Fire Kin Read Online Free

him—but it didn’t dim the smile’s impact.
    â€œBryony,” he breathed, my name clear on his lips, though I couldn’t hear his voice. Beside him, Guy swung around, eyebrows lifting.
    â€œYou two know each other, my lady?” Liam asked at my side.
    â€œWe did once,” I said. “A long time ago.”
    â€œBefore he was exiled?”
    So he knew that much. “Yes.” Thirty years ago. A lifetime for Liam. But just a fraction of mine.
    Ash said something to Guy. Guy shook his head.
    â€œDid you know him well?” Liam asked.
    â€œHe’s High Family. We knew each other,” I said, which was the most noncommittal answer I could come up with.
    â€œDo you know why he was exiled?” Liam sounded uncharacteristically curious. Usually he was painfully polite and restrained. Maybe some of Ash had rubbed off on him in the weeks they’d spent traveling together. Though obviously Ash had not seen fit to share his history with him.
    â€œThat is not my tale to tell,” I replied. I made myself look away from Asharic and focused on Liam, who made an apologetic face.
    â€œOf course, my lady. I shouldn’t pry.”
    â€œDon’t apologize,” I said. “Just don’t ask me about Asharic Pellar. If you want to know about him, ask the man himself. Though I would advise you not to take everything he says as gospel.” We Fae might not lie directly, but we can spin a tale if we choose to do so, and Ash was a master weaver.
    Across the room, I heard Asharic’s laugh and wondered if he’d heard me. The man always did have ears like an owl.
    I ignored him and made myself walk into the room as though there was nothing remotely of interest about his presence.
    â€œI see,” Liam said. He opened his mouth to say more, but at that moment, Father Cho lifted his hand and the assembled Templars fell into obedient silence. It took a few seconds for the others gathered in the room to follow suit.
    â€œPlease be seated,” Father Cho said. We took our seats around the huge wooden table. I took care to sit on the same side as Ash and as far away from him as possible. Liam took the chair opposite me.
    â€œSome of you may know that we have, these past weeks, been holding our ground, waiting for additional forces,” Father Cho said. “Tonight, I am happy to announce that that wait is over. I would like to introduce you to Captain Asharic Pellar, who some of you may know by reputation. Captain Pellar and his forces will be assisting us.”
    A ripple of low-voiced comments ran through the room, anticipation buzzing under the words. The Templars had been, as Father Cho had said, holding their ground. But against the Blood and the Beast Kind, there were not enough of them to win a victory if it came to outright conflict. Now that the problem of strength had been solved, it was time to decide what exactly happened next.
    But as Ash stood to speak and I made sure to keep my eyes on Father Cho—I wasn’t ready to study Ash too closely just yet—there was a commotion outside the door.
    A female voice, demanding entry. Mail clinked as the two Templars guarding the room protested. I knew who the woman was. . . . The feel of her—or rather the strange space in the earth song her presence made—was as unique as the feel of Asharic’s magic. I wondered how he would take her presence. He’d been traditional once . . . nearly a proper young Fae lord.
    There was another rumble of voices and then the cool female voice came again. “I can always just walk through, you know.”
    I hid a smile. Lily wasn’t my favorite person in the world—I was still Fae enough to be uncomfortable around a wraith—but I respected her determination.
    Hopefully the Templars were sensible enough not to try to bar her from the room or she might just carry out her threat, turn incorporeal as only a wraith can and walk