Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
ASHLYN
The door to my slender chamber refused to latch. I yanked it forcefully, desperate to close it behind me.
Privacy was rare in this small castle. It didn’t help that the only room they had available for me was off the main hall.
Lord Orion caught sight of me wrestling the door as he passed. “Do you need help?”
“You speak as if there’s any hope to be had for this door.” I sighed loudly, tugging on the curved metal handle again. Every bit of effort only drained me further. “I’m afraid there isn’t.”
“You just have to twist it and lift upwards and it’ll latch.” With a swift motion, he shut it making my earlier efforts look even more pathetic. “We’ve had problems with it for years, but most of us have gotten used to shutting it.”
“I suppose you would have.” My cheeks heated as I looked up at him.
He laughed.
I wished I could laugh about it too. The nature of the room had only shifted. Instead of storing dusty stacks of paper, it now stored me.
“Thank you, truly.” I smiled as he swiftly proceeded back down the hall.
I navigated the crowded halls, moving between the fae that served the king’s court. There seemed to be even more of them with the new construction.
Warm air hit me as a guard pushed the door back. “Good day.”
I looked forward to his sentiment whenever he was stationed there. Most of them simply ignored me. “Good day.” It was doubtful that he even knew my name.
Golden light clung to the tips of massive trees, forming a ring of life around the castle. Their beauty stood out against the destruction left from the war.
Each one carried the weight of small cabin homes set into them. The inner circle was kept for those in the highest standing of Lioran’s court. I didn’t have to travel far down the path to reach the tree that held up Cora’s house.
I watched all who passed as I climbed the stairs stacked into the trunk of the tree. Halfway up the steps, I saw Cora’s fire-red hair. It tumbled over her olive cloak.
“What are you doing?” I hovered over her as her fingers ran over the stone.
“Thistlewood makes for an excellent tea. And it likes to grow in the most unlikely places.” She pinched the slender green stem with her nails until it severed. “Today must be my lucky day, because it’s growing right here. Would you care for a cup of tea?”
“Do you have mint instead?” A drink made from a weed people have probably stepped on didn’t sound enticing.
“Of course.” She lifted the basket off the steps, brushing her loose locks over her shoulder before she pushed the door open to her little home.
Two mugs already sat on the table.
“I just agreed to something big,” I said.
“How big?” She set down the few purple blooms she had picked.
“An introduction to the second eldest prince of Estlen to potentially arrange a political marriage… big.”
Her eyes widened as she started a fire in the hearth. She settled the kettle on top.
“And you’re choosing this?” Her fingers swept the inside of a purple ceramic jar on the counter until tiny bits of dried mint leaves peeked over the rim. Carefully, she ground them over the mug.
“He’s human. I’m human.” I certainly wasn’t convincing anyone, not even myself.
Steam rose from the kettle as she poured the water into my mug. She flinched as a tiny drop landed on her hand.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, just distracted by your rather surprising news,” she said. “And you’re interested in living in Estlen?”
“I could be.” It had been months since I had experienced humanity. When trade began, so did the stories of Estlen.
“I hear the women have the most vibrant hair there—violet, indigo, red—even redder than yours, like a rose.”
“What kind of magic is that?” She asked.
I laughed. “It’s pigment. They use it to dye the fabrics—their hair—they adorn themselves however they wish. It sounds… romantic.”
“That sounds unnatural.” A soft smile hung on her lips. It was tender and pure. She combed her fingers through my hair. “Would you dye your hair?”
“I think I would.” I peered at the even blue sky out her window. “Maybe blue.”
She shook her head. “I can’t picture that.”
I couldn’t stop picturing it.
She tilted her head as a fist pounded on the door. Aelira’s guards always knocked so loudly that the door quaked.
I was surprised that my sister hadn’t shown up sooner.
Cora studied me as she walked toward it. “My queen.” She bowed her head as she greeted Aelira.
“It’s good to see you, Cora.” Aelira’s formality slipped the moment she crossed the threshold. She cared little for it when she was around those she trusted most. It was so different than the world we came from.
