by Rebecca Grey
Ignoring the anxious feeling that rose up in my gut, I took up his offer. We took a step together, feeling the nearness of the fire, the heat warmed my cheeks as we approached. Dace twirled me once, looking me up and down before snatching me up, chest to chest. His face so close to mine, his breath weaving in the air before me. He smelled much different than Daethian, more like the scent of the frost when you wake up at dawn, fresh pine, mixed with the warmth of the sun, if it had a scent...
His unbuttoned, tailored jacket lapels drew my attention to the flat even plane of his stomach covered by a sheer white shirt. Even through the material I could see the chiseled lines of his abs. The image of those abs dripping in water skittered through my mind. Thankfully, my cheeks had to already be rosy from the warm fire at our side.
He leaned in, his lips brushing my cheek as he spoke quietly in my ear. “You look almost as good as me tonight.”
And that’s the difference between him and Daethian.
His breath against my ear started my body ablaze in a second. A feeling I’m not sure I’ve had before. I didn’t want to welcome the feeling, it made me unsure and confused. I tried to hold my composure as I responded. “You are very full of yourself.”
“Ah, but isn’t that my right as prince?”
My spine was stiff as we stepped together, flowing easily with the music. He was well trained in dance, leading us with his abundance of confidence. That’s what growing up fae nobility gave you.
My feet stuttered on the occasional step. My mind split the focus between following his lead as we turned together and following our conversation. Not to mention the concentration it took to ignore the goosebumps that traveled over my skin where his thumb would occasionally trace a small circle near mine.
“Don’t you get lots of rights as a prince? You get more rights than me just by being fae.”
“You’d be surprised.” His tone was bitter, leaving the smile on his lips unmatched. “We have to do something about this power inequality in our races, don’t we?”
“We?”
“We could do it together.”
Together? Ah, it felt so much like a joke I actually laughed.
“I think it would be good to see our races working together for the first time in a long time.”
“I just can’t imagine that going well.”
“Why? Isn’t this going well currently?” His hand gripped my waist with surety, dipping me low to the ground. He bent at the waist, his face following me. I struggled to stand upright as his attention began to trail down my body like a snake. We returned to standing as he effortlessly straightened himself.
The music picked up in pace and Dace’s smooth steps matched it, leading us in twists around the fire. He watched me as he twirled me with a carefree twinkle in his eyes. It was like the theme of this place. Happiness, joy. His amusement almost floated in the air around us with the smoke. It loosened me up and I nearly wanted to laugh as I realized I was enjoying the dance. He was a pretty good dancer, not that I planned on saying that outloud, ever.
“So what do your parents think you are doing?” I asked.
“My parents?” His eyebrows rose in question. “Oh, you know, helping solve small town crises like creepy noises in a barn.”
“Prince responsibilities.” I nodded like I understood.
“Something like that,” he murmured. “How are you enjoying your stay so far?”
I tried not to get dizzy as we spun and I watched Hattie and Daethian talk under the lights strung through the trees. Is that what me and Daethian look like together? His dark brown eyes kept flickering from Hattie to me. Instead of thinking about it, I tilted my head to where Randsin stood in the shadows. A giggling fae female had walked up to him, swaying in drunkenness. She leaned forward falling into him.
A scowl twisted his lips as he pushed her off, shaking his head. He shooed her with his hands trying to encourage her to go back to the fun. She seemed determined as she sloppily smiled, flipping her hair off her shoulder, and adjusted her bust.
He was clearly done with her though. Her face rounded in surprise and she let out a soft shriek as she was pushed by invisible hands and stopped in front of an equally drunk nymph male. She had already forgotten Randsin as she grabbed up her new man and teetered off into the night.
Dace and I exchanged amused glances after watching poor Randsin deal with the woman, his question still hanging in the air.
“Difficult in the hard moments and a bit confusing at the best.”
