“I think so.”
“Good. Go now. I will be right behind you.” I thought about arguing. I really didn’t want to leave him alone with those two men that would kill him easily if given the chance. But it was apparent he could handle himself. Even against two men who were taller and stronger than him. So I nodded.
As soon as I did, the hold over me was released. I tried to explain to him, without words, that he better follow me. If this was the last time I saw him, I would be so pissed at him. The jerk got under my skin, and I realized that I cared about him. I didn’t want to say all of that, so I hoped he could see it in my eyes.
I turned, and without a word to any of the men, I walked out of that room forever.
Chapter Twenty Two
Lentinos: An assortment of seeds from several different plants. It makes for a good snack, filling and nutritious.
Walking through that door was one of the hardest things I had done. It felt wrong, leaving him behind. I knew that there was nothing else I could do, but it still felt wrong. Like a betrayal of trust.
I did it anyway.
I walked through the other door on the other side of the lobby. And I just kept going. I walked up the stairs, and through the red and blue room, and out that heavy, wooden door. I walked out in the alleyway that was paved in wood.
I entered the wooden, industrial Central Village of Ardennes.
All I could think about was how defenseless I was. How, as soon as we got back to Nona’s he would have to teach me more. No more of the standing still and pushing. I needed to know how to fight. If he hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. I would have been defenseless. Bait to the sharks. Helpless.
And I kept thinking about how much I actually cared about the frustrating, confusing fae. How awesome it was to watch him fight, even though it was probably the scariest thing ever. I would never want to actually fight him.
I was aggravated and restless standing there waiting for him. I couldn’t just keep lingering there, I had to do something, keep moving, so I decided I would just go back to Nona’s and wait for him there.
Like an idiot, I didn’t pay attention to how we got there. I only followed Alec, always following. So I tried to retrace my steps, but nothing looked familiar. Everything looked the same. There were no differential landmarks. There were only trees and wooden buildings, and wooden streets and leaves up above.
I couldn’t find anything, or go anywhere. I felt like I was going in circles, and everything looked the same. I started getting really worried. It was just as I had feared, I was without him, without my guide, and I was helpless. Again. Always.
Eventually, I stopped turning onto different streets, and just stayed on the same one. It was the widest of all the streets, so I figured it had to lead somewhere.
I saw many other Nymph going about their business, and thought more than once about stopping to ask them for directions. But what would I say? Hey, do you know how to get to Nona’s? No. I didn’t even remember her name. So I just kept walking, trying to mind my own business and become invisible to everyone around me.
Finally I noticed something up ahead. It was the biggest tree I had ever seen. Bigger than all the giant Redwoods and Oaks that surrounded this place. It had to be fifty feet wide at least, and it was taller than all of the other trees. It’s limbs and leaves spread out over all of the other buildings, or trees, or whatever like a massive umbrella.
I started walking faster, because at least this was something different. As I got closer, I realized the tree was very different. Not only was it bigger and taller, it was shaped weird. It didn’t go straight up. It curved around and around into a twisting of trunks. It was like six different huge trees that were super close to each other, all intertwining above, growing together, forming one tree.
I kept going toward it, more out of fascination than anything else. It was beautiful. Stunning.
“Lily?” I turned at the sound of my name, surprised to hear it at all.
Kerr came jogging up to me. He wore brown shorts and an off white shirt and his hair was pulled back again, behind his neck like it had been yesterday. He looked concerned to see me. I wondered if Sylph weren’t allowed here. Or maybe baby Fae weren’t allowed. Who freakin knew?
“Hey, Kerr,” I said, trying to play it cool. “I got a little lost. You think you could take me back to your place?” I thought about batting my eyelashes and trying to flirt with him. But then I thought better of it. Considering his sister was beheaded for loving a Sylph, I didn’t even want to joke about flirting with him.
“Yeah. Of course I will. Where is Alec?”
“Umm. Well, he got a little busy. I’m really hoping he is back at your house waiting for me.”
He didn’t say anything as he motioned for me to walk with him. He was walking faster than he had been the other day. And considering how much longer his legs were than mine, I had to jog to keep up with him. He didn’t seem to care though. He was apparently in a pretty big hurry.
“Is Alec safe?” he asked me, as soon as we stepped inside his home.
“I hope he is here,” I told him again, and then turned to walk away and look for him.
“No. He is not here. I would be able to sense him.” Whatever. I ignored the statement and still tried to walk away to look for myself, but he pulled my arm and stopped me.
“Tell me now. Where is he?” He didn’t look angry, not exactly. It was more scared. Or worried. Concerned.
“I don’t know. The last time I saw him he was with some guy called Samael,” I answered, deciding to go with honesty. If Alec trusted these people, than I figured I should too. “They fought, and then Alec won. And he told me to leave and he would be right behind me. But then he wasn’t. So I just kept walking, and then I got lost. And then you found me.” Once I started, I couldn’t stop. “I’m actually really worried about him. Those guys teamed up against him. And even though he won, that doesn’t mean he actually got out. Oh man, I shouldn’t have left him. You should go help him.”
