Page 32 of Winds of Darkness
Something was clearly bothering him today, but Briar would have to deal with that later. He’d kept the princess waiting long enough.
They found her and Sawyer exactly where he’d seen her last on the shores of the sea. Sawyer was strolling beside her, her slippers in his hand as she moved barefoot in the sand. Her light blue gown swished around her ankles. She had to be warm in the heavier fabric the Wind Court favored. She was already turning, whether from hearing their approach or from the winds whispering his arrival to her.
“Princess Ashtine,” Briar said with a small bow of his head. “I sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting. I was held up at a prior engagement.”
Her head tilted a little to the side as if she heard something, and her silver hair flowed on winds that were more than just the sea breeze. Sky-blue eyes held his as she said, “The Fire Prince has much on his heart these days. Your tardiness is no bother to me.”
He gave her a soft smile before turning his attention to his brother. “I have it from here, Sawyer. Thank you for keeping her company.”
With pale blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and dark skin, he was almost identical to Briar, even though he was several decades younger. The Staying all immortals went through some time in their third decade of life kept them looking more like twins.
Sawyer’s brow arched. “You are taking this meeting alone?”
“Yes. I already discussed this with Nakoa and Neve. The three of you can return to the House of Water if the princess is amenable to remaining by the sea for this meeting,” Briar answered, turning to Ashtine in question.
“I am,” she lilted in her soft voice, her hands clasped loosely in front of her.
Sawyer held his gaze for a long moment, clearly feeling the same way about this as the rest of his Inner Court. When he didn’t move, Briar added, “I’ve kept the princess waiting long enough.”
Sawyer gave a slight nod before exchanging a look with Nakoa and Neve. Briar could already hear the conversation that was going to happen around the dinner table tonight. Again, something he’d deal with later.
He waited until they were well out of earshot before saying to Ashtine, “Can we move a little farther from the water?”
She didn’t hide her surprise at his request. “Do you not wish to be near your element?”
“Always,” he answered. “But my brother is a busybody and shares my ability to turn water into a looking glass. He is likely watching this exchange at this very moment.”
“If you wish to relocate, we can do so. We can move indoors if you wish.”
“Not indoors,” Briar said, motioning up the beach. “Just away from the water.”
She nodded and moved to his side, following as Briar led her over to a small patch of secluded beach. He suddenly realized there really wasn’t anywhere to sit unless they plopped down in the sand, and the princess didn’t seem like the type who would do something most would deem improper of the title.
“Ermir did not join you?” Briar asked when they came to a stop.
She lifted her chin the barest amount as she replied, “No one from your Court is accompanying you.”
“Yes, but …” He trailed off, not quite sure how to reply to that without also possibly offending her. “Does Ermir know you are here?”
Ashtine didn’t answer for the longest time, but the breeze picked up around them, letting Briar know he’d offended her anyway. “Ermir is handling some things at the Citadel for me. I did not wish to pull him away from those tasks,” she finally answered.
Ermir was her Second, but he was also the male who had raised Ashtine. More of a father to her, he’d stepped in when all the Fae Royals had been publicly killed after the Great War had ended. That was when all the territories had been separated. Wards had gone up, and the late King Deimas and Queen Esmeray had convinced the mortals of the realm that the Fae were trying to enslave them all. It was also the late Queen Esmeray who had come to the Courts and slaughtered the sitting Royals before their Courts, not knowing their heirs had been hidden in the crowd. But while Ashtine had not even lived a year of life yet, Briar had been decades old.
He’d stood in that crowd and watched his father, the previous Water Prince, and his mother have a shirastone dagger shoved into their hearts. Sawyer had stood beside him, so much younger, and watched the same horror play out. When they returned to the House of Water that night, Briar had a new crown, new responsibilities, and a new weight on his shoulders. Sorin, the Fire Prince, was the same. The Earth Prince was older than all of them and seemed to handle the transition the easiest, but Ashtine? Ermir hid her away, only letting Talwyn see her, the two females nearly the same age. Ashtine was kept from the public eye until she was ready to take her place as the Wind Princess. Briar still remembered attending her coronation and seeing her for the first time. She was nearly identical to Princess Ophelia, her mother and theprevious ruler of the Wind Court, and she’d inherited her mother’s Wind Walker gifts to move among the winds and hear their whispered secrets.
But even now, a few decades later, Briar could not recall a single instance where he’d interacted with the princess without one of her Inner Court members with her. If it wasn’t Ermir, it was Renly, her Third, or Sion, the general of her forces.
“How can I be of service today, Princess?” Briar asked, ready to get to the point of this meeting, especially if she was here without her Court’s knowledge. The last thing he needed was more tension between the Western and Eastern Courts.
“I am here to make a deal with you regarding weapons,” she replied.
The portrait of poise and grace, that was the last thing Briar had expected her to say. So much so, that he could only blink a few times, completely at a loss for words. Finally, he said, “Weapons are a speciality of the Fire and Earth Courts, not Water.”
“Yes, but imbuing them with magicisa speciality of your Court,” Ashtine countered. “And that is what I need.”
Briar swiped a hand down his face, stealing time for a response. He was even more grateful he’d had the forethought to move away from the water where Sawyer could spy on this conversation. Nakoa would have already shown up here.
“Can I inquire as to why you feel this need?” he asked after several seconds of silence.