I let him continue to lead for the night, his strong arms guiding me. Once the music finally came to a finish, he ended our dance in a dip. Our hips pressed snug against each other as he lowered me and brought me back up in a slow half circle. His face was serious as he stood me back up in the silence.
A flush rose, highlighting my cheeks as I listened to my heartbeat in my ears. I broke his stare when I looked around, most of the nymphs had scuttled off to their own corners lounging on the blankets and pillows below the trees or had already turned in for the night. Dae still sat with my sister, a drink sloshing in his hand as he spoke.
I hadn’t realized I’d spent so much time with Dace. I supposed I was caught up in the feelings that he gave me. For a moment he reminded me that the time to live was here and now.
Breaking away from Dace’s embrace, I smoothed my skirt and lowered in an exaggerated bow. “Thank you for the dance.”
He mocked my bow, watching me as he lowered himself with a wicked smirk. I waited for some sort of witty remark but he didn’t have one, perhaps he wasn’t always a smart mouth. Instead he trailed behind me quietly as I made my way toward Daethian.
“I could walk you back to your room,” the prince interjected, making me halt.
Shaking my head, trying to rattle out the thoughts that crowded my mind of what could be going through Dace’s mind, I walked toward Hattie and Dae.
“Oh good, you’re done. This is for you,” Hattie said flatly, gesturing toward Daethian. His smile, lazy and drunken, turned up toward me and I had to laugh out loud. “I will meet you back in our room. You seemed so caught up in the dance that I didn’t want to interrupt but you can give me all the dirty details,” she finished looking behind me at the doting prince who waited with his hands behind his back. Daethian frowned at the last bit.
“You would,” I said as I bent down and grabbed his hand. “Thanks, Hattie, I got this.”
Dace didn’t offer his help as I hoisted Dae up to standing as Hattie’s footfalls distanced.
“Let’s get you to bed. Can you show me to your room?” I gave Dace half a look, bound to my position by my large nymph friend. “I’ll have to walk myself back after I get this guy home, thanks.”
“Another day then.” He tilted his head in goodbye and sauntered away in silence.
“Another day then,” Daethian mocked.
“Shut up.” I shot the words at my friend, letting him lean heavily into me. “Show me where your room is.”
“Ryykker, absolutely.” He stumbled up and tried to straighten himself and chuckled before he said, “Isn’t it funny, how you don’t think you’re that drunk till you stand up and it's like... WWOOOSH.” He fanned his body with his hand.
“I wouldn’t know.” I chuckled at his odd behavior as I tucked myself under his arm leading him back up the hill towards our rooms. Each step he shuffled his feet against the ground as his body threatened to topple over.
The sounds of animals preparing to rise for the morning had begun to creep up around us. The dew on the grass was of no assistance to us on our journey up hill.
Couples who had formed unashamedly during the night had tucked themselves under trees, in dark corners of the building’s halls, and occasionally in our path. It wasn’t just lovers who had found what they needed tonight. The chuckle of friends gossiping together was a welcomed sound to my ears. Noises as a result of my homecoming party followed us all the way to his room.
We made it to his door only
swaying a few times in front of it as we stilled. “Is this it?” I asked when he stopped.
“This is it.” He nodded. He stopped, his face sobering up for a minute as he looked at me. “Thank you, Ryker.”
“It’s really no problem, you’re my best friend, that’s what I’m here for.”
“You know,” he said leaning into me, my back softly touching the wall behind me, “I thought you were my best friend too. That time away from you, I couldn’t… I couldn’t stop missing you. My whole body ached for you. And then… when I saw you with Randsin, you looked so small, fragile even. It scared me. It was like the first time I was able to see you clearly. Even covered in dirt and weak, you were still you. Beautiful from head to toe, your soul burning inside, my warrior heart. After that, I decided I could never be away from you.”
I covered my cheeks at his drunken confession, at a loss for words. He dropped his head into my neck breathing me in.
