Page 17 of Steeling Light (Shadowed Debts #3)

I’m still on the hunt for Vesta and the book, but I’ve hit a bit of a stumbling block. There’s no way I’ll be back in Stormhaven soon. Please give Cole and Maeve my regards.

P.S. I saw Mother and made a bit of a scene. She tried to get me to stay in the House of Light, and every moment I was there made me want to scream. I wish you were here, Darian. The days are so lonely.

~Ainslee Emlyn, Letters to Darian

Ainslee

“This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever been to.” My words are dismissive, but the laughter in my voice says something entirely different.

“Ridiculous? I think not. This is what it’s like to enjoy life, Ainslee.” He holds up a piece of something silver and says, “Now, taste this.”

“What is it?” The finger food looks tiny in Rhion’s massive fingers and shimmers in the dim candlelight. I can make out a layer with possibly berries, but who knows what it really is?

He chuckles. “Who cares? You’ll probably never have it again, so why care what it’s called? Now, eat it.”

I can’t help but laugh, and Rhion takes his opportunity to shove it into my mouth. He misses as I pull back, and whatever it was becomes a smashed mess on my cheek. “Hey!” I say in a mix between laughter and outrage.

Rhion nearly falls out of his chair as he cackles.

If I’d been at any other dining experience and someone had smashed food into my face, I’d be furious.

Now, I can’t help but laugh. The Selithar Seasonal Tasting isn’t supposed to be a chaotic mess, but between Rhion and me, I won’t be surprised if we end up getting kicked out.

I run my finger over the silver icing that covers my cheek and put it in my mouth.

A wash of blackberry blends with the soft earthy flavor of dasha root, smoothing the sharp and sweet and creating a smooth and creamy mousse texture with a soft cake to hold it together. “Ooh, that is good. Is there any more?”

I look at the table that’s covered in tiny bits. The last course was the savory, and this is the sweet. There are probably a hundred confections, and there’s no way I’ll eat more than ten or twenty of them. Rhion and I have been breaking them in half so we can both try them.

“Nope,” he says as he picks up a random one that’s covered in chocolate so dark I’d swear it was black that has red drizzles over it. “Now this one has possibilities,” he says as he breaks it open. “Raspberries with chocolate is always a win in my book.”

“Same,” I agree, and this time, when he offers my half to me, I open my mouth rather than take it on the cheek.

He grins at me and drops it into my mouth. Immediately, the rich candied raspberries overwhelm my taste buds, but then the wave of bitter dark chocolate washes over me, and they swirl together, tart and sweet and bitter all at once.

“Oh, that’s delicious,” I say. Rhion nods, a smile on his face that hints at the laughter that’s waiting for another spark to explode from him. I know the feeling.

Every other adventure we’ve gone on has been a walk of some sort as we explore the city, and it had taken a little convincing to get Rhion to come to this. “To think that you didn’t want to come here. Look at you having a great time.”

He chuckles and picks up an odd-looking lump that’s been covered in gold flakes.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to come. It’s that I didn’t want to share you, and I thought it was going to be like any other event, people everywhere.

” He looks around our little alcove, lit only by the candles on the table.

The House of Light controls all the light coming in and out of the alcoves, so each of them is pitch black until the candle is lit.

“You didn’t want to share me? It’s not like I have a flock of friends following me to every event. No one even knows me here except my mother.”

Rhion shoves the whole confection into his mouth, and I reach to get my own, a perfectly cut cube that’s coated in some kind of blood-red icing. “You can’t help but make friends, Ainslee. It’s who you are.”

I frown, my hand frozen above the candy. “I have almost no friends. Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s true. No, none of the people you meet become like Cole or Darian.

Or me, I guess. Still, people are drawn to you.

They hear you laugh, and it makes them smile.

They see you, and they want to be closer.

You called all those fireflies to you that night outside the walls, and it’s no different with people.

You’ll never see those fireflies again, but for a night, they were your friends.

I didn’t want you to find Immortal friends for a night.

What can I say? I’m selfish, and this is my month with you. ”

I blink. “I don’t remember making friends like that…”

“You wouldn’t. How many times since our childhood have you actually done anything without Cole or Darian?”

I pick up the dessert under my hand and put it in my mouth. A wave of a flavor I haven’t tasted in centuries floods my mouth. Human blood. Mixed with coffee and cinnamon, it shocks me for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” Rhion asks, his eyes suddenly darkening. Every muscle in his massive body tenses as he watches the shock on my face.

I swallow hard, trying not to be sick. “It’s nothing. That was just a blood candy, and I wasn’t expecting it.”

He visibly relaxes and nods. High Fae aren’t like many of the Lesser Fae.

We don’t need to consume blood like them, but many still do.

Long ago, just after we created Aerwyn, I decided I wouldn’t take part in it anymore.

I had to draw my line in the sand as to what I considered acceptable cruelty if I was going to create a sanctuary for Immortals.

Why should we ignore the plight of humans if we were going to act against cruelty towards Immortals?

“I was worried someone had poisoned it,” he says softly.

I look down at the rest of the sweets and decide that I don’t want to accidentally experience that again. “I think I’m done with tasting.”

He looks at the table still covered in food and shrugs. “That’s fine with me. Want to leave or just sit and talk? I’m sure that we could have some wine brought in…”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I feel a little sick and think I should get some air.”

He stands up and walks around to my side of the table. He offers a hand, and a grin spreads across his face. I take the proffered hand, and when I’m standing, he says, “Hold on just a moment.”

Then, without warning, he runs his finger over my bottom lip. What is he doing? My heart races at the touch, and I stare up into his eyes. He’s never touched me like this before. It’s sensual, something lovers would do, and there’s not an ounce of hesitation behind the movements.

The soft scent of freshly forged steel washes through the alcove, and behind it, there’s something different. Wildflowers in an untouched field. It’s a strange amalgamation of his House, of civilization, and of something wilder and so much happier.

“You didn’t get all that cake off your face,” he whispers. “I didn’t want you to embarrass yourself by walking around like that unknowingly.” He shows me his finger, and as he said, soft white cake and silver icing cover it.

“Oh.” I can’t keep the breathy tone out of my voice. My heart’s beating too fast. Silence lingers in the alcove for what seems like long minutes as we look at each other, and it’s like I’m seeing him as something different, something more than the friend we’d promised we’d be.

Give me a month to live between the tears beside you as your friend. Nothing more and nothing less. Nothing more. We used to be friends, but there was more to it than that, wasn’t there? I’d cried more tears over losing him than I’ve shed over anyone else.

He brings his thumb to his lips, turning it sideways, and the way his lips press against the skin to clean off the crumbs makes me wonder what it’d be like to have those lips on my skin. Soft yet strong, just like the rest of him.

“You said you needed to get some air,” he reminds me, and he’s right. I do, just not for the same reason as I did a few moments ago. Now I need to clear my head and convince my heart to stop pounding.

I nod to him and swallow, and when he offers me his hand, I take it. This time, though, I let myself think of the way his hand feels wrapped around mine. It’s protective and strong, yet he doesn’t show an ounce of it as he holds me.

“Let’s go find someplace to watch the stars.” No one else in my entire life would have suggested we do that. Ever.

It’s stupid and pointless, just like this tasting was.

“That sounds wonderful.” He leads the way out of the alcove to a banquet hall that’s filled to bursting with Immortals of all types.

He doesn’t let us linger. For the first time, he squeezes tighter, making sure that I don’t lose him as we navigate the crowds, and I’m thankful for the quiet and solitude of the alcove.

Then we’re outside, and the sparkling lights of the City of Moonlight remind me of exactly why people flock to it for romantic getaways.

Everything glows as the moonlight touches it, lighting it in a silver hue.

Even the cobblestones at our feet have flecks of some kind of metal that seem to hold the light and bring it to life.

Rhion sighs, and I take a deep breath. “It’s beautiful,” he murmurs. “Don’t you think?”

I can’t disagree with him. “It is.”

We stand on the street corner and marvel at the view silently.

People walk past, and as we do, I notice something I’ve never picked up on before.

They look at me. Each of the people that passes meets my gaze, not Rhion’s.

No one would mistake me for the more noticeable person, either.

He stands taller than literally anyone I’ve ever met, and I’m just a normal girl.

Unless my face is still covered in cake and Rhion’s not telling me, there’s no reason they should look at me instead of him.