Fire Kin by M.J. Scott

Tomar carefully, waiting to see if he would do anything foolish like try to challenge the Templar guards for access to the order’s grounds and pursue his cousin within the walls. But Tomar had never been as foolhardy as Ash and he stayed where he was.
    The three men behind him looked somewhat annoyed by the turn of events, but they didn’t dismount. And Uncle Mikel had merely watched the whole exchange with a kind of benign disinterest. But inevitably, his gaze returned to me.
    â€œYou will take my message, Uncle?”
    â€œI will.”
    â€œThen I too have business to be about.” I nodded at Tomar. “I wish safe journey to you all.” Then I turned and followed the path Ash had taken back into the Brother House. It was bordering on rude for him to leave as he had done, but I didn’t blame him for the retreat. It was sensible to put himself beyond the reach of the five Fae if they did decide to change his mind more forcibly, and in any case, he had probably grown out of the habit of court manners living the life of a mercenary, traveling to whatever provinces might need his services.
    I could see how that part of the life he’d chosen would have been inviting. Being free to set one’s own destiny was vastly appealing after the strictures of court life. It was the same reason I’d chosen to work at St. Giles rather than be a healer in the Veiled World. Escape.
    But at the same time, Ash had been loyal to the queen’s edicts and had never tried to return, never—as far as I knew—tried to contact any of his Family in all the years he had been away.
    The question now was whether it would be possible for him to connect with them again. If they wanted him to. If he wanted to.
    A thousand questions. Though it seemed so far that he was willing to let those questions go unanswered and fulfill the promises he had made to the Templars.
    Which I couldn’t be displeased about even though I didn’t want him around. I was hoping that he would have disappeared into the bowels of the Brother House and that I would be able to make my way back to St. Giles without having to speak to him again. But no, he waited for me just inside the door to the main entrance, staring up at the giant carved cross that hung on the wall, all his attention seemingly focused on it. But I wasn’t fooled and he, at least, didn’t try to keep up the pretense once I crossed the threshold.
    â€œHave they left?” he asked.
    I shook my head. “I don’t know. They haven’t tried to enter, so it doesn’t matter, does it?”
    â€œI’d rather they left. I have things to do and I’d rather not dodge my cousin and his friends around the City.”
    â€œWhy don’t you want to go back with them?” I asked.
    His gaze sharpened. “Why didn’t you want to go with your uncle?” he countered.
    â€œI don’t have time for court politics right now,” I said.
    â€œNor do I,” he said. “And I can’t be sure that there aren’t those in the court who wouldn’t wish my head to be separated from my shoulders. I’m fond of my head.” He smiled then, suddenly hitting me with some of that fatal charm. “You were fond of it once too.”
    â€œI’m sure you have plenty of people to admire your head,” I said tartly. “And I’ve outgrown many foolish things I liked when you knew me.”
    He feigned a pained expression. “She wounds,” he said dramatically.
    I shook my head. “I don’t have time for your games, Asharic. I’ve been up all night.”
    The playfulness in his face evaporated. “Patients from the fire?”
    â€œWhat do you know of the fire?”
    â€œI sensed it.”
    It was my turn to look askance at him. “From so far a distance? Here in the City?” Exactly how strong had he become?
    â€œI saw it,” he said before I could ask a further question.