Page 9 of A Kiss of Embers
It was no coincidence that the Ember Queen had chosen now of all times to make an appearance in Attleglade. The Ember child they’d captured was someone important. Nathalie, another member of the patrol guard, had suggested she was the Ember Princess, but Cranky Cricket had shot her suggestion down quickly, as the princess had no scaled armor nor horns on her face.
But the good news? The council decided to delay her execution.
He glanced up the moment his thoughts returned to him, and he found Ashryn standing beneath a nearby tree, this one much smaller than the surrounding trees.
Exhaustion rested in her eyes and the sag of her shoulders. The previous bruise on her jaw was glaringly purple. But a fire lived within her expression, a determination to protect their people.
“How are you doing after your fall?” he asked as he settled in the space beside her.
“For the love!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “If someone asks me that one more time…” But when he simply tipped his head and gave her an exasperated stare, she cracked a smile and shook her head. “Fine enough. Just some bruising. Nothing broken.”
They shared a look of understanding. Being in the patrol guard was a dangerous occupation. Of course, Bastien didn’t want his best friend to get hurt. But he also knew cautioning her against such danger would only spark an argument. Ashryn was one of the three females in the patrol guard, and she was blasted proud of it.
For several minutes, they watched the other Forest Fae go about their day, not yet aware of the danger lurking in the woods. Several booths in the market drew his attention. The smithee sold weapons made of metal and bone. A carver, a man unfairly blinded by the Elders and also a good friend of his father’s, sold bone instruments and other trinkets. Behind another booth, a woman drew plenty of business with the mouthwatering aroma of her famous sticky buns, a mixture of cinnamon, butter, and some other spice he couldn’t quite recall.
And then his thoughts shifted from the threat of the Ember Queen to his current predicament with the council.
He absently pulled out his small sketchbook and began etching the memory of the Ember prisoner onto the parchment the night he’d run into her in the woods. He stared hard at the page as he shaded in her hair, his eyebrows drawn as he contemplated all the ways he and his father could be punished for sneaking Nyana into the Glades. And all for what? A measly hairpin! Months had passed without questions or incidents. So why now?
His stomach tightened as he lifted his gaze to glower at Cranky Cricket, where he smoked his pipe outside the village hall. He couldn’t possibly have found out earlier and only decided to play his cards now.
Right?
Beside him, Ashryn whistled.
He glanced from her grinning face to the new Forest Fae named Sylvain, who was visiting from Albrasia, the snowy region of their territory. The man was likely in his late twenties with straight white hair reaching the top of his shoulders with the top of his hair pulled back in plaits. A serious note rested in his hard eyes, and he carried himself confidently and showered himself in a wide range of weapons. In that regard, he and Sylvain were much of the same.
“Who’s the new fae?” she asked. “I haven’t seen him around.”
Raising his brows, he once more scanned the newcomer from his white hair to his silver-tipped boots. “You’re intothat?”
“Who wouldn’t be?” She eyed the fae while biting her fingernail, casting a coy glance at his turned back. “He’sgorgeous.”
Bastien rolled his eyes. “His name is Sylvain, one of the five Ancel brothers from the snowy regions. He transferred from their settlement to ours. He’s new on the patrol guard.”
“Oh really?” She blatantly ogled him again. “Sounds like we’ll be working closely then.”
“Not too closely, I hope.”
She snorted. “You jealous?”
“As much as anyone would be getting their casual tumbling partner taken away.”
They stood in comfortable silence, one born of years’ worth of trust and friendship. Ashryn was his best friend, yes, though he wondered not for the first time what would happen when a serious relationship would inevitably drive a wedge between them. Sure, they’d both had a few flings, but one of those flings was bound to become permanent.
At least for her.
Ashryn broke the silence first as if attuned to the direction of his thoughts. “Do you ever wonder who our someone better will be?”
“All the time.”
“Me too.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “But I’m more concerned about you.”
He shrugged one shoulder. Secretly courting as a half Sun Fae-half Forest Fae was one thing. Marriage was another. “I’ve already accepted that something serious isn’t for me.”
“Why give up?” However, she already knew why because they’d had this conversation several times already.
