Page 52 of Born of Starlight
He smiled and swatted away my words, seeming bashful of the praise. Then, when Emmerick had disappeared around the east side of the lake, I saw Fen waiting on the footbridge. It appeared as though he’d been watching.
Chapter15
Fenris
As Asterie danced with the boy Commander, it took all my restraint not to intervene. It would have brought me great pleasure to cut in and show her how someone with a century of experience dancing through every court of the Old World could lead her. Instead, she stumbled around with that big oaf.
The worst part?She wore a face that wasn’t hers.Fucking moonlight trickery.I’d forgotten about that mark of the Star and Moon Source magic. It confirmed one thing—shedidactually hold starlight in her veins. It didn’t explain why her fire called to me like a beacon upon a hilltop.
I was too far away to hear her voice, and the thought of her essence beinggonemade me lose my breath.Was it anger or fear?I couldn’t tell the difference when it came to her.
Then she laughed, and that lovely sound carried across the calm lake. It washed over me like the warmth of fire caught in the wind. She was there, and she washappy. Even after such a horrible day. Even after the pain my words had inflicted.
Why did it make me so angry that it wasn’t me who summoned that heart-wrecking sound from her?
I feigned lazy indifference and leaned against the railing as she approached the bridge. Moonlight reflected on the water below, and I tried to focus on that and not her nearing.
“I’m heading back to the inn. You should too.” Her words were clipped, and she wore a blank, mile-deep stare.
I pushed off the railing, falling into stride next to her.
Was it the boy that plagued her mind? Was I jealous?Hating that train of thought, I searched for words to poke her with.
I’d bring that fire out to play with me one way or another. I knew it was in there because itcalledto me. Loudly. My every impulse was to embrace her, guard her, hoard her to myself. It was a primal urge that could only be the Source magic within us mingling somehow.
“You shouldn’t indulge him like that.” The unwelcome advice left my mouth impetuously.
That faraway stare zeroed in on me as she stopped short. While apparently Emmerick earned dancing and laughter, I was earning ice and hostility.
I could work with that. It would just take one little spark.
“And why not?”
She was so close—it would only take leaning in to capture those full lips with mine. She smelled of sweat mixed with vanilla and herbs—warm, sensual, so at odds with her cold facade.
“Well, what if he should desireherto dance right into his bed next time?”
Her brow turned down and her chin lifted. “Noted.” She began to walk again and I trailed her.
Letting her walk away would be wise. Nothing good could come of lusting after this woman who stood for so many things that I hated. “Unless that’spreciselywhat you wanted. So the High Enchantress likes men in uniform?” It was a petty thing to say, but the game was to see if I could get a reaction.
“Maybe it is…” Unnatural calm spread across that pretty face.Unacceptable.
I’d seen a glimpse of what she was capable of—the blue flames in her palms, those swirling iridescent dark irises. “Ah. So you are jealous that it wasn’tyouthat he saw.”
Every muscle in her body was stiff, and her fists clenched as though aching to react, to erupt. Yet she kept calmly walking toward the inn. “Considering I am two centuries older than him, of course not. Emmerick is a valuable ally,” she said over her shoulder,
Brainwashedstill. Asterie couldn’t even admit that the boy Commander was her friend. He made her laugh and put her at ease. “That’s no issue—all the great immortals of legends have fallen in love with young men and maidens. The bigger the age difference, the better.”
She bristled visibly but said nothing.
I goaded on, “Do you think he’s a virgin? You’ll need to be gentle with him.”
She finally spun on me with the ferocity of a cornered animal. I’d put the final nail in my coffin.
Yes, a reaction. The shell of a person the Sisterhood had created was of no interest to me.
“Enough!” she barked.
