Page 34 of A Court of Ash and Midnight
But it’s not wings that save me. It’s something solid, something that I realize are arms, strong arms, holding me like a marble statue.
I find my footing and slowly turn around. “Why are you so pretty? Like a pretty statue…”
“You shouldnotbe drinking this,” Daemon says, plucking the wine from my hand. He tosses back the rest of it and then throws the goblet off into the grass.
“Hey! That was for my friends!”
His brow furrows. “You have friends here?”
“Don’t sound so surprised.”
His eyebrows crinkle even further.
“So, I mean, they’re humans, but they still count… We exist, you know.Humans.”
“I’m taking you back to the castle before someone sees you like this,” he says, his voice low and velvety. “If Toryn found you right now…”
“I would use my wings to fly away.” A giggle escapes my lips. “Did you know that I have wings? Of course you don’t.”
“Alright. Enough of that…” Daemon slides his arm through mine and turns me around so we’re facing the castle, then begins to walk.
“I’m not going anywhere with you until you admit I have wings.” I look up at him, and his eyes seem to glow like green mini-moons. The world spins again and I stumble into him, my arms wrapping around his waist to steady myself. “Oops. I can’t seem to… to get them to work properly.”
Daemon sighs. “No doubt. Wings are tricky like that sometimes.”
“Right? I knew you would understand.”
The lights of the ball fall behind us, and ahead the castle is glorious in its own right, hundreds of windows letting out patches of golden light into the black sky. My feet feel light, buoyant, but like I can’t place them down on the ground in any kind of normal fashion.
“Feet are strange…”
There’s a rumble against my cheek, which is pressed half against Daemon’s chest. A rumble that seems suspiciously like laughter. “Yes, feet are tricky, too.”
“He laughs,” I say with a mock gasp. “The great Shadow Walker laughs.”
“You’re clearly delirious. You have a habit of that, don’t you know?”
“I know stuff.” A harumph that turns into a snort escapes my nose. “I know you rescued me. Brought me here. You can call me crazy, but Iknow.”
“You weren’t supposed to remember that,” he says softly, so softly that I wonder for a moment if I imagined it. “But you, Embyr, seem to be full of surprises.”
Abruptly, the castle looms over us, and I realize somehow we’ve made it all the way back. “No! I have to find my friends. They were going to show me their secret place.”
Daemon pauses, and I have to grab onto him again to keep from falling over. “Secret place?”
“The human party. While you uppity fae have your Queen’s ball.”
“I’m uppity now, am I?” There’s a purr of amusement in his voice, as if he finds this whole situation hilarious.
“Well… not you, I suppose.” I stare up into his eyes, which look slightly more normal now. “You are just… confusing.”
“Confusing. That’s better than uppity. Remember, little blacksmith, I’m no more welcome here than you are.”
“I won’t tell anyone you’re planning a rebellion,” I say solemnly.
Daemon stares at me for several long moments, then he says, “Why don’t we try to find your friends. And you can tell me about this rebellion you think I’m planning.”
We begin to walk along the edge of the castle toward the river. The lights of the ball glitter in the distance. Everything lookslike stars tonight, like the sky has come down to the earth for one evening. As if listening to my thoughts, a wind sweeps down from the mountains, carrying the scent of rain. It’s chilly and whips my cloak around my ankles as I move. No wonder I can’t fly, with this heavy thing weighing me down. I stop walking and pry at the clasp with my fingers.