Where was all this heartfelt stuff coming from? We were only friends, right?
Gently, I reached up to run my fingers through his dark hair. I couldn’t lie to myself that I hadn’t thought about doing this from the time I saw him standing there in the forest.
A light breeze swirled around us, my hair lifting up in the wind that slowed to graze like invisible hands down the length of my arms, on down the curves of my side, slowing further as it reached the length of my dress. Caressing my skin, the wind slowly began to twirl under my skirt just to touch my thighs but never climbing higher.
I could feel my breath pick up pace as he ran his nose up my neck, placing a soft kiss against the line of my jaw. It felt good, his arms felt like... home. But it terrified me. He was my friend and I wasn’t sure I was ready to cross that line. I wasn’t sure what I wanted. This was my first real night of freedom. Thoughts raced in my mind as I stood there. I was of age now, I was an adult. But this thing between us had only just awoken when we did. It was new and it made me nervous. I’m sure he could feel my heart beating wildly. My pulse raced under his lips. His rough hands held my lower back while his wind explored my body.
I couldn’t do that with him. Not now. Not with him being intoxicated. What if he sobered up and didn’t feel the same way? I dropped my hands from his hair and placed my palms on his bare chest. A small patch of hair was soft under my fingertips. I lightly pushed him back. His breeze untangled from my limbs and disappeared.
“Dae... I can’t...I...”
He leaned back away from me, hurt shining in his eyes. “Oh... I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have crossed that line.” Letting go of my back he stepped toward the door. Pausing before he entered, he turned back and asked, “Is it because of Dace, ‘Handsome prince of the Twinity Court’?” His features turned down with distasteful humor.
His question threw me off. “What? No... I don’t think so. Daethian. This is all so new to me. I just need some time to adjust.” I reached for his hand, running my fingers across his knuckles. A heavy breath broke my lips as I pulled away from the touch to walk away. I heard his door close softly. With my heightened hearing I heard his every move as he leaned against the door within his room, a whisper falling from his lips, “Fuck.”
I walked quickly back to my room. Emotions flooded my body, shaking me to my core. I didn’t know how to process this night. When I reached my room, I found it empty. No Hattie around like she said she would be. I stumbled over to my bed and cocooned myself in the sheets. Listening to the breeze against the windows, I let my breath even and sweep me into sleep. I would save worrying for tomorrow.
SIXTEEN
Ryker
I woke up to the sun shining over my face. The blankets were still twisted around my limbs, that I had flung in all directions. Sleep had been like the angry sea as I tossed and turned that night. Reading the sun, it had to be early afternoon. So I wormed my way out of the blankets, finding Hattie up and ready for the day.
She sat on the edge of her bed lacing up her boots. Looking over, she grinned, her face flushed as if she had already been out for a run. “Good Morning.” She beamed up at me.
I grunted and plopped my face into my pillow.
“Well, I thought you’d be in a good mood. You seemed to have a great night, dancing with Dace. He’s pretty cute, huh?”
“Daethian all but professed his love for me last night,” I mumbled into the pillow.
Hattie laughed out loud. “Well, I could have told you that after day one with him. He didn’t stop talking about you… Do you like him?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what I want. I don’t know,” I whined. I felt like a child gossiping about boys with my sister. “Aren’t there more important things we should be thinking about than boys?”
“But doesn’t it make you feel alive? In all of this terribleness. Just the thoughts of love and romance lighten the mood.” Her eyes crinkled with a happy smile. She sat up scanning my face for any sign that I felt the same way. I didn’t.
“Romance is for the weak.” My own battle was the internal one that wanted to live the life of a twenty-five year old, wild and free. I wanted to live out amongst nature again, roaming wherever I wanted. The part of me that wanted to be swept off my feet by Daethian, or whatever handsome male, left only a small spark of interest in me. Yet, there was a time and place for that and surely it wasn’t here. No, not in this place where we trained to take back the peace we deserved. I forced myself to give my sister an easy going smile. To make that smile reach my eyes so she knew it was real.
