**DAPHNE**
My head jerks up and I stumble forward to turn around, gasping as Klyesque stabs her blade downward into the dirt at our feet. A long black spear is aimed at my heart, the arm of which is held by a tall muscular faerie with the strangest eyes I have ever seen. Black irises surrounding a shiver of orange flame at the center like pupils of electric fire. His skin is deeply tanned, just a shade or two paler than chocolate and his ears are severely pointed as if they are spikes on each side of his head. If Isabel's stories hold any merit, he is what she once described a fury to look like.
A fury in the land of Cinder. Will my amazement never cease?
"A little late for a swim, is it not?" The man chirps, a smile stretching across his lips. "It's been too long, Klyesque."
"General Rojelio," Klyesque groans, taking a stance in front of me and pressing her torso against the head of his spear. "You know better. We did not intend to crest your borders. We were only trying to escape the river sprites. I might have tried for our ship, but we never would have made it."
"What does that matter?" Rojelio, chuckles darkly, his dark red hair and matching beard shining in the light of the moon. "The manner in which you trespass is of no consequence. You must have audience with the prince before you can leave. You know this." The large man states, his gaze fluttering behind us as another set of footsteps crests the shore at our backs.
"Not without me, they won't."
Ash! I nearly whoop with joy as I spin around to face him. Praise the heavens!
His eyes find mine and what I see there dampens my initial joy. He is angry. The set of his jaw like steel, his breathing slow and deliberate, the glare he is giving me checked only by his fatigue.
"Highness," Rojelio grinds out, his tone clipped and measured. "What a silly twist of fate to find you here. On our lands, when just a few weeks ago, you banned our armies from your own."
Lightning sparkles at the edge of Ash's fingertips, but the smug look of the red giant in front of me says he's not afraid in the least.
"Careful, beast," Ash scolds him. "We are still just a step beyond the river and I doubt it will take more than that to ignite you into a full flame."
The fire at the center of Rojelio's eyes banks to white, and he lowers his head in a slight bow. "My apologies, prince," he spits the word like venom from his lips. "If the three of you will follow me, please. My sire is camped just beyond these rocks." His gaze settles on me as my body begins to shiver, the chill in the air settling into my flesh still wet from the river. His eyes soften. "Milady," he coos. "You can dry by the fire and warm yourself with food and drink, courtesy of the Cinder Fae."
And something in the way he looks at me burns into my center. As if, strangely enough, he is humbled by my presence. The longer he stares at me, the more he loses the strictness of his features.
"Not yet she won't." A voice booms from the top of the rocks. The sound is deep with the air of authority and a velvet richness that drips of royal blood.
My eyes raise upward at the same time I feel Ash's hand close around my own, jerking me backward and against his sturdy form. "Azrael," Ash hisses, his voice more of a growl than a greeting.
"At your service," the newcomer croons his gaze falling over me like that of a starving cat's. The man is handsome, with bright orange eyes and hair the color of the mortal sun. He studies me with unguarded interest, biting the flesh of his lower lip hungrily as he does. The dark mocha of his skin glows with shimmering golden markings in a trail over flesh from the sinew of his neck and downward, disappearing behind a shell of black armor. "Tell me, old friend. Who is the beauty you brought for me, and when might I taste her?"
“You may taste her,” Ash chuckles darkly, losing his smile as his irises flash with rings of red fire. “But only after I’ve cooked out your teeth and removed your tongue!” The powerful shudder that sweeps through Ash’s body can be felt in his hold of my arm. Little tendrils of electric fire warm my elbow and I gasp in shock, my surprise falling away when he shoots me an uncommunicative glare. As quickly as that, I school my features, and lean into the firm comfort of his body against mine, the lend of his support warming my frigid skin as my teeth begin to chatter anew. Despite that he is still angry with me, I feel his relief in the dispensing of his breath along my neck. “She is mine ,” Ash declares, his gaze seizing my own with his claim of ownership. “I am the only one who will be doing any tasting.” His eyes drag away at the sound of the newcomers' laughter.
“Is that a fact?” The man, Azrael taunts, the golden glyphs on his exposed skin seeming to shine like polished metal over chocolate.
“Now that you’ve had your audience,” Ash spits. “Might we trouble you for assistance back to our ship.”
I do my best to disguise my astonishment, but I’m aware of the sudden flare of my eyes and the catch in my breath all the same.
*So this man is a prince. The prince of Cinder Fae? Azrael.*
Azrael studies me, his bright orange eyes dancing with what looks like tiny yellow embers that sparkle and swirl the way they might upon a crackling fire. As he scrutinizes my features he speaks to Ash, “I think not, old friend. For that, you’ll need to speak with Celeste.”
Ash stiffens. “We do not have that kind of time,” he fairly growls.
Azrael smirks, looking away from me to fix Ash with a boldly challenging stare. “Well then I suppose it’s a good thing that she is here too. Just beyond those rocks.”