Page 7 of Steeling Light (Shadowed Debts #3)

Sidon tells me that the Lesser Houses are just as important as the Great Houses, and that is why we have fought to protect them during the wars with humans. I do not understand their purpose, but who am I to question a dragon who gave everything for our survival?

~Daegon Rahn, personal journals

Ainslee

The market of Selithar is nothing compared to the many markets of Draenyth, but at least it’s loud and busy. The scents of animals and a plethora of foods fill the air as a cool wind blows in from the mountains, a taste of what the rest of the world is feeling.

I’m hungry this morning. Now I understand why that particular inn last night was so empty compared to the others. Their kitchens weren’t working, so they didn’t have any food. What kind of innkeeper has to eat supper at another inn?

Last night, hiding from other people felt like the most important thing, but now that dawn has come, it feels a little less important. An elderly woman wearing classic House of Light colors is my disguise today as I peruse the stalls in search of breakfast.

My eyes fall on a carved stone drakeling, and I smile at the memories of helping Darian to catch the one in Aerwyn.

We’d spent days tracking it after we realized it had been eating at our wards.

I couldn’t have found it without Darian.

I don’t know why, but he’s always had a sixth sense for hunting down magical creatures.

I go to the stall and run my finger over the drakeling and feel the cool stone that’s been polished to a mirror shine.

I’ve been away from Darian, Cole, and Maeve for almost a week now, and I miss them.

I can’t remember being away from them for so long, and I make a mental note to send Darian a letter.

It will take time to get it to him, but even if it takes weeks to get to Stormhaven, it’s better than nothing.

“Drakelings? I always thought you enjoyed birds the most.”

I whirl around to see a figure that doesn’t match the voice. He’s a handsome man wearing the dark colors of the House of Webs. He’s tall with blonde hair and a wickedly sharp smile.

And I know it’s a lie as soon as I see his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighborhood and wanted a bit of breakfast. The real question, though, is why you’re in Selithar, Ainslee? You hate this place more than any other. I think you’d prefer to be in a dungeon over Selithar.”

I smirk. “This is my home, Rhion. I may hate it, but every once in a while, everyone has to go home, right?”

He shakes his head slowly and crosses the few feet between us.

“This isn’t your home, Ainslee. This is where you were born.

That’s all, and we both know it.” Everything in me knows I should turn and run.

I should grow short, agile wings that will let me flit in between the buildings and through the secret places of Selithar Rhion doesn’t know about.

Yet, I don’t. I don’t run from the man I’ve known for nearly my entire life. He’s the son of my enemy, but that means very little.

“Ainslee,” he says, and he takes my hand as he has so many times in the past. “Let me buy you dinner tonight. We’re both stuck in Selithar for at least the rest of the day, so let’s celebrate not dying from misery tonight.

And if you don’t trust me any more than your brother and best friend do, then you can run like they would. ”

I frown at him. Rhion has always had a closer connection to me than anyone else, but he is dangerous.

At least, he could be. What would happen if he weren’t the enemy, though?

It could be like when we were children, like when there weren’t enemies and allies.

Maybe he would walk away from his father and come to our side?

Every time I’ve suggested the idea to Cole or Darian, they’ve looked at me like I’m insane. They’re not here, though.

If I can be safe and still hear him out, then maybe… maybe it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to have dinner with him. And I know just how to do that.

“I’ll have dinner with you, Rhion. Ask for me at the Maze and Marrow at sundown this evening.”

His eyes don’t leave mine for several seconds as we’re both quiet. “Thank you,” he finally says. “I look forward to it.”

Then he walks away, and I can’t help but watch him go. He’s always been able to tell that it was me, regardless of my body’s shape, but until this very moment, I didn’t understand how easy it was to see beyond the body and see the person inside.

For those few seconds while we spoke, it was like we’d gone back to our childhood again. I saw him, not as the Prince of Steel, but as Rhion Rahn, my friend.

Even as I watch Rhion walk away, I can see him, the tall, lanky youth who was more awkward than the rest of us because he was so much younger than we were. Why couldn’t things have stayed the same? Why couldn’t we still be friends like we were?

His father is the reason. Well, his and Cole’s fathers. We were caught in the crossfire, and there was nothing any of us could do when Gethin refused to allow Rhion to spend time with us after that stupid prank that Darian pulled on him.

Darian wanted nothing to do with him after that, either.

I don’t blame him, but it wasn’t Rhion who was calling for my brother to be collared.

It was Gethin. He took it personally that his son had been injured because of an Immortal from a Lesser House.

Rhion never wanted anything bad to happen to Darian, but as soon as Rhion was injured, it was out of his hands.

Darian may hate Rhion because of what happened, but I can’t. I remember it all. I remember the way it had all happened.

Rhion walks around a corner, and I try to focus on the present. Rhion Rahn is not the little boy who was one of my best friends. He’s the Prince of Steel and answers to his father, our greatest enemy.

I cannot let the past dictate my present, even if I’d love for things to go back to the way they were. Almost a thousand years have passed, and all of them have had the two of us on opposite sides.

Nothing has changed just because our friends and family aren’t around. He’s still the Prince of Steel, and I’m still loyal to the Prince of Flames and Queen of Earth.

But what if it did…