Page 4 of A Kiss of Embers
Ashryn was literally his only friend. Although no woman would dare have an open relationship with him lest they get dragged down to his level, a few had been willing to keep involvement with him a secret. At least until they got scared. Their fear of getting caught with a half-breed fae often sent them running.
But Ashryn… She was the only person willing to love him publicly. If only in a friendly manner. She stayed by his side through the hardships and happy times. He never should have crossed that line with her. He regretted it. But he also didn’t because she meant the entire world to him.
Even if they had no romantic feelings toward one another despite trying to unsuccessfully develop something a year back.
As he neared the meeting house, an uneasy sense of dread climbed his spine. It was one of the largest trees within Attleglade, hollowed out to create a dwelling but also living and breathing just like the other tree homes.
Two average guards standing on either side of the door leading into the meeting house instructed him to shed all his weapons, a standard procedure, before they permitted him entrance. At first, his eyes needed to adjust to the dimmer light. But then he took in the crystal sconces on the walls lighting up the large room, the rows of benches carved straight from the tree, and the long table at the front of the room…
…housing the entire council of seven.
His father, Emeric Dalena, sat in a wheelchair, situated in the middle of the council and acting as presiding chieftain. Unlike Bastien, his father’s white hair was cropped short, accentuating his silver eyes and the stern yet worried wrinkle in his brow.
Father had fallen in love with a Sun Fae, and breaking almost every rule known in Attleglade, he had run away to marry her. Together, they’d raised his older sister Nyana and himself, at least until the council had found them and threatened Father to return as Chieftain…or die.
Bastien still remembered the sobbing goodbyes as his father had taken him back to Attleglade with him, and his sister and mother had stayed in the sun kingdom of Heulwen. They hadn’t been able to come with them to the forest. Because his mother had been an outsider, and Nyana had looked too much like a Sun Fae to be accepted in Attleglade.
His fists clenched as he recalled the day the council had pinned his father down as he’d screamed, stealing his magic and maiming both of his legs just for trying to visit Nyana years after.
The anger fueled him as he looked into each of the council members’ eyes, remembering why he trained and fought and played by the rules.
Because one day, he would kill them all.
“Bastien Dalena,” his father said in a stern tone despite the warning flashing in his eyes, a warning for him to be on his guard, “do you know why you have been called to the meeting house today?”
Despite the anger crawling through his blood, he adopted an easy smile, his face relaxed, all while he seethed inside. “For my rotation change, I assume.”
The council member he liked to call Cranky Cricket because of his creaking knees held up a small item, and Bastien narrowed his eyes in an attempt to discover what it was.
His blood froze over, and his stomach rolled.
“Can you explain what this is?” The elder held up a hairpin no larger than his index finger. But it was no ordinary hairpin. Upon closer inspection, Bastien recognized the elegant metal bend, a flawless shimmering gold, as Cranky Cricket turned it between his fingers.
He would be a fool to claim a lack of knowledge. “Well,” he shrugged, “it looks like it is Sun-Fae crafted in design.”
The man nodded slowly, eyeing him with suspicion. “It is. And the only Sun Fae to walk Attleglade’s forests was your sister and her family months ago.”
Father’s stare burned with warning again, as if he, too, felt a predator in calm waters.
“And? It probably fell out of her hair. Or one of her daughters’ hair.”
“We found it in the Glades.Insidethe sacred healing pool.”
Shite!
Somebody would get killed over this, whether it be him, his father, Ashryn, or all three of them. Their survival depended on his ability to lie. And if that didn’t work?
He swallowed as he realized all his weapons were with the guards stationed outside. He couldn’t fight all six of the elders with only his handswhileprotecting his father.
He was in so much trouble.
“And?” he tried again, adopting another smile. He even added a faint snort to the mix. “Are you telling meNyanawould have been able to sneak past an entire village, two vigilant and armed patrol guards, brave the rickety bridge, and bathe in the pool? Only to do it all again on her way out?”
He sat on the arm of one of the benches to portray a more nonchalant appearance as he swiveled his gaze toward Grumpy Grasshopper. “You, yourself, said we have the best defenses of any Forest Fae settlement out there, second to none. Even the Ember Fae. An outsider unfamiliar with the settlement would never have been able to accomplish the feat.”
Stinky Socks raised a suggestive eyebrow. “Unless she had help.”
Bastien’s mouth fell open in mock disbelief as he pointed to himself. “You couldn’t mean me. What do you think? That she would fit under my shirt?”
