Flame and Starlight (The Esteria Series Book 1) by Dana Isaly

Author:Dana Isaly [Isaly, Dana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

I looked from Asher to Emric and back again. Both of their eyes were on me, waiting for me to tell my story. It was hard to remember, both because it all happened so fast and because the whiskey was clouding my mind with my own shadows. I poured myself a glass of water instead and took a sip.

“When I was riding Isolde, I started talking to Nyxa. She is the only Goddess or God that I know of here, and I thought it would be better to pray to her than a mortal one.” I swallowed at the memory coming back. “I was running once I got inside the gates because Isolde had thrown me. I decided that I would run across the lake instead of around it because I figured it had been cold enough for long enough that it would be frozen. And I didn’t have to go through the dead center of it.” I looked up, and my eyes caught Emric’s violet ones, staring through the strands of dark hair that fell across his face. He nodded to urge me on. I sighed.

“I felt the ice cracking,” I continued. “I could feel it shift and move underneath me, so I ran harder. I thought I could make it, but I didn’t. When it opened beneath me, I fell into the ice, and I swear I heard my ribs crack in half.” I winced, thinking about that sharp pain. “Anyway, I tried to swim, but it was just too cold. So I kept sinking and sinking. My lungs burned with the effort of holding my breath. Just when I was beginning to give up, I begged Nyxa to save me again. Then she was there. Her eyes—” I shivered at the thought. “They were white and glowed hot. Her skin looked so pale against her black hair. She told me it wasn’t my time to die and told me to change. She touched my forehead, and then I guess that’s when the change happened.”

“I think we’ve had this all wrong from the beginning, Ash,” Emric said as he reclined back into the arm of the couch.

“What do you mean?” Asher asked, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed his eyes seemed to linger on me.

“We may have had it wrong. I mean, we know she has Fae in her. We know that side has come through now. But I don’t see any sign of the Autumn Court.”

I looked down at my hands, thankful my fingertips were free of soot. I flexed them in and out of a fist, testing to see if there was a sense of fire there. Nothing but empty palms stared back at me.

“Her ears are pointed, she’s got our strength, and I can smell her from here.”

“Excuse me?” I cut in sharply.

“You smell different,” Asher said with a wave of his hand, dismissing me and going back to acting like I wasn’t there. Like it was the most normal thing in the world for them to be able to smell me.

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