“Wait. Why did he go to see the Dux?”
“I don’t even know what that means!” I shouted, frustrated at my lack of knowledge. My lack of everything. “But we went there to ask him about some…people. The people we are looking for.”
“Shit,” he cursed, and then he turned away from me and started pacing.
Just then the door opened and Alec stepped through. He looked angry, but his wings were hidden again which meant there probably wasn’t any danger around. When he saw me, his eyes popped out of his skull and his mouth dropped.
“You’re here?” He almost whispered the words, the shock in his tone completely matching his face. He started walking toward me, but Kerr stepped in front of him and hugged him. Alec hugged him back, after his initial shock, as if he hadn’t even seen Kerr standing there, right in front of him.
“What the hell were you thinking? You fought the freaking Dux?” Kerr had pulled back and was looking at Alec, demanding answers.
“It had to be done. But it ended well.”
“Did they follow you here?”
“No. I didn’t come here first. I was looking for that one,” then he pointed at me before continuing. “So even if someone had followed me, which I didn’t sense, I would have lost them long ago.”
“Good,” he said. Then sighed and said again, “good.”
Alec patted him on the shoulder, and then walked passed him to me. He looked me from top to bottom and then back up again. Had it been any other man, I would have been offended, but I knew Alec wasn’t checking me out that way.
Thinking about that, I realized I wouldn’t have even minded if he had been checking me out that way.
“You look fine,” he said to me. “No scratches. I was worried you wouldn’t find your way back.”
“Kerr found me and brought me back,” I said, and then to Kerr, “Thank you.” He nodded back at me. The whole nodding thing was big with these Fae.
Ale
c also turned and said, “Thank you,” to Kerr before turning back to face me. “Well, I’m glad to know you’re okay.”
“Wait,” I told him, as he started to turn away from me. “You’re hurt.” I tried to wipe the blood from his lip, but since it had dried, it really didn’t wipe off well at all.
He looked down at me, his eyes the deepest green I had ever seen them. He placed his hand on my arm and pushed it from his face. He wasn’t rough and he moved slowly as he pushed my hand away, but it still made me feel like an idiot for doing that, and so totally awkward. I didn’t fight him on it. Instead, I just dropped my hand to my side.
“I’ll be right back,” he told me, then turned and walked down the hall. I heard a door shut. I took a deep breath and glanced over at Kerr. He had been watching Alec walk away, but just as I looked at him, he looked back at me.
Then he turned and walked out, and I was left standing there alone.
I went to the back to find Alec. Maybe he didn’t need my help, but maybe he did. I mean, I knew he didn’t need my help, not really, but I still wanted to be there. And maybe I needed him. Again.
But when I walked back there, I realized he had to be in the bathroom, and I wasn’t so desperate I had to follow him there. Instead I went to the bed and fell into it, thinking I could rest as I waited for him.
“Lily?” I opened my eyes to find him peering down at me again. “I thought about not waking you, but I figured you would want to talk. Plus, I don’t even know when you ate last.” At the idea of food, my stomach grumbled, which made him smile.
“I fell asleep?” I asked, though it was a stupid question. It just hadn’t felt like it. I felt like I only blinked and then he was there.
“Yeah. Come with me. I’ll get you something to eat.”
After rummaging around in the kitchen, he grabbed a big bowl that he filled to the brim with something and walked outside. I followed behind him, and sat directly in front of him on the ground just behind Kerr’s home. It was the same place we had practiced the night before, though it felt like so long ago.
“You know, at one point today I thought we were going to die.” Admitting my fear to him was easier than I thought it would be.
“I’m not that easy to kill. And I doubt he would have killed us anyway. He attacked me, which is punishable by banishment. I only defended myself. The real question is why he felt the urge to fight me.”
He reached out his hand and grabbed mine. I cupped them together, as he wanted, and he poured some stuff from the bowl into them. It looked like an assortment of seeds and nuts, with some random red and green things that reminded me of dried fruit. Nymph Trail Mix. The thought made me smile and long for home at the same time.
“It’s Lentinos. Basically just a bunch of seeds from a bunch of different plants. It’s good and it’ll fill you up quickly.” I nodded as I started to eat. He was right, it was good.
“So, I think we should talk,” we said, at the exact same time.
Chapter Twenty Three
Mortem: A group of five Fae that are known as being deadly assassins. They are said to be rogue mercenaries, though some believe they work for King Mastikh.
He chuckled, while I only smiled at how in sync our thoughts were.
“You can go first,” he offered, and then dropped a few seeds into his mouth.
It was so late, and the trees were so full of leaves, that it stole the light from this place. Maybe there were stars out, and maybe the moon was out, but I couldn’t see them, and for a minute, I truly longed for the sky. Alec produced another ball of light, and had it hover near the ground between us. Almost like a tiny, magical campfire, except it wasn’t fire at all.
“I want to learn offensive moves. I want to be able to defend myself, not just stay standing if someone pushes me.”
He nodded his head as if he understood what I meant. But he didn’t say anything, he just ate a few more seeds, allowing me to continue.
