Page 13 of Born of Starlight
My heart jumped into my throat, and my thoughts raced.Maybe this was a bad idea.Allowing no part of my appearance to show worry, I stood on the lower balcony with my hands neatly folded on the railing. The giant figure dismounted onto the grass clearing below before tying the horses to a nearby tree.
He wore leathers and armor. The crest across his chest plate bore the Luz emblem—a crown of acorns. It was a symbol of prosperity and resilience.
A Knight? No,he was more than a Knight by his looks and how he carried himself. It puzzled me why the Queen would send a member of her guard—what was happening in Luz if a man of war was her most favored advisor?
His eyes skimmed up the tower before finding me. One hand casually settled on his sword hilt and the other shielded his eyes from the sun. He seemed to glow under its rays—standing tall and unmovable like he belonged there.
“Lady Asterie, High Enchantress of the Central Tower,” he shouted. “I am Sir Emmerick, Constable to the Court of Luz.”
Ah. A Commander.
His deep bow heated my cheeks. No one had ever bothered to bow to me before—it made me feel uneasy.
“It’s just Asterie. You may come up, Sir Emmerick.”
His eyes scanned the tower as if looking for a way up; when he found none visible, he yelled back up at me, “There are rumors in court that you throw down a rope made of your hair. Is that how I climb up?”
I had to stifle a laugh. When you’d lived as long as I had, it was humorous to hear of the legends surrounding your existence. In my case, there were many—this one was one of the more bizarre. Yet I had never once told a man there was a door.No, I let them climb the tower wall.
“No, there is a door around the back facing South.” Despite my amusement, my voice remained measured.
He wasted no time. Sir Emmerick’s large frame stepped across the lawn and around the tower, where he would find a heavy iron door. Judging by his sheer size, he’d have no trouble with it.
Whispering the Phynnic uncloaking enchantment to lower the ward, I entered the foyer to meet him at the stairway door.
“Watch your step around the middle—the stones are loose,” I called down the spiral staircase, hearing the groan of his armor as he climbed.
He rounded the last turn and reached the landing, not seeming an ounce out of breath. Up close, he looked exquisite—young, no more than thirty, clean-shaven with a strong jaw, and black hair kept short in neat coils. I’d never considered myself short, but he towered over me by at least an arm’s length. He barely fit through the doorway and needed to duck so as not to hit his head. Once inside, he looked in place against the high ceilings of the foyer.
“It is nice to make your acquaintance, my lady.” He gave another low bow.
“Just Asterie will do.”
The formality of the courts wasn’t going to come quickly to me.Nothingwould come easily to me beyond these tower walls—I could only guess how to act based on the texts and stories in my library.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea?”
“That is very kind. Tea would be great, thank you.”
He followed me into the kitchen. When he saw a kettle floating over to the hearth, he balked.
In the courts, this type of magic would be banned. Even immortality was growing less and less common in the realm with the conception bans. And any dark magic that could have once created immortality was long forgotten with those in the Wastelands.
“Am I the first immortal you have met?”
He seemed surprised by my abrupt question.Was that too forward a thing to ask someone?
“No, there are members of my army who lived during the Great Wars.”
“Ah, so older than me even.”
The kettle hissed, and the tower lifted it, pouring two cups that floated to us. Emmerick took his cup, looking around uneasily. He’d barely stepped into the room.
“Thank you?” he said unsurely.
“It’s charmed, this place—there is no one to thank. We are alone.”
That seemed to relax his enormous shoulders.
