A Sprinkle of Stardust

Chapter 21 - Scarletwing

A small cabin emerged between the trees, built from wood. It wasn't the ideal material for the administrative centre of a sanctuary for fire-breathing reptiles, but the enchanters probably had their ways of staying safe. It was the only way they could've survived in this business as long as they had.

The manager of the facility, a young enchanter with fair hair and a kind smile, talked earnestly on the porch with Nash.

Lyrani wondered what would happen if she went up to the king and punched his perfect face. He deserved nothing less after what had happened the previous day. He'd probably chuck Lyrani into the dungeons, but the satisfaction would be worth it.

A gust of wind blew past, and Lyrani pulled her cloak tighter around her.

She let out a breath. This was no time for impulsiveness. Striking out recklessly would only compromise the mission and everything else that was at stake.

Yes, Lyrani was frustrated. Yes, Nash was largely to blame for it. All the same, she needed a safer outlet, not one that might get her executed if the king was in a bad mood.

Nash turned and saw Lyrani before she could retreat into the forest shadows.

Great.

Nash smiled and shook the enchanter's hand, then headed for Lyrani. It was too late for her to evade him without raising unwelcome questions and suspicion.

The king's dark hair was loose around his shoulders. It fluttered as another breath of wind rushed through the clearing. There was a little smile on his lips—the same smile he had greeted Lyrani with the previous day.

Lyrani looked away before she forgot that she was supposed to be angry with him. Admiring him would do no good. Neither would thinking about how kind he had been to the dragons.

Lyrani turned her focus to the enchanter instead. The man wrung his hands, watching after Nash with fearful eyes.

It was true, then. Something about the elf king struck terror into the hearts of the other clans. But what?

Nash had drank Lyrani's awful tea so that she could keep her "job". There was enough evidence to suggest that men under his command had torched the fairy village. This couldn't be the actions of the same man, so which was the real him?

Lyrani let out an exasperated sigh. The plot kept thickening, and soon enough, it would suffocate her. She kept coming up with questions while the answers eluded her like shadows slipping out of her panicked hands.

"Lyrani," said Nash by way of greeting.

"King Nash." She gave him a curt nod, turning back into the forest.

He fell into step beside her. "Didn't I ask you to call me Nash?" His voice was playful.

It took Lyrani back to dancing with him in the forest the previous day, sharing her past with him and thinking they were becoming friends. What a fool she had been.

She wouldn't fall for this again.

"You also walked away from me in the middle of our last conversation, so I thought we were back to being strangers."

Lyrani was surprised by how easy it was to keep the warmth and familiarity out of her voice. This wasn't the hardest act she'd ever had to pull off as an undercover agent. Nash's slight felt so personal that hardly any acting was necessary.

He stopped before spinning Lyrani to face him. "What?"

She stared up at him, stone-faced. "You heard me."

He shook his head. "Lyrani, I would never have—"

"But you did!" She wrenched her arm away from him.