A Whisper in the Woods (Fated Folktales #1)

30. Chapter 30

Chapter thirty

Woodsmeadow

“ T he monster is still out there, and he always will be unless we do something about it!” Cheering erupted from the crowd, thundering beneath the villagers’ feet. The only people in town who weren’t roaring with enthusiasm were the gray-and-ginger-haired old man next to Ms. Tomlin and the matriarch herself, though the latter had a small smile resting on her otherwise stoic face. “We shouldn’t have to follow his rules and make sacrifices or offerings to simply live on his land!”

The man leading the crowd was a gruff fellow with a dark dollop of hair, a stout body, and the voice of an ancient beast, perfect for riling up a mob. He turned to the man beside Ms. Tomlin. “Do you have something to add, Boris? The bastard killed your son!”

“Of course I do!” he barked. The prim, older man turned to the crowd. His wiry hair was askew for the first time in decades. “People have gone missing for weeks! Children! And you saw with your own eyes what he did to my son! Do you want that to continue? Don’t you want to avenge my son’s death? The death of one of us!” He continued scanning the now quiet crowd. Unease was in the air like a puck of curdled milk. His eyes stopped on a wasp-like woman with mousy hair. “Will your son be next?” The woman gasped, instinctively grabbing the small boy at her side.

Boris met the eyes of one of the village’s elders. “And what of you, sir? What if you are next? Or Ms. Tomlin? What if he picks us off one by one, starting with our leaders?” Murmurs broke out among the crowd; it only took moments before some of them shouted in angry agreement. Fists rose in the air, and the thundering below their feet resumed.

The dark-haired man stepped forward. “We won’t take this anymore, will we?” A chorus of “No’s” rose to the sky, and the man took a step back, looking at Boris. “We’ll make a plan. We won’t take this.” The older man nodded, his face a stony canvas in contrast to the stout man’s animated fury. “We will rid the forest of that beast once and for all!”

The crowd roared into chaos, and cheers rang to the tops of the trees.

The leaves shuddered in reply.

***

Leen a

When I woke up, my head was throbbing. My body was screaming. It took me a few minutes to gather myself and clear my vision enough to look at where I was. Disoriented already, being somewhere completely foreign only made me more confused. I had no idea where I was. I was in a white bed with a starchy sheet tucked beneath my legs. It was one step up from sandpaper. There was an odd smell in the air, and a curtain separated my place in the small bed with the rest of what looked like a small wooden cabin. To my right was my husband, his face in his hands and fingers threaded in his hair. His shoulders were slumped.

“Bratan?” My voice was hoarse. I tried sitting up, but he immediately leapt to my side, catching my shoulders with large, gentle hands.

“Don’t move, Leena. You fell a long way. If you were still mortal, you’d be dead right now.”

The pang of his words struck something deep. I nodded and did what I was told. He eased me onto my back and called for someone behind the curtain. A few seconds later, a fae woman with pink skin and a tight, brunette bun pinned to the back of her skull emerged with a basin of water and what looked like medicine.

“I’m relieved to see you’re all right, Your Majesty. You took quite the spill.” She placed the basin on a table at the other end of the bed, unscrewed the medicine bottle, and poured the thick red liquid into a small cup. “Take this. It’s a potion that will help with the pain. ”

“Ella is a healer,” Bratan explained as I threw back the vile liquid. “She’s the realm’s best potion master, too. She’s already fixed your shattered bones.”

“You shouldn’t stand, though,” Ella added, dipping a cloth in the basin and placing it on my forehead. “Rest as long as you need.”

“I’ll be sure she does,” Bratan said. His tone was soft, not controlling at all. My shoulders relaxed. He gently placed a hand on my head and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

“I’ll leave you be, Your Majesties,” Ella said with a bow and disappeared behind the curtain.

“She seems nice,” I said, voice still hoarse. Bratan handed me a goblet of water, which both helped quench my thirst and rid my tongue of the potion’s nasty taste.

“She is. She’s been the healer here for centuries.”

“She looks so young.”

“Yes, she’s nearly immortal. She’s fae. They live longer than any other mortal being.”

“I didn’t realize they weren’t immortal.”

“Only gods are immortal, and there are still limitations.” He gently placed his face against mine. Steady warmth spread through my chest. “I’m so glad you’re okay, little dove,” he breathed.

“Me too,” I whispered.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again. You were so stubborn. I’ll teach you what I can when you’re better, but that wasn’t the time or place. ”

“I know,” I sighed. “I panicked and wasn’t thinking straight.”

He sat back and raked a hand through his tousled hair. “Please be more careful, Leena.”

I nodded, ashamed of my childish antics and timing, though I still had that anger in the back of my mind that wanted to spit insults at him for not teaching me sooner. I tried granting him grace, though. He was just as new to this union as I was, and he had centuries to be stuck in his ways as the only leader. Still, I couldn’t help being angry.

I at least deserved answers. “Can you finally tell me what’s going on?”

He paused, then with a solemn nod, he carefully took my hands in his and began. “Those sinister spirits are some of Melora’s demons. She has many throughout this realm and likely some I don’t know about.”

“Did she send them?” I asked. He nodded. “Has she always tormented you like this?”

“Not like this. I was actually pretty surprised when I saw them coming. It seems she’s bent on our destruction now.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and kissed it. “I’d do anything to protect you, and she knows it. She’s spotted a soft spot in my defenses and is leaping on the opportunity.”

“Why does she want you dead? Just to rule this place?”

“I think so; she’s become more erratic and malicious. From things she’s said and done, I’m assuming she either wants to have a place at my side because she was so close to my mother or because she’s going mad from not having as much say as she did back then. She could also be jealous that I have you and snapped when she realized she no longer had any hold on what’s left of my family. I don’t really know. I’m still trying to figure it out myself.”

