Page 52 of Winds of Darkness
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 overtime, 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 tohim.”
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.