“Today I felt so helpless. Even if you hadn’t held me to the chair, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. And I don’t want to feel like that anymore. I don’t want to be helpless. I don’t want to be lacking in everything anymore. I want to do something. I want to do more.” I explained further, hoping I could convince him. “I want to fight like you.” Even though I realized how stupid it sounded. He just looked so strong, so smooth and brave, when he fought. I wanted to be like that. He chuckled at me.
“You can, after a few hundred years…maybe. I mean, I’m pretty amazing. You know that, right?” When he said it, he smiled at me again, and I accepted the fact that I loved to see him smile, even when he was being sarcastic and arrogant. “But to be serious, I agree. While we were there, I kept thinking that if something did happen to me, you would have been killed easily. It was distracting. I shouldn’t have brought you with me. And I’m sorry I put you in that situation. I didn’t expect for them to attack me.” He still sounded surprised by that. Then added, “Though I knew it was a possibility and I’m sorry I put you in that position.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s over now. I was just so scared. I’ve never seen people fight before,” I whispered, again embarrassed at my lack of knowledge and experience. “And what the hell happened to you? Why didn’t you come out right after me like you said?”
“So, let me start at the beginning. The Dux is the main law enforcement in each village. Here in the Central Village he answers to Lord Nettle, the Lord of the Nymph. But in the smaller villages the Dux is the leader. Fighting with him could have serious consequences.
“I was serious when I told him that he was at risk for attacking me, that a Realm Guard is a higher position and thus I am his superior. But, I didn’t want to have to go through the channels to make it mean anything because I would have to answer to why I’m in Ardennes instead of back in the Mortal Realm. Realm Guard aren’t allowed to just leave their post whenever they want.”
“Yeah. That makes sense. So, why do you think he did fight you if he knew he could get in trouble for it?”
He inhaled deeply before answering. “It could be a number of things. He may have some alliance with the Mortem. He may be under orders from Lord Nettle to not say anything, though that would mean that the Lord has an alliance with them. Or he may just be a dick and didn’t want to share any information.” I tried to think about all he said and how easily he talked about it all.
“The Mortem,” I murmured, more to myself than him. The murderers. The people I hated most in the world. The people I would kill. “Have you heard of them before?”
Alec looked down for a minute, and I wondered if he didn’t want to talk about them. Or maybe he just didn’t want to tell me. But then he looked up and nodded to me.
“They used to be only three and there wasn’t a Sprite, and at the time they only acted on the wills of the King, like an elite guard. Shortly after her death, they went AWOL and made it known to all that they were for-hire killers. At your parent’s home, I thought it might be them, but it was too much to hope for that they would come across my region in the Mortal Realm.”
“To hope for? Why would you hope for that?”
“I was in love once, a long time ago. She was killed merely for loving me.” As he spoke, his voice grew softer, as if it was hard for him to say the words. “Fae are not allowed to pledge, to get married, to a Fae of a different breed. So, when we were caught, she was ordered to be executed, as the law demands.
“I came home one night, and found her head on my pillow in the bed we shared.” Surprisingly his voice didn’t crack or waver. Maybe after forty years of mourning, you get over it. Hopefully, forty years from now I would be able to speak about my parent’s death with such peace.
“I’m so sorry,” I told him, finally able to say the words I’d been wanting to say since Nona told me everything.
When he looked up at me, it was like he saw me, really saw me for the first time. He knew that I didn’t pity him, but that I ached for his pain. He kne
w that I felt the agony of loss.
“Thank you.” Then he placed his hand on mine. I covered his hand with my other one, wrapping it in a cocoon of comfort, trying to send compassion and empathy into his skin. “So you see, I had multiple reasons for helping you with this. Not only do I understand what it feels like to have the person you love most ripped out of your life unfairly, but it was done by the same people who did it to me.”
This time I nodded. I guess I was spending too much time with them that I was picking up their head bobbing thing.
“Over the years, I have had time to mourn. And to accept the loss. I will never forget her. She was strong and brave and beautiful. And I continued on with my life. I mean, I wasn’t really living. I was just going through the motions, living in a fog. I had no conviction for anything, not enough anger to do anything about the loss, not enough depression to kill myself. Not enough love to enjoy anything. Not really enough of anything. Until…” Then he looked up at me.
His eyes were dark, though the light reflected in a tiny area of them creating a shimmering star. They were mesmerizing. His blond hair looked almost brown in the darkness. But all his angry lines were gone. There was no frown, no bulging veins, but no smile either. His eyes were opened wide and he just looked at me.
“I thought you were going to die today,” I whispered as I played with the scar on my hand. It was turning out to look pretty cool now that the scab was gone. Even though part of me just wanted to sit there and stare into his eyes forever, when I was nervous I talked. “I don’t know what I would have done. Not just because I would be lost in this world without you, but because…I don’t want to lose you.”
The reality of what I said sunk in, falling deep into my stomach which fluttered in response. He scooted closer to me, so that our knees were touching.
“Don’t worry, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” He was whispering too, which made the fluttering in my tummy increase. “What’s wrong with your hand?”
Enchanted Revenge Page 14