“Is she trying to destroy you or convince you to let her be a part of things here?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she thinks I’d bend to her will out of sheer despondency if something were to happen to you.” He let out a bitter laugh. “She doesn’t know me at all if that’s the case.”

His hands were still tight on me like something could snatch me from him at any moment. Maybe that was possible if what he was saying and what had just transpired was only a taste of things to come.

“What do you think she’ll do?”

He released a shaky breath. “She was once a friend of my mother’s, but from her ease of making malicious deals with the villagers, I’m starting to wonder if she contributed to the riots of the humans centuries ago. She could have thought Mother would want her to be more involved if things got out of hand. As I mentioned, she had a lot of say when Mother was alive, and I used to go to her for help after that. That slowed over the years and has now ceased altogether. This may be her last-ditch effort to sink her claws into my forest and this realm. ”

I wondered if I should ask the next question, but it seemed pertinent for me to understand this demon. “With the death of your mother, how did she manage not to take over?”

“I was strong, and I had a commitment to my mother and every ounce of fury I’d have if anyone were to do anything to you. But if I were to lose you now, I’d go mad. She’s probably hoping for that. I don’t think I could ever be more devastated than if half my soul was ripped from me like it almost was tonight.”

Guilt pulled in my chest. If I hadn’t been so stubborn, then I may not have almost died. I must have scared him senseless. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“It’s all right, little dove. You were right. I should have trained you. I’m sorry it came down to this.”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. What matters now is moving forward.” I paused. “Please continue. I want to understand and hear you out about Melora.”

His features tightened. “I think the day my mother died, something in Melora snapped, though I always got a strange feeling when she was around.”

Voices whispered behind the curtain as another patient was brought into the cabin.

“What do we do then?”

“We fight.”

My eyebrows shot up at his abrupt response and the response itself. “Really? ”

“Really. But first, you need rest. And healing.” He lightly stroked the top of my head. “Sleep, and we’ll work on getting you ready when your body is stronger. I’ll show you defense techniques in the meantime, but just so you know, I’ll be watching over you. Please don’t be offended.”

I leaned into his touch. “Your protection is welcome. Thank you.” The sensation of being cared for, although new and sometimes frustrating, healed a part of me I couldn’t explain. And with the peace that accompanied it, I drifted back to sleep.

***

The next few days were spent recuperating, and it felt like the eye of the inevitable storm ahead. Melora was at our heels with her creatures, but Bratan and I stayed in the village and our home as I recovered. The only thing we did other than rest, stroll, and eat was socialize with the townspeople and have the occasional self-defense lesson. I was in no shape to fight or even practice the defense moves myself, so I watched Bratan, which got distracting. My eyes often levitated toward the tautness of his muscles and the way his arms tightened and released as he showed me different positions. It was a good thing I was in no shape to do anything other than watch. No matter how disappointed it made me. We’d spent enough time tangled up in bed for now; we had to keep our heads screwed on straight if we wanted to stay alive and keep our people safe.

We still had no idea what Melora wanted. Bratan wasn’t even completely sure what she was planning, and he was getting more on edge by the day. He tried hiding it, but it was easy to tell, at least to me.

“Are you even watching?” He folded his arms. A thin layer of sweat glistened on his biceps.

“I assure you I am.” I resisted the urge to wink and had to bite my tongue so I wouldn’t continue flirting. Keep your head on, Leena. Cool yourself down.

“I know what you’re thinking, you wicked thing.”

“I’m not thinking anything! Besides, I’m in no shape to—”

He rushed forward, grabbing my jaw and smiling against my lips. “No shape to do what? Because I don’t think you were about to say, practice.”

An aching stretched from my hips, but I managed to shake his hand away and glower at him. “You’re not as tempting as you think you are.”

He chortled at my obvious lie. “Is that so?” He leaned in closer, trailing his warm breath against my throat and down to the top of my chest.

I grabbed him by the tunic. “Now, who’s the wicked thing?”

His mouth was tempting. I wanted so badly to sink into it, but I couldn’t succumb. Before I could resist, though, he kissed me, and I hummed in pleased relief. I grabbed hold of his back at the same moment he gripped the sides of my thighs .

“I didn’t think your body could get more sumptuous, but this forest suits you.”

My face flushed. “I like to eat, okay?”

“It was a compliment, little dove. I absolutely love it.” He let out a low, sensual growl; the sound rolled into my throat, causing my head to fall back with desire. “Every time I see you, I want to lick you. Bite you. Suck on those curves that grow more delicious by the day. I wish I could eat you whole.”

The blood in my legs blazed.

“Will you stop?” I breathed. “You know I’m in no condition to do anything.”

“Who says you have to do anything? What if I want to do things to you?”

My breath hitched in my throat. “I couldn’t resist going further than that.”

He chuckled, giving me one last kiss before leaning back and taking my hands in his. “Then I guess you’ll just have to keep studying until you’re fit to be taken completely. But I warn you,” he grabbed the back of my neck. An involuntary sound escaped me; he leaned forward, “After so much time without your body on mine, I won’t stop until the whole world quakes and crumbles beneath us and I’ve satisfied you beyond comprehension.”

My toes curled against the wooden floorboards.

I couldn’t open my eyes as I begged, “Please, just do this blasted defense training, or we won’t stand a chance.”

“You’re one strong woman,” he teased, pulling away .

I let out a shaky breath. “I’m counting on it.” Opening my eyes, I gave him an unimpressed side-eye. “But don’t get cocky. You want me just as bad.”

“Oh, I assure you I want you so much more.”