The Forest King’s Daughter

25

Memories are images of the past as seen through rippling water.

—E XCHARIAS, S YLVAN POET

H E DIDN’T GO. A FTER THE SUN ROSE AND SET TWICE more, she accepted his presence like she accepted the weather, as something inevitable.

One morning, Zeru came to her with a handful of berries, putting them into her upturned palm. “Cassia.” He spoke her name softly, and she liked when he said it.

“I don’t want these,” she said, though they were the same berries she’d been eating every day. She was bored of them. She was starting to feel restless in this place.

“Should I find you something else?” he asked. He had offered her cooked rabbit and squirrel and birds, but she had no interest. The sun and plants fed her.

She started to tell him that. “I only want…”

“Turnips?” he suggested, a smirk on his lips. She sometimes thought about his lips while she listened to the trees whisper. His top lip curved intriguingly, and the bottom looked soft.

She narrowed her eyes at the teasing tone.

He grinned. “You love them.”

She put her hand out.

“I don’t have any.” He showed his empty palms. “We could grow them in Welkincaster. In the clouds, you can have all the delicious turnips you want.”

She would never leave her trees. “You go.”

His smile faded. “You really want me gone?” When she was silent, he said, “You won’t miss me?”

She saw the tightness around his eyes and mouth and felt a little ache in her chest. She couldn’t help but admit, “I would.”

The warmth in his eyes returned. Sunlight on green leaves. “I would miss you, too.” His voice was rough like tree bark.

She shook her head, refusing to be moved. “I won’t leave here.”

He sighed. “Then neither will I.”

“Why?”

He laughed, though she didn’t see any reason for it. After a minute, he added more seriously, “You have a home, Cassia. In Scarhamm.”

Her chest tightened. “Don’t say that.”

“I don’t know if it was your transformation that caused this, as mine did, or if you’re under a spell, but something made you forget.” He moved closer to gently place his hands on her shoulders. “You have to try to remember. Your sisters must be so worried about you. They love you. Enora, Rozie, Thea.”

“Wrong.”

He cocked his head. “Aren’t those the names of your sisters?”

“It’s Enora, Thea, Rozie…” She trailed off in confusion. Those names meant nothing to her.

He nodded, his eyes lighting with approval. His hands flexed on her shoulders. “Scarhamm is your home—”

“No.” She pushed him away and stepped back. There was a pressure building in her head, a surge of images she was barely keeping at bay. If he kept talking, she would drown.

He exhaled sharply, frustrated. “Your sisters are in danger. The Seer who stole your memory is—”

Cassia shook out her wings. “No. I don’t want to hear.”

Zeru looked determined. “Selkolla—”

Her hands fisted, and she screamed, “ No! ”

She rushed through the trees, then launched herself up. He wanted her to fly? She would fly.

“Cassia! Wait!”

Ignoring him, she threaded the trees like a ribbon. When the trunks grew closer together, she rose and skimmed the treetops.

The sun burned down from overhead, warming her back as she zigzagged over the forest canopy. Behind her came the sound of wings. She turned her head and saw Zeru following her, a predator’s determination etched on his face. Impossible! He only had wings at night. But she had no time to wonder because she collided with a small branch, careening to the side. She heard her pursuer’s wings pump faster. But after a couple of wobbles, she righted herself and shot forