Page 3 of Steeling Light (Shadowed Debts #3)
I’ve only been gone for a few days, and I already miss you. Draenyth doesn’t feel the same without you. Please stay safe.
P.S. The world is far too quiet when you’re not around.
~Ainslee Emlyn, Letters to Darian
Ainslee
The market outside the House of Flames is safe.
It’s home. That’s exactly what I need after being collared.
I should head to Selithar, to the Keep of Webs, but my time in the Keep of Shadows shook me.
Those few moments I’d felt completely powerless as my Light had been absorbed by the steel…
they’d been terrible. I’d been helpless, but it was more than that.
It was like Caelia had taken something away from me, like she’d ripped the magic that was so integral to my very being out of me.
I was not Ainslee Emlyn for that half a second before I’d remembered that collars don’t work on Steel powers.
The memory haunts me, and while I know leaving Draenyth would be safer, the thought doesn’t offer any comfort. This place is home. Selithar will never be that place. I may have been born there, but it won’t… It won’t make me smile just to breathe the air.
I’ll take a few moments to gather myself and buy some supplies for the journey. I’m not Maeve, and I have no plans to hunt for my food. Travel rations will get me by, but it’d be nice to have a hot meal before I leave.
I wander through the tables and tents within the Ember District market on the outside of the section of the city that the House of Flame controls, and nothing strikes my fancy. This is my last chance at a good meal for who knows how long. I would really like to enjoy it.
Something tells me I won’t find what I’m looking for here.
Instead of wasting my time, I pay for the travel rations and slip them into my rucksack before walking away from the market.
“Dragons damned Selithar,” I mutter. “Why couldn’t it have been Myrrhaen or Elaris?
At least those would have been interesting. ”
I didn’t grow up in Selithar, but I spent plenty of time there.
The City of Moonlight is famous for one thing: being pretty.
Not for its markets or powerful leaders.
Not for its armies or inventions. No, Selithar is a city whose greatest claim to fame is that it’s the most popular destination after a betrothal or full bonding.
My mind spins with images, all of which annoy me. The Hanging Gardens. The grotto behind the Keep of Light. The Moonlit Pools.
“Damned Selithar,” I mutter again as I stand at the corner of a street and see a place that brings a smile to my face.
The Firelight Café. It’s been a while since I enjoyed an afternoon coffee there.
While it’s not the most filling place to eat, it’s a flavor and experience that is distinctly Draenyth.
It’s a place where Darian and I shared so many memories.
Plus, food is overrated when compared to coffee.
There aren’t many people around, and most of them are Lesser Fae.
Everyone glances at my House of Steel uniform and immediately looks away.
It’s the exact reason I’m wearing it. Plus, it’s not like I’ll be able to hide my magical scent.
I could pretend to be a Lesser Fae and people would ignore me, but then someone would catch my Steel scent, and suddenly they’d know that I was in disguise.
It's better to hide my Light bloodlines by embracing the Steel because of how obvious it is and how many people are wary when they smell freshly forged metal. When I sit down, Mari hurries over to me. This far away from the Keep of Steel, I’m sure that my uniform is a rarity, but even she knows what it means and how much trouble it could cause her.
She’s a Wyrdling, after all, and the House of Steel isn’t known for its love of the weaker races.
“What can I do you for?” she asks as her hands ball in the linen dress she’s wearing.
“I’ve got a fresh batch of coffee dippers if you’re looking for something a bit on the sweet side, and there’s always fresh coffee waiting.
If you’re here for something else, it may be a bit since I’ll need to make it. ”
I give her a smile, and then I realize that she’s looking right past me to someone standing behind me. “That sounds wonderful,” a deep voice rumbles. “Two orders of coffee dippers and two chocolate coffees, please.”
I whirl around and try to push my chair back, but it doesn’t move an inch as it presses against thick thighs.
A mountain of a man with golden hair stands behind me, dressed in the latest fashion of Draenyth.
Brocaded in pure gold thread, the silver fabric looks impossibly bright.
