Page 74 of A Kiss of Embers
Bastien was not accustomed to being followed by guards, especially not guards who were family members. But as he supported Seraphina by the waist as she led him up a hill within a copse of trees, the two men followed at a distance, though still too close for comfort.
“In here.” She grabbed his hand, now walking on her own, as she led him through a crack in the rocky hillside, which led into a dark tunnel with branches from floor to ceiling in an unnatural weave.
He inhaled sharply as he recognized his surroundings. “My father built these tunnels. He showed me them long ago. How did you…”
Eben’s and Jude’s hands burst into flames to light the way, light flickering across the tunnel and casting shadows within every crevice. And instead of answering him, Seraphina continued to lead him forward.
“I spent far longer in these tunnels than I should have, I’m embarrassed to admit.” She squeezed his hand. “Trees certainly are not my element.”
Their footsteps made no sound as they continued down the tunnel, and when they reached the five forks in the road, she pulled him down one of them.
When he was younger, his father had forced him to learn which tunnel led where, and he never forgot it. If they continued this way, they would find themselves in the woods. If they turned down a left tunnel, it would lead them near the Glades.
He squinted his eyes when he caught sight of a flickering fire up ahead. He cautiously slowed his footsteps and unstrung his bow from his shoulders. But as he reached for an arrow, his hand froze when the flicker of light caught on familiar white hair.
“Father?” he choked.
Instead of finding a dead body, his father’s head jolted up in response to his voice.
Bastien’s sob stuck fast to his throat. He dropped his bow and sprinted down the remainder of the tunnel leading to his father. When he reached his side, he skidded to his knees and threw his arms around him while burying his face into his shoulder.
He sobbed. “I thought you were dead. I thought…”
His father’s voice broke as he spoke. “I never thought I’d ever say I owe my life to an Ember Fae. But here we are.”
He turned his head from his father’s shoulder to find Seraphina twiddling her thumbs, her mouth moving as if searching for something to say. He grabbed her hand, and mindful of her lack of strength, he pulled her down beside them and wrapped one arm around her and one around his father.
“You are magnificent,” he whispered in her ear. “I owe you my every breath.” He would gladly become this woman’s concubine after everything she had done for him because of how much she meant to him. “I love you, Seraphina.”
Her breath hitched, and she pulled away to look into his eyes. He hoped sincerity stared back at her because he meant every word.
A small, almost shy, smile pulled up on her lips as she sat back on her heels. “Perhaps I should do this somewhere more private. But I’m just too tired to move.” She held out her hand, and one of her brothers—Bastien still couldn’t tell them apart—handed her a black obsidian box as large as his fist.
She unlatched the box and pulled it open to reveal a smooth, red gemstone similar to the one hanging around her neck. She lifted it out of the box from its chain and dangled it in front of him. Firelight caught on its smooth surfaces, creating a dazzling effect as the gem slowly turned where it hung.
“What is this?” he asked reverently, his finger hovering over the gem but not touching. “Well, I know you can communicate with others using it. That’s all I really know.”
After one more rotation through the air, Seraphina laid the gem flat on her palm. “Everyone I would like to communicate with receives an Ember gem cut from the same stone. This allows communication to happen freely between all who have a gem. My fathers… My brothers… Pri… They all have one.” She pointed to a golden pendant attached to the chain with an etching of fire on its surface and then pointed to an exact replica of the one she wore. “These are the ones meant for my concubines.”
Bastien released a shuddering breath as he accepted what it meant to have her in his life. It would not be an easy life, and he feared it would destroy him. But he would never know unless he tried.
She dangled the gem again, this time using two hands instead of one. “In my culture, it is customary for the woman to propose.” A nervous, shuddering breath left her lips, similar to his own. “Bastien, will younotbecome my concubine? Will you become mine as my one and only husband?”
“Huh?” Eben and Jude said at the same time, sharing a confused look. “That’s not how it works.”
“It is now,” she laughed, and he caught her sharing a twinkling, knowing look with his father. “I’m changing the tradition. I brought back the Glades. I negotiated peace with the Forest Fae, or at least Bastien did on my behalf. I think I should be rewarded for doing so much good for my people. I am taking only one husband. If he will have me.”
Bastien snapped his gaping jaw closed and glanced between her and her confused brothers. “I don’t want to cause any trouble for you.”
“Believe me.” She cradled his cheek with a soft hand. “When the creek fills once more with the healing water of the Glades, my people will rejoice. All three clans. They will understand, from a political viewpoint, why I would choose to marry you, the prior chief from Attleglade. No one will argue with my decision.”
When his father raised a questioning eyebrow at the mention of “prior chief,” Bastien only shrugged and silently promised to tell the story later.
“Except, perhaps, Father,” one of the brothers protested. “He’s been breaking up suitor fights for the past several months.”
Seraphina chuckled weakly and shook her head. “One of my fathers told me love is sacrifice. And sacrifice is difficult. I want to spend my life with you, and I will weather any storm to make it happen. I can’t weather it alone.”
Once again, she held up the Ember gem, waiting for his answer with her lip wedged between her teeth.
