Bride of Scars & Song (Daughters of the Fae Book 1) by Joss Fitch

Author:Joss Fitch [Fitch, Joss]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2022-10-05T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter seventeen

“Alana, you have to stop! It’s killing you!”

Feris shakes me and I can only blink at him as my fingers continue to play on the lute. I don’t know what he’s talking about. It’s just a song. Music would never destroy me.

Still, the fear in his eyes has broken through the trance. My fingers begin to slow on the strings and extreme exhaustion overtakes me. With the last echoing strum of a chord, my knees buckle. Feris catches me before I hit the ground, scooping me up in his strong arms.

The black flames go out like a candle and suddenly we’re bathed in daylight again. Through squinted eyes, I see the charred remains of over a dozen Varanth spiders. They lay on their backs, with their legs curled in toward their bodies. A sigh of relief leaves my lips.

It’s done. The attack is over.

Feris carries me back toward the castle. All around us are the Unseelie. Many are guards, but there are several guests from my coronation, watching with bloodied and bruised faces. I see Galid and Euan near the door and relief darts through me. They nod in greeting, and it takes all the energy I have left to return the gesture to them.

Something nudges at my dangling heel. It’s Kisa and Aeter following at Feris’s side. Sending a comforting feeling through the bond to Kisa, I smile weakly when I sense her catlike relief in response.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

Feris’s jaw is tense as he stares straight ahead. “To our chambers. You need to rest. And to change your clothes.”

For the first time, I glance down at the burnt remains of my clothes. Horror rushes through me. Far too much skin is exposed. I squirm to cover myself, but with very little luck.

“Relax,” he says, bending down to speak in my ear. “You’re my wife. I think you can get away with showing a little skin around me.”

“We’ve never even kissed, and you expect me to be comfortable traipsing around in nothing more than rags,” I say weakly.

His lips brush against my ear. “I’d happily watch you traipse around in nothing if you prefer it.”

A shiver goes through me, and I swear I feel his lips form a grin against the shell of my ear. It seems so odd to be flirting with him just moments after nearly dying, but I’m grateful for the distraction. Perhaps he knows my mind can’t handle what I just did. Not yet, anyway.

Maybe never.

Olive and Fig are already in the room when we arrive. Feris places me gently on one of the chairs and they rush in, tsking and fussing over the state of my appearance. I lock eyes with him as he steps away. Gone are the smirks and teasing glances. His face is stricken with emotion as he eyes my burnt clothing. Regret, I think. And something else I can’t name.

I chew the inside of my cheek, all too tempted to ask him to stay. Fear hasn’t yet released its hold on my throat.

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