“You don’t believe that one bit.”
“Maybe I do.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t. What did I feel?
“Well, you are going to have to talk to Daethian sooner or later, you have to go for training in an hour. So pull your face out of that pillow and get dressed. I have a training outfit ready for you. It’s laid out on the dresser.”
I pushed myself out of the bed, shuffling my feet over to the bureau. I looked at the brown material and started slipping it on. The outfit was form fitting, but airy. I could move easily and it was comfortable. I picked up the boots to match my sister and tied them up on my feet. Standing in this garment I felt like a warrior. An emotional warrior at the moment, but my soul smiled and lifted. I looked ready to fight for my people.
I glanced in the mirror quickly to tame the tangle of curls that had frayed in the night. Twisting one side behind my ear close to my head and tucking it under other curls. Carefully, I placed my hand against the wall and let the pulse of nature travel through the beams and into my palm. Magic I had availability to, but others did not. I couldn’t forget about them, my reason for fighting.
“Where were you last night?" I said walking to her and linking my arm through hers.
“Oh, you know. Falling into the dark monster of the web called romance.” She patted my arm bringing her gaze up to mine. “I’m sorry I didn’t spend the time with you like I wanted.”
I forced the bitter pang of jealousy and anger down. Was she blinded by infatuation with the fae? “Well, it’s okay, we always have today. Hattie, lead the way.” But it didn’t feel okay even as I said it.
She squeezed my arm and said, “Don’t worry, if you need me to beat up the boys, I gladly will. It’s gonna be ok. No romance for you! There is a war brewing.”
With that, she led me out of the room and through the halls I wasn’t yet completely familiar with. We stopped when we entered a large room cluttered with table after table. A few nymphs mingled around eating, mixed with the fae that lived with Windre. I spotted Jerydin and Randsin in a corner but didn’t see either Daethian or Dace, thankfully. I continued with Hattie to a table of food laid out and gathered some breakfast. I couldn’t get over how strong and how good the food smelled.
We grabbed enough to fill us and headed to Randsin. On the way Hattie shook her head and leaned toward me to say, “You know, I never thought I would meet anyone as quiet as Jerydin, then I met Randsin. They are quite the pair.”
�
�You know, they say that Randsin lost his tongue when he spoke back to Ganglin. That’s why he doesn’t talk.” I fiddled with the food on my plate as I joked.
“You are kidding! That’s not real,” she said, baffled. “How does he eat without a tongue?”
I tried to contain my laughter as she watched Randsin’s mouth intently as he chewed his food. She wasn’t wrong though, as we sat with them, it was silent. They ate their food just staring at each other with straight faces. I guessed it was comfortable for them. I set my plate next to Randsin and gave him a weary smile. He gave a short wave but never took his eyes off of Jerydin. Now, this could be the height of romance. Or of two guys puffing their chests out for whatever reason.
Hattie and I shoveled our food down, not worried about looking lady-like as we chatted about the night. She questioned me about Dace and then Daethian but I didn’t really want to talk about that. So, she went on to tell me that after she had left me she found Windre and they had gone for a late night, well, early morning swim. She told me she would have to show me where he had taken her. It was breathtaking, apparently.
We finally finished up and she led me outside. It was much cooler in the Acture Court than I was used to, but it felt great. Nothing here was suffocated or weighted down by the heat. Each plant was like silk, falling over the brighter budding fresh green of the hills that peaked off in the distance.
Nymphs milled about, some talking or working on daily chores, others spared with wooden swords or bare hands in circular rings. Horse hooves pounded the ground as a few nymphs hurtled over wooden beams, charging forward with bows and arrows drawn.
It was terrifying. It was spectacular. My heart skipped a beat from the anxiety, then settled into pace as I thought about all that we were going to save. It was the right thing to do. I felt it in my soul.