“We’ve only just begun trading with Estlen. I know very little about Soren.” When my sister’s breathing quickened, she forced it to calm.
Cora quietly slipped open a cabinet, pulling out another mug for Aelira. She broke lavender buds over the mug, preparing my sister’s favorite tea.
“I can’t protect you there. Not like I do here,” Aelira said.
“You’ve spent enough of your life protecting me. I can handle this.” It seemed like she’d never see me as anyone other than the motherless little girl she helped raise.
“I know you’re still adjusting, but you’ve built something real in Nythrel. You’re here with Cora often. You go to the market… you spar with Fyn. I hear your sword skills are improving.” Aelira’s fingers curled around the handle of the mug the moment Cora handed it to her.
It took all my forced composure to keep a straight face. Fyn had either over sold my skills or was resorting to polite conversation.
Her tears fell. “Our home is your home as long as you wish it.”
It never really would be.
There was a time when I hoped it could be my home—when I saw how happy Aelira was in Nythrel amongst her father’s people.
She was destined for a life in the fae realm long before she ran away to it.
I was pulled into it.
I still remembered the night the war began as if it just happened—the scent of the castle burning. The sound of metal scraping and voices yelling.
My brother moved me just beyond our borders to protect me—or so he said. My sister removed me from the danger.
“And I am grateful for all of it, truly, but I miss the life I once lived.” I softened my words as she shifted in the chair. “The invitation came at just the right time.”
“And what of the royal expectations? I know you haven’t forgotten what will be required of you if you marry Prince Soren.”
It was impossible to forget.
Royal marriages were secured for two reasons—political strengthening and heirs.
I knew politics—I could handle them, but motherhood didn’t appeal to me. My sister gave more of herself than she could afford to. She vanished under the weight of it until she just slowly started to reemerge.
There was a tiny shred of hope that I would find my match and maybe someday my mind would change. “It is possible Soren and I will see each other and fall madly in love and I will wish for nothing more.” I wasn’t truly expecting that, but more impossible things have happened in this life.
“Fyn has rubbed off on you more than I would like.” She was right. He had. “Please only make the decision there if you’re absolutely certain it’s one you can live with.”
“I assure you I have no intention of committing myself to a life I can’t endure.”
“This is doing nothing for my nerves.” Aelira looked to Cora, but Cora only stared out the window. “If you are set on going, Ashlyn, Fyn will take you.” Aelira said it as if it were the thing that would make me not want to go.
“Surely he has better things to do.” I hadn’t thought he would go with me. “Logistical trade overseeing or whatever it is he does.”
“It’s not up for debate. I won’t trust anyone else,” Aelira said.
“At least the trip won’t be boring.” Cora finally broke her silence.
I would let her have this one thing, only because I could tell how much it meant to her. “When do we leave?”
“Lioran and Fyn have arrangements to make before your journey is set.” Aelira’s guards received her at the door.
“It seems ironic to give me a choice and then not want me to make it.” My nervous laughter simmered.
“You can want someone to have a choice and also not want what they choose,” Cora said. “I know you will find the path that is best for you.”
I wasn’t afraid to go, but I was afraid of what it would require.
If I could go and keep control, then I wouldn’t be forced to be a mother before I was ready. “Cora? Fae females can prevent…” I truly didn’t want to have this conversation, but it seemed illogical not to. “They can delay pregnancy until they feel ready, correct?”
She studied me for a moment until her eyes flickered with recognition. “There is a potion that can be taken.”
“Is it easily accessible to anyone?” It wouldn’t be a permanent solution, but it would give me a chance to make a choice, even if it was temporary.
“Rowena keeps a supply of it on hand. You would have to take a lot with you. And then what? Does the human realm have the same?”
The idea of humanity accepting or inventing anything of the sort was laughable. “Not exactly. Women take things for the opposite effect. Could you acquire some for me?”
She folded her hands back in her lap. “No one should be forced to not have a choice. I’ll speak with Rowena tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was something.
Maybe it wouldn’t even be needed.