Page 16 of Lady of Starfire

“I will not apologize for that.”

“I am not asking you to,” he said. His hand slipped from her arm, and he brought it up to cup her cheek. She expected to feel the warmth of his blood on her face, but his palm had already healed.

“Then what are you asking?”

He searched her eyes for something he would never find there before he leaned in a little closer. His breath danced across her lips when he said, “I am asking you to please learn to read the Avonleyan language so I no longer have to hear you whine about it.”

Her hands came up, shoving him hard. “Take me back to the castle,” she demanded, stomping over to the book in the chair.

He held a hand out to her with exaggerated flair. “As you wish, Milady.”

She flipped him off before she placed her fingers in his waiting palm, his deep chuckle skittering along her bones and heating her skin as he tugged her through the air.

Chapter4

Talwyn

The sound of the door at the top of the stairs opening drew Talwyn Semiria from her thoughts. They kept her in her own area of the dungeons in Avonleya. No other prisoners were in here, and as far she knew, there was only the cell she was currently sitting in. There were no windows. She hadn’t seen the sky since Scarlett’s brother had escorted her to this cell. She was given three meals, though, so she was able to gather the time of day based on the food given to her. There was a small pallet of straw nearby that she tried to sleep on, but she found sleeping sitting up against the wall easier.

She’d eaten her midday meal a short time ago, which meant the person coming down the stairs was not a sentry with food. She was getting a visitor. She assumed it was Azrael. He was the only one that ever came to see her, although his visits were usually after the evening meal. Something must be happening if he was coming to see her now.

She’d been down here a few days now. She didn’t really care. She was stuck waiting no matter where she was being housed. Her fate was out of her hands. She was just waiting for Scarlett to come and finish the job she’d started. But why hadn’t she yet?

She hadn’t healed from any of the injuries the queen had inflicted upon her, but she had been permitted to clean up at one point. She suspected that was Azrael’s doing. They’d removed the nightstone shackles on her wrists while she’d scrubbed down with a rag and lukewarm water, but her ankle shackles had remained in place, which is why no healing had happened. The shirastone shackles they used in the Fae courts kept magic-wielders from accessing their gifts, but nightstone was different. It was as though the stone drained her magic itself and kept it empty. She couldn’t access her wind or earth magic, and she couldn’t shift into her wolf form. As for her ability to shift energy, she hadn’t touched that magic since that day in the throne room. That day she thought she’d killed Sorin.

She could feel her power slowly trickling out of her, though, and she knew that if they ever removed the shackles, her power would remain empty until she could refill her reserves with sleep and food over time. It reminded her of Alaric’s power when he would latch it on to her and drain her magic. She moved a bit, hissing at the burn when the shackles were jarred slightly. Her skin was raw where they touched, and the wounds that encircled her wrists and ankles only got deeper when she moved too much.

As she expected, the Earth Prince stepped into view a moment later. The sentry that had escorted him nodded before leaving him alone with her. This had been a fight for him the first few times, but after that, the sentry left without a word. The Avonleyan King must have given approval for Az to speak with her alone.

Azrael lowered to the stone floor like he did every time he came down here. One knee was bent, his arm resting atop it while he leaned back on his other hand. He wore brown pants and a sleeveless black tunic. Fae Marks swirled along his deeply tanned arms. Earthy brown eyes dragged over her, his features tightening when he saw her wrists before he met her gaze. “I will speak with Scarlett about the shackles.”

Talwyn nodded once in acknowledgement before she said, “You are early today.” Her voice was hoarse and raspy. That happened when you didn’t speak for hours on end.

“We are going to get Ashtine in a few hours,” he said. She lurched forward, cursing at the nightstone. Az scowled at her. “Sit back. You will injure yourself further.”

“You are bringing Ashtine back here? To Avonleya?” Talwyn asked, ignoring his command.

“That is the plan, yes.”

“Who is going to retrieve her? Briar?”

Azrael hesitated, a mannerism she had come to learn meant he was debating whether he could share this information with her. And that? That hurt more than the damn nightstone encircling her wrists and ankles. He had once been her Second. She had once been able to confide anything to him, and he had been able to do the same for her. He had been her closest confidant, closer than Ashtine, and the fact that she could not be that for him anymore made her chest ache.

“In a way, Briar will be there, yes,” he finally answered.

She wanted to ask what that meant, but knew it would be pointless. If he could tell her more, he would have already.

“Is she safe right now?”

“No, but she will be soon.” He shifted closer to the cell bars. “We leave this evening, but I do not know how long I will be gone. If all goes well, we will be back tomorrow. If it does not…” She nodded in understanding of what he was telling her as she carefully settled back against the wall. “I will make sure someone comes down to check on you while I am gone.”

“They bring me three meals a day,” she said dryly.

“Outside of that.”

“I do not need anyone to waste their time on me,” she retorted.

“Is that what you think I do every day? Every time I come down here?” Az demanded.