It shines with a light that I know isn’t from the sun’s reflection.
It’s enchanted with Light magic. I snarl at him. “What are you doing here, Rhion?”
He just smiles. “Oh, is that any way to talk to your commander, soldier?” His eyes go to my uniform, and there’s no question of whether he knows who I am.
He’s just playing with me. “Now, let’s try to stay civil, old friend.
Then I won’t have to capture you and turn this meeting between friends into something very different and much less entertaining. ”
“What are you doing here?” I repeat, my voice lowering.
He sits down beside me, and it’s only then I realize Mari is gone.
“I’d heard that the coffee at this little shop was some of the best in the city, even if it was made by a Wyrdling.
I guess even humans drink coffee and make food, though, so it’s not such an affront to my delicate sensibilities.
Now I’ve answered your question, and it’s your turn to answer mine.
What are you doing in Draenyth? Last I heard, you were hiding far away from here.
Somewhere in one of the southern human kingdoms, isn’t it?
You wouldn’t happen to know where our mutual friend is, would you? He’s not here as well, is he?”
“No, he’s far away. I’m here all alone.”
Rhion raises a blonde eyebrow, and the corner of his lip creeps up to match it.
“Let’s at least pretend that we’ve known each other our entire lives.
You never go anywhere alone. Your brother is probably sitting at one of these tables wearing a disguise just like you.
Should I start stabbing people to get you to tell the truth? ”
“I’m telling the truth,” I hiss. “My brother isn’t anywhere near Draenyth, and neither is Cole. I’m here all alone.”
Rhion’s eyes don’t leave my gaze as silence lingers, and he slowly nods as if he’s decided something. “I guess I should expect a visit from one of your shadowy friends soon. It sounds like the smart thing for me to do would be to keep you close.”
“No one’s coming for me anytime soon.”
Rhion slides his chair closer to me, the wood squealing against the stone at our feet under his incredible weight, and it draws every eye in the Firelight Café.
Dread wraps around my heart as he leans down, not worried at all that every person here is watching him.
“Why should I believe you? Why should I trust you, Ainslee? You and your friends have done everything you can to stop my father and my House from accomplishing our goals. You snuck in like a thief in the night to steal the Painted Crown from us and put it on a damned Wyrdling’s head.
Why shouldn’t I throw you in a steel cell and use you as bait for your friends? ”
The way he says my name reminds me of when we were children. No one called me Ainslee except him. I was always Lee to everyone else, my mother included. I was Darian’s little sister. I was Cole’s friend. But to Rhion…
I meet his gaze as I say, “Because you know we’re not in the wrong. We’re just trying to fix the things your father and Casimir ruined.” He doesn’t respond, and his gaze doesn’t waver even a little. A second passes, and I say, “Rhion, we used to be friends. What changed?”
“Everything and nothing.” The words are an obvious weight, and his gaze finally leaves my face, moving to my hands.
He reaches out and runs his fingers over the back of my hand so softly before meeting my gaze again.
“Hands and eyes. They’re the parts of the body that you’ve never learned to shift well.
” Like an artist criticizing another’s sculpture, he lifts my hand ever so delicately and says, “A soldier’s nails would be flawed.
Her hands would have thick calluses from wielding a spear.
There would be marks where her armor had rubbed, where her gauntlets had scraped repeatedly.
But yours… yours are as smooth and soft as ever.
The same hands I’ve known for almost a thousand years. ”
I don’t try to move, don’t try to pull away from him as he smiles almost innocently at my hand before putting it back on the table.
Then he stands up. “Leave Draenyth, Ainslee, and don’t come back.
I may want to kill your brother and best friend, but I would prefer not to use you to do it.
Please don’t force my hand. Enjoy your coffee and then fly.
Stay any longer, and I won’t have a choice. Goodbye, old friend.”
Then he walks away, leaving me alone at the table wondering how I managed to survive it. And I know it’s only because Rhion let me go. Rhion Rahn, the enemy’s son and my second oldest friend.
That’s when Mari brings coffee and dipping sticks.