled at him, and there was no trace of the fear and anger she’d once had for him. “I’m happy. I’m getting married to Rhion in a week, and the world looks like it’s going to recover.” Her hair hung almost to her back, untied and free. She looked truly happy.
He chuckled. “You did better than I expected. You certainly are your mother’s daughter. A girl—no, a woman—from the House of Light marrying the King of Steel. Even your mother couldn’t win a man of that high of a station.”
Ainslee blinked but didn’t respond to him.
“I know,” Kieran said, “that your mother dragged you away to Casimir’s Court to keep you from me, but it looks like my influence was enough. Did you finally recognize that I was right? Did you learn to use your Steel powers along with Light to become a better whore than even your mother? Is that what it took to win a King?”
Ainslee sighed and shook her head.
“It’s the truth, isn’t it? Don’t get me wrong, it’s impressive that a girl born to a worthless House could climb as high as you have. Now, it’s important that you recognize what you need to do to maintain that position. I can help you with that. I know Rhion better than anyone else. I can…”
Then everything changed. Ainslee’s long chestnut brown hair lightened and became shorter. Her thin frame grew larger. Her forest-green eyes turned shining gray. Even her clothes shifted before Kieran’s eyes.
Until Ainslee was gone and Rhion stood in front of the general. “Kieran…” he said.
The man dropped to his knees, interrupting him. “What are you doing here? I thought I was talking to my daughter. I apologize for any disrespect I’ve given you, King Rhion.”
Rhion chuckled. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about disrespecting me, Kieran. I might have laughed alongside you if you’d been saying nasty things like that about me. But you didn’t. You disrespected my future wife, and, more than anything, you showed your true metal. I could never trust you to be around my betrothed. I could never believe you want anything from a relationship with the woman I have given my heart and soul to.”
“I want to reconnect with Ainslee. I just…”
“…want to use her,” Rhion finished. “To get to me. To sway me. Kieran, if you knew me as well as you think you do, you’d know that Ainslee Emlyn is the only thing or person in the world that matters to me. You will never speak to her again. You will never set your eyes on her. She will not even know that you were a part of my world.”
Rhion smiled at the general he’d had so much respect for. He’d hoped that a man he’d trusted for so long had made a mistake a thousand years ago. He’d hoped that he’d truly wanted to apologize and rebuild that relationship. Everyone should get a second chance. He certainly needed one.
But now he knew Kieran’s heart held no regret. He knew no matter what happened, Kieran would look at Ainslee as a tool, as awhore. He would not allow her to be hurt. He would not allow the woman he loved with all his heart to bear another soul wound from this man.
She said that she wanted to kill him. She wanted to pay him back for the pain that she had borne all these years. If he’d been anyone else, he would have brought her here to execute him. But that, too, would hurt her.
There are lies we tell ourselves and lies we tell others. And Ainslee has lied to herself all these years. She’d said she wanted to kill her father, but really what she wanted was for him to care about her. She wanted him to be a decent human being, to be proud of her. He knew this because he felt the same way about his father, and he knew exactly how much pain his soul bore from killing him.
He would not force her to bear those scars and that pain.
His right hand struck so fast that Kieran didn’t have a chance to react. The power of the Conduit flowed through him now, and he understood how his father was so much faster than he ever was. His fingers became blades, and rather than slide through the ribs, he simply broke them as he reached for the man’s heart.
When Rhion’s fingers clasped Kieran’s heart in his hand, he said, “You could have ignored her. You could have been kind. You could have done a great many things, but you didn’t. Now you’ll never be able to make that mistake again.”
And then he ripped the man’s heart out.
Chapter 39
Destiny isn’t always apparent. It is often the future that seems impossible that turns out to be most obvious when looking back.
~Maerlix the Master Listener, Words to Weavers
Ainslee
The Keep of Light never felt like home to me. It was a place of terrible memories, but it was my mother’s home. Other than Darian and me, this place was the only thing that mattered to her.
She loved everything about it. She loved dressing in expensive gowns and dancing. Even the constant stream of people wanting to talk to her made her smile, something I’ve never understood. She’d dreamed of wearing the crystal crown for her entire life.
Darian’s grinning as we both look at the Throne. “You could claim it,” I say. “You’ve always been more of a leader than I am.”
