Daughter of Winter

Chapter 21

The first few items on the itinerary went quite well. We met Ignis - he was exactly like Kendryek, but visibly angrier and considerably less shimmer-y. We settled into The Forest house. I comforted Kendryek after he came back from visiting with his father and spoke with Rosalind in the room.

She was originally the daughter of the illegitimate son of High Lord Nocturne (something that allegedly happened quite frequently) and enjoyed a cushy life in one of the safer areas of the Night Court, until there were some "internal struggles" and she left for the Autumn Court a hundred or so years ago, but only started working under Kendryek forty years ago. She did not state what she did during that in between period, but I was beginning to form a theory.

"Do you have a suitor?" I asked her when the conversation dried up. Her head snapped up and she stood from her seat.

"Sort of..." She moved to the window and opened up the blinds. "It's complicated and I'm not really supposed to talk about it at the moment." I furrowed my brow.

"What do you mean?" Immediately, I thought about Kendryek and the court. Rosalind was certainly one of the less important links, but essential nonetheless.

She paled and moved into the bathroom, where she opened the next window. "It is nothing to worry about. There is a man, we are wondering if we should be together. But, it is not that simple," she explained as she came back to sit down at the table. "Nothing serious will change with my position in the court, in case you are wondering. I will be here long into the foreseeable future, do not worry," she said. I guessed she was speaking about the fae she had met in the forest, but I had no way of knowing for sure.

"How long until Aurelius comes?" I asked, I could not see the clock from where I was sitting.

"Fifteen minutes," she said, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat and placed her hands underneath her legs to prevent herself from fidgeting. Her eyes darted around the room, looking at the shadows. She took a deep breath. "I want you to know, I have a lot of respect for half-faes." I cocked my head. "It is easy being a High Fae. Everyone looks up to me, respects me.

"Tomorrow, things may be challenging for you. Many will question you as Kendryek's choice of partner, show them that you are worthy." Her comments caught me off guard.

"Thank you. I will do my best."

I took a deep breath and prepared myself. I straighted my spine and brought my shoulders back. I rested my face evenly, somewhere between a smile and a scowl. Calm, polite, quiet, and unimportant. I could be those things.

Meeting Ignis had been a process, but meeting with Aurelius had more weight, more importance. You could feel it in the room. The lights felt dimmer, the room darker. Both Rosalind and Lysander had fallen into an eerie calmness, neither of them displaying any emotion.

Kendryek had puffed up his aura considerably. It was possible to feel the heat pouring off of his skin anywhere in the room and flames constantly danced through his hair. Each beat of his heart brought with it a wave of power. The room was stifling.

I could feel my heart beginning to beat faster and faster by the minute. He was late, by five minutes. I knew little to nothing about him, but the shift in attitude in the room told me everything I needed to know.

Then, it happened.

Sssp Sssp Sssp

The sound of three winnows. Aurelius and his plus twos had arrived.

It was hard to find the words to describe Aurelius. He was no taller than Kendryek, but far more imposing. His red hair and russet eyes contained darkness. He wore a light red gambeson with a baldric full of black knives - just like the ones around Lysander's waist.