Chapter 6
Ashtine
She took a deep breath as she stepped from the winds and stood before the White Halls.
The sprawling castle was Talwyn’s home. Or rather, it was the home of the Queen of the Eastern Courts.
It was situated at the northernmost point of the Tykese River on the border between the Fire Court and Wind Court.
Eliné, Talwyn’s aunt, had resided in the Black Halls.
It was the sister castle at the mouth of the Tykese on the southern part of the continent between the Water Court and Earth Court.
Talwyn had been Queen of the Eastern Courts for several decades, her aunt slowly easing her into the duties, but Eliné had still been highly involved in the affairs of the Eastern Courts.
She’d still been heavily guiding her niece, and this last year without Queen Eliné had taken its toll on more than the young queen.
Still, Ashtine had grown up with Talwyn, and when she had become queen, she had asked Ashtine to be her Third-in-Command.
With Eliné around, Ashtine had found her duties hadn’t changed much, and now with the upheaval of recent events, she wasn’t sure what was expected of her.
Technically, Talwyn didn’t rule over all the Courts.
The Fire Prince would be the acting sovereign until evidence of Eliné’s death was undeniable, she provided a means to step down, or all the sitting Royals came together and made a unanimous decision to let Talwyn take both thrones.
The Western Courts would never allow such a thing.
The lost one approaches, came the whispered murmur of the winds seconds before the heavy front doors of the White Halls opened.
Talwyn stepped through, her mahogany hair braided back.
Jade green eyes fixed on Ashtine, her features taut.
She wore a white tunic with fitted brown pants.
It was her usual attire. She didn’t have her fighting leathers on, but there were various daggers in place.
Her customary twin blades were also absent, and Ashtine tilted her head at that observation. She always had at least one on her.
“Why are you standing out here?” Talwyn asked, her tone brusque. She always spoke like that, though, even before her aunt’s abrupt disappearance. But there had once been an underlying softness, and that was still usually reserved for Ashtine. Not this morning, apparently.
That was fine.
Ashtine was on a peculiar edge herself. Briar hadn’t been to the Wind Court in weeks.
In fact, she hadn’t spoken to him since the morning he’d all but dismissed her on the beach.
He’d sent a few messages to see if she’d learned anything more, but after the second one, Ashtine had stopped bothering with replies.
If he’d suddenly become too busy to help her like he’d offered, that was fine.
She didn’t need to appease his guilty conscience, or whatever it was he was trying to do.
It confused her, and things that confused her made her irritable.
Like the nonstop chattering of the winds about war and bloodshed and the land across the sea.
And Briar’s words constantly replaying in her mind: If others are not taking your concerns seriously, it is because you are allowing such a thing.
Her winds swirled, tossing her flowing hair across her face, and the queen took notice.
Talwyn could command the winds as well. She could also control earth elements, along with Shifter magic she had yet to delve too deeply into.
But despite having wind magic, the winds did not accost her as they did Ashtine, and the queen could not walk among them.
Talwyn’s tone had softened a touch when she stepped to the side, making room for the Wind Princess to pass. “Come inside, Ashtine. Have breakfast with me.”
Ashtine wasn’t the least bit hungry, but she nodded once. “Thank you,” she replied, moving gracefully through the entry and into the halls. The warmth of the castle wrapped around her, but she didn’t feel it. Not as the winds immediately started a tirade.
The rivers will run red.
The lands will be divided.
Which side will you choose?
Which side will she choose?
Across the sea.
The balance tips.
“Ashtine.” Her name was sharp on Talwyn’s tongue, but her given name pulled her from the winds’ grasp. Talwyn was the only one who used it.
And the Water Prince as of late. Or at least he had been.
“I have never seen you look so …” Talwyn trailed off, her gaze sliding over Ashtine as the princess pulled her cloak from her shoulders and passed it off to the waiting staff. “Are you unwell?”
“Why do you ask such a thing?”
“I have not seen you in some time. You are pale and thin, and you seem … haunted.”
Ashtine fell into step beside the queen as they made their way to the dining room. “I do not have phantoms disturbing me.”
“No, not—” Talwyn cut herself off. “I simply mean you appear troubled.”
“We are all troubled in these times,” Ashtine replied, nodding to the male who pushed the dining room doors open.
But her steps faltered when she entered and found another male already seated at the table.
