Page 38 of A Legacy of Storms and Starlight

He laughed under his breath. “That doesn’t surprise me.” Raif led the way back to the reception area, his sister and Saphi appearing from behind the beaded curtain as they approached the counter. Zylah braced herself for their reaction to Raif’s wound. She didn’t know what she expected, but she was certain they’d have something to say about it.

Rose pressed a hand to her mouth to hide her laughter. “You did this?” she asked the moment her gaze landed on Raif’s wound. Her sapphire eyes sparkled with delight, and it was those eyes that truly gave her away as Raif’s sister. Zylah bit back her smile as she nodded once.

“Did I mention Liss only recently discovered she’s half Fae?” Raif said with another of his infuriating, dimple-ridden grins. Blood had begun to clot and crust around his fingers, but he still hadn’t released his pressure on the wound. Zylah pressed her lips together, fighting with the instinct to apologise again.

The girls shared a knowing look, smiles brightening both their faces.

“Very impressive, Liss. You’ll fit right in here. We deal in armour and weapons, and pride ourselves on finding items that match their wearer’s unique skill set,” Saphi added, as Rose led Raif into another room.

Zylah watched them go for a moment, before turning her attention back to Saphi. “Skill set?”

A vanilla perfume drifted from the Fae as she rested her delicate chin on her hands above the counter. “Your Fae abilities,” she said, arching a brow.

“Well, I… that’s partly what the training is for. I only know about the evanescing,” Zylah admitted. She looked away, focusing on the strings of glass beads that hung from the curtain Saphi and Rose had appeared through. There was no use in lying about what she knew, but there was still every chance it could weaken her position amongst them.

Saphi touched a hand lightly to Zylah’s arm, her amber eyes widening. “Quietly. That’s not something you want to throw around, even in here, warded though it is.”

“Why?”

Wards.That was a question for another time, but one she’d been thinking of since Holt had mentioned them that morning.

“Because only a handful of High Fae can do that,” Saphi whispered.

A shiver danced across Zylah’s skin at the admission. “And are High Fae not well liked?”

“It’s complicated.” The bangles on her arms jingled as she straightened, but her expression was still warm. She had an easiness about her, a warmth that reminded Zylah of Kara.

“So I’m learning,” Zylah said quietly, giving Kopi a little stroke.

Saphi produced a new worm for him, and he snatched it up from her palm. “You really are new to this, aren’t you?”

“I found out by accident, really. And I’m here to start fresh, to make friends.”

“Oh, I’ve no doubt you’ll do that quickly enough,” Saphi said with a smile as the sound of Raif’s laughter drifted from another room.

Zylah rolled her eyes, thinking about how he’d tried to kiss her and how she’d almost let him. How she’d wanted to. “He seems like trouble.”

“He just likes women to think that. He’s got a good heart though.”

That was something, at least. But Zylah wasn’t looking for commitment. She couldn’t even consider it, burdening someone else with her fate.

Though Raif didn’t exactly strike her as the type looking for commitment either. Whatshewas looking for, after what happened with Jesper, was control. Life on her own terms, and no one else’s. “What can you tell me about the uprising?”

“Where did you say you came from?” Saphi asked, lifting a jug from beneath the counter and pouring a drink for them both. Her thin sweater dipped with her movement, and Zylah caught a glimpse of a scar at the centre of the Fae’s chest, disappearing into the cobalt folds of fabric. Raif had said Fae only scarred badly if the wound was kept open, and Zylah’s eyes narrowed at the sight of it.

She tucked her observation away for another time and sniffed at the air. Only water. She swallowed it down gratefully. “Brindall, just outside of Dalstead. Any discussion of Fae is punishable by death. Arnir’s orders.” Brindall wasn’t her village, it was the next one along. Even though she wanted to trust them, it didn’t seem sensible to tell them the whole truth. Not yet.

Saphi glanced down, toying with her cup. “Arnir’s orders are supposed to extend to Virian. But it’s a little difficult for him to follow through on that in the old capital.”

Zylah tried not to choke on her water. “Virian was the capital?”

“At one time, yes.” Thick lashes framed Saphi’s eyes, and Zylah could have sworn some flicker of sadness settled for a moment, and then it was gone.

So Virian was the old capital. That explained a lot. But it still left Zylah with so many questions. Too many.

She knew she’d have to be careful. “What I don’t understand is, you all seem so powerful. How could the Fae have been taken down by humans?”

Kopi hopped down onto the counter between them, and Saphi gently stroked his head. “It didn’t happen all at once. What happened just over two decades ago was the tipping of the cup. For generations of human kings and queens, the Fae and our ways were… eroded. They sought to chip away at us, little by little.”

---