Page 50 of A Kiss of Embers
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked finally.
He shrugged. “What more is there to say? Talking about it won’t change anything.”
“No…but it might make you feel better.”
Running his hands through his hair, he tried to find a way to convey his thoughts and feelings from the past week. It was impossible to share what he and Seraphina had experienced together. But he wanted to try.
“She’s so…angry. And heated. And passionate. And I just love it. I really have to work for a smile, but when I get one…I can’t think of a better feeling in the world. She makes me feel…” He gestured to his chest, not knowing how to form the words. “So much. She sees me. She understands me. And I’m devastated that it’s over as fast as it began.”
Ashryn ducked her head and released a long breath. “Because of me. I ruined this for you.”
He snorted. “No. It never would have worked to begin with. We both knew it from the start.”
“I’m sorry. I wish…” Her words trailed off, and he was glad for it. It was over. Done. And now he needed to try to find a way to move forward.
Another long silence passed between them, at least until his friend broke the stillness of the room. “Just tell me one thing,” she said with a serious expression. But then her lips curved upward in a teasing grin. “How many times did you…you know…?”
His frown melted, and he couldn’t help but laugh as he sheepishly held up four fingers. His time with Seraphina had quickly become some of his favorite memories, and he vowed to cherish them for as long as he lived.
“Speaking ofyou know what…” Bastien slapped his knees as he stood and made his way toward the door. “Sylvain has been hounding me to let him up here to see how you are faring.”
“You’ve been denying him?” Ashryn growled. “You are not my gatekeeper.”
“Yes, I am.” He cast her a devilish grin. “And now he knows it. I’ll send him up. But hear me when I say if he in any way makes you tear open your stitches, he’s done for.”
She picked up a spare pillow from her bed and weakly tossed it at him, but it flopped onto the floor halfway across the room. Laughter escaped his mouth as he ducked into the stairwell and shut the door behind him.
Only out of sight did he sober, his laughter dying away. For seven days, he’d had something more. Something special. And now he didn’t. The promise of a brighter future was gone. Because half-breeds didn’t get happy endings. He only wished Ashryn could find one in his place. One of them deserved to be happy.
The Glades rushing by stole her breath away.
Seraphina watched in awe as the gorgeous rapids cascaded down a steep waterfall and crashed into the river below. Sparkling blue waters reflected the moonlight while its passionate falls stung her face from where she stood on a small ledge, scaling the cliffside.
High above her, a wooden, rickety bridge stretched across one side of the ravine to the other. Leading to…
A part of her wanted to bow at the sight of the sacred place of her ancestors. The caverns that held the healing pool. Another part of her wanted to spit at the reminder of who stole their sacred land in the first place.
Stop, she urged her thoughts. The war would end with her, which meant she, above all others, must cast aside the toxic prejudices she held over the Forest Fae. Bastien was one of those Forest Fae. She must remember that.
She glanced down, barely fitting on the ledge as she scooted forward on slow but careful feet while her wings awkwardly hid her from view by camouflaging with the rocky cliffside. Thus far, she hadn’t seen anyone. But after her many encounters with the patrol guard, she’d quickly learned that someone was always watching.
The crash of the water in her ears lessened when she positioned herself directly beneath the rickety bridge, which swayed with the breeze created by the crashing waterfall a short distance away.
She placed a hand around one of the ropes with the intention of swinging herself over but froze when two feet landed directly above her.
Her pulse quickened as she stared at the boots through the slats as well as the brown and white clothing of the person they belonged to. A patrol guard.
“You know you cannot cross the bridge,” a voice warned, and for one terrifying moment, she thought the woman might be speaking to her.
But then a male voice answered, one her soul recognized, one she had missed with her entire being in the three days since she’d seen him. “Please,” Bastien begged. “It’s not for me. It’s for Ash.”
A pause.
“The council members have forbidden it. She was stabbed by an Ember Fae weapon. Such impurities will pollute the pool.”
Are you serious?Seraphina mentally scoffed. Ember Fae were not dirty or impure. The healing waters of the Glades accepted all.
“Ash will not bathe in the pool,” Bastien argued, and she only wished she could see him from her vantage point. But he wasn’t standing near the rope bridge. “Just a cupful. That’s all I ask.”
