Page 54 of A Kiss of Embers
“I have no right,” she whispered, dragging her finger along the bedspread. “Because I have no choice but to take concubines.”
She’d thought of every way to avoid such a scenario, to have Bastien and only Bastien. But she was the Ember Queen. And Ember Queens had the responsibility of uniting their people to avoid unnecessary bloodshed between clans.
Therefore, she had no right to envy Ashryn.
But then why did her chest ache at the thought of them together? What were they doing? What were they talking about? Was he holding her as she healed? Were they holding hands or sharing kisses likefriendssupposedly did?
With a huff, she tossed onto her other side to avoid staring at the empty space beside her. But when that did nothing to quell the ache inside her, she wrapped her arms around his pillow and inhaled his fresh, foresty scent lingering in the fibers of the cloth.
A part of her knew she should leave. To protect herself from being discovered.
But she refused to leave Attleglade without Bastien.
“You infuriate me. Do you know that?” Bastien paced back and forth across the small space of Ashryn’s room, staring her down as she gazed back at him with her chin raised, defiance in her eyes. “If I catch you walking around one more time, I’m going to gut you.”
“I wanted to visit Sylvain. You can’t keep me bedridden all day, every day.”
“I can and I shall.” He threw his arms up. “You almost died, Ash! Twice! I don’t care about how resilient you think you are. You have no idea what I endured watching you suffer like that.”
The fire dissipated from her eyes, but the stubborn tilt of her chin remained as she crossed her arms and turned her head away from where she sat up in her bed. “You better be careful about making such bold, profound statements. Your beau might get jealous.”
“Ha!” He rolled his eyes as he gestured to the empty space around them. “What beau? Besides, if Seraphina were here, I would—”
“You would what?”
An icy chill exploded through Bastien’s chest as he spun around, only to find the woman in question standing in the shadows of the room, leaning a shoulder against the wall. Her eyes were determined and focused like a predator ready to strike.
But then his shock transitioned into fear as he crossed the room and slammed the shutters closed. “What are you doing here?” he hissed. “If someone finds out, you will be killed.”
A smirk pulled on her lips as she stared him down. “Then I hope no one finds out. For your sake, of course.”
“Why?” he snarled, still trying to recover from the shock of her presence. How did she get here? How did she arrive intact and unnoticed? Of course, he’d suspected Seraphina’s presence in Attleglade because of the orange ointment that seemed to have helped his friend recover, but he had been doubtful all the same.
“Because.” She stepped out of the shadows, and the first thing to draw his eye was the long slit in her dress, revealing her entire leg nearly up to her waist. “If history proves anything, you will be unable to help yourself as you leap to my rescue and take the brunt of the attacks.”
His lips twitched as her humor hit him across the head like a mace, but he successfully reined back his smile. “You carried me on your back while my limbs were useless. I only returned the favor when you got a taste of your own medicine.”
“How is your arm?” She touched his bicep, and it took all his self-control to jerk his arm away.
“Fine, no thanks to you.”
“I’m glad.” Her mouth smirked again. “My bandaging handiwork is parallel to none.”
“Stop,” he said as he fought hard against the smile wanting to appear before his expression turned serious. “This is not funny. How did you get here, anyway?”
Seraphina tipped her head toward Ashryn, who watched the exchange with wide eyes as if she didn’t know whether to break up the verbal spar or cry out for help. “Pri told me how to enter the village without notice.”
Bastien pressed his lips together. “And you came? Were you followed?”
“I took care to remain unseen. Besides, your dear friend would be dead without my interference. Next time, make sure you know the real antidote before you go running off, you infuriating man.”
Her fingers lightly touched his chest as they glared at one another, and he found himself torn between sweeping her off her feet and putting more distance between them. But he’d craved her touch for days, and he couldn’t find the willpower to push her away.
“I thought I knew it.”
“I saidemberweedpoisoning. Notemberwort.”
“How was I supposed to know? They sound the same!”