A snake in the grass.
For once, Ashtine wasn’t sure if those were the whispers of the winds or her own thoughts.
The male was as surprised as Ashtine as he quickly pushed to his feet, the sound of his chair scraping against the stone floor sounding in the room.
He rounded the table, bowing at the waist before straightening and saying, “Princess Evermorn. What a delightful surprise this morning.” Then he turned to Talwyn.
“Did you forget to inform me of a morning meeting, Moonflower?”
“I am not required to inform you of anything,” Talwyn retorted. “But no. I was on my way down to breakfast when I felt her cross my wards. It was an unplanned visit, but one I am happy to be surprised by.”
A small smile tilted on Ashtine’s mouth, and for the first time in weeks, she felt some of the tension ease from her being. There was a sense of familiarity with Talwyn. Something that came from growing up together.
“Sit. Let’s eat,” Talwyn said, gesturing to the spread of food as she moved to her place at the head of the table.
“After you, your Highness,” Tarek said, stepping aside to let her pass.
Tarek Ordos.
The Third-in-Command in the Earth Court under Prince Azrael and Talwyn’s twin flame. Although, the pair were still in their Trials.
The twin flame bond was a mysterious twist of fate if Ashtine was being honest. Those who believed they’d found their twin flame were Marked to see if the connection settled into place and to initiate the Trials.
There were five parts to it, and each piece had to be fulfilled in a test of sorts.
Each couple was different and so each Trial was specific to them.
The Marking itself was a powerful enchantment that called from soul to soul.
It created a literal offering of a piece of themselves to one another.
If they had truly found each other, the Mark branded itself permanently to their skin, and the bond became unbreakable.
However, if a bond was initiated and the couple were not twin flames, the Mark slowly faded over time, and the pieces of soul offered faded with it.
Many believed they had found their twin flame but were too afraid to test it against the Marking, so they were content to simply join in a union of marriage as mates and husband and wife.
Ashtine had not witnessed many true twin flame bonds in her two centuries of life, and even before she was born, accounts of them were few.
Cyrus and Thia were twin flames. Having completed their Trials, their twin flame bond was fully anointed.
Tarek and Talwyn were the other, assuming they completed their Trials someday.
They’d accepted the bond over a decade ago and still had not progressed through another Trial.
Cyrus and Thia had completed their bond in under two years.
A prince hides in plain sight.
Allies will turn.
Across the sea—
Her fingers curled into her palms, nails digging into her skin as Ashtine took her seat to Talwyn’s left, and her head canted to the side when Tarek took the seat on Talwyn’s right.
This was an informal breakfast, but tradition mandated that that seat was for the Queen’s Second.
Prince Azrael. Not Tarek. This only changed when a union had taken place, and even then, he would sit in the chair Ashtine currently occupied.
“Did you wed since I saw you last?” Ashtine asked.
Tarek paused his reach for a platter of sausages while Talwyn choked on the sip of juice she’d just taken.
“No. Why would you ask that?” Talwyn asked once she’d finished coughing.
“To receive an answer.”
“Right,” Talwyn muttered, setting her glass down. “Why do you think I have married?”
“The seat Tarek occupies is not his.”
Talwyn glanced at Tarek briefly before looking at Ashtine once more, clearly noting her odd mood. Tarek, however, had gone stone-faced, his jaw tense and pale green eyes fixed on Ashtine with an unimpressed stare.
“Azrael is not here,” Talwyn said. “Would you like him to sit at the other end of the table?”
“It does not matter to me where he sits,” Ashtine replied. “But I think it matters to him.”
The unimpressed stare morphed into a glare as Tarek gritted out, “What dishes can I pass to you, your Highness?”
“I am not hungry,” Ashtine said, toying with the silverware beside her plate.
“You look like you need to eat,” Talwyn said pointedly, spearing a piece of melon with her fork.
“Is Prince Azrael visiting today?”
“I see him often, as I see you, but we correspond daily.”
Ashtine’s brow furrowed. “That did not answer my question.”
“No, Prince Azrael is not visiting today,” Talwyn amended, trying to pass her a plate filled with pastries.
Ashtine shook her head, waving the dish away. Her hand fell to the tabletop where she tapped her finger, her nail clicking.
“What brings you to the White Halls today, your Highness?” Tarek asked.