Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

Author:Audrey Coulthurst [Coulthurst, Audrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2016-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-ONE

Dennaleia

THE NEXT AFTERNOON, THE RAIN GAVE WAY TO brilliant sunshine and a cool breeze that made the trees shiver and sway. Autumn would be here soon. I met Mare outside the barn, eager for our adventure.

“Ready?” she asked. She wore old riding clothes far too shabby for a princess, her russet hair twisted up in a knot she could easily stuff into a hat.

“Yes,” I said. Excitement rushed through me. Since the previous night I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the moment we’d had at the bottom of the ladder, wondering what it meant and what her intentions were. She had looked at me as though I was everything—and it scared me how much I longed for it to happen again. Thandi should have been the one on my mind, but I couldn’t banish thoughts of Mare.

“Are you sure we won’t get caught?” I asked.

“No. But we managed all right last night, didn’t we?” Mare gave me a sideways smile as we ducked into the barn, leaving the wind outside behind us. She ushered me into the granary and closed the door. The room smelled like rolled oats and dried corn, molasses, and the rich green aroma of pressed alfalfa cubes.

“What now?” I asked.

“I’ll hold the door. There’s a change of clothes for you in the empty grain bin farthest from the hay.”

“I can’t wear my riding outfit?”

“Your riding habit cost more coin than some of the townspeople see in a season, and there are thieves who would be more than happy to strip you for it. The city isn’t as safe as it used to be.” Mare folded her arms. “Hurry and change—we don’t want to get caught.”

I reached into the bin and pulled out some rumpled clothes made of rough fabric. I wrinkled my nose.

“I didn’t say this would be glamorous,” Mare said.

“I don’t care.” I squared my shoulders. Surely if I could crawl out of a second-story window in the pouring rain, it wouldn’t kill me to wear peasant clothes for a few sunlengths.

“Good.” She smiled at me again, a sweet reward.

Mare turned to face the door, listening to make sure no one approached. I pulled off my riding jacket and reached to unlace the corset beneath it. My fingers immediately snarled the strings into a knot. I cursed under my breath, though not as colorfully as Mare would have.

“Problem?” Mare asked.

“My laces are stuck. Can you help?” I hoped my voice sounded calm. The thought of her touching me filled me with anxiety. I hadn’t even been able to hug her the previous night without shivering with an unfamiliar emotion. She gestured for me to turn my back to her and began deftly loosening the tangle I’d created. Her fingers brushed me gently as she worked the knots free.

The corset finally gave way, freeing me to take a deep breath. I raised my arms and she pulled it over my head, rolling it up and stuffing it into the bin where my change of clothes had been.

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