Page 10 of A Kiss of Embers
“To marry, I’d have to leave the forest. I can’t leave my father, and I can’t take him with me.” Besides, leaving the forest was deadly for him, something he didn’t want to mention to his friend. Despite the trust between them, he still kept a couple secrets of his own.
Silence reigned over them again, but this time it was a heavy, contemplating silence as he thought about his future. Or lack of.
Ashryn inhaled sharply, her hands flying to her hair to smooth it down. “He’s coming this way! Oh, autumns. I forgot to bathe today. Do I stink? How does my hair look? By the autumn star, I look hideous with this bruise.”
Bastien chuckled. “You stink like a silver goose. Your hair looks ghastly. And your clothing is rather unflattering.”
She elbowed him hard enough to knock the air out of him. “Oof!”
“Good afternoon,” Sylvain said hesitantly as he approached, his hand gripping and releasing the hilt of his sword and a strain of nervousness in his rigid posture. His gaze moved from him to Ashryn, lingering a little longer on her. She blushed under his stare. “You must be the chief’s son, Bastien.”
He nodded. “And you’re the new patrol guard recruit. We don’t often get transfers to these woods.”
The man shrugged, once again glancing at Ashryn. “Dire times call for dire actions. We cannot allow more of the Ember Fae to destroy the sacred woods. Several volunteers from our settlement came to help defend the territory.”
Tension crackled through the air. Not awkward but filled with heated glances and hopeful intentions. Bastien barely resisted rolling his eyes as he squeezed Ashryn’s shoulder, urging her forward a step. “I don’t believe you two have met. Sylvain, this is my good friend Ashryn. She is one of the patrol’s best.” Heat could have sizzled in the air between them with the intensity of their stares. “I’ll see what strings I can pull to pair you two up for your first patrol here. No one can teach you the ropes of our settlement better than she can.”
Sylvain nodded and finally broke eye contact with her. “I look forward to it.”
After the man bid his farewell and disappeared from sight, Ashryn released a whoosh of breath and fanned her face with her hand.
“Huh…” he started teasingly. “I think he likes you. Though, I have no idea why.” When she tried to elbow him again, he laughed and twisted out of reach. “See you tonight, Ash.”
“But we’re not on again,” she hissed as she glanced around them to make sure no one heard his comment.
“I meant for patrol. We’re taking the new transfer out for training, sooo…best to bathe. You really do stink.”
She scowled and threw a pinecone at him. He dodged, laughter trailing after him. But when he passed the prison tree where the Ember girl was being held captive inside, his good mood instantly vanished.
His quiet footsteps slowed. His mouth puckered in a frown. The air around him silenced while his gut tightened with dread. Children shouldn’t have to die in the feud between Ember Fae and Forest Fae. The thought created an ache in his soul.
The prison tree towered over him, its long brown trunk reaching high and disappearing into a plume of green leaves. The base itself was as large as a cottage, hollowed out into a livable dwelling like many of the trees in their settlement. On the outside hung a signpost carved from the hip bone of an elk with a star-like etching to differentiate the tree as a prison.
He took one step forward and paused. The girl was none of his business. She would die at the gallows just like many before her, and he could do nothing to stop it.
Yet…
Internally, he cursed himself as he glanced over his shoulder to find Forest Fae going about their day, no one paying him any attention, especially with the excitement of receiving new visitors to Attleglade.
He took a deep breath and cursed his stupidity once more before opening the front door to the prison and slipping inside.
An eerie darkness stole across the front room where one of the prison guards sat in a chair, carving into animal bone. The man shot to his feet, his hand resting on his sword. At the sight of him, the man’s shoulders relaxed, and his brows smoothed into a thin line.
“Bastien. I apologize. I’m a bit jumpy considering our current prisoner.” The guard nodded toward the darkness on the opposite side of the room, and through the dim haze, Bastien barely made out the silhouette of the girl huddled in the corner behind thick bars.
“She’s been questioned?”
“Multiple times. Won’t say a word.”
Then the only other option is death.
“How long will they hold her prisoner?”You know, before they snap her neck.
The guard shrugged. “Likely not much longer. I can’t speak for the council. Although they want to delay her execution, Ember Fae never last more than a week behind bars.”
The man’s words rattled him, despite not being surprised by them, but he didn’t let it show. Instead, he nodded casually toward the gloom of the cells. “I was there the night we captured her. Mind if I try to speak to her?”
“Go ahead. Just leave your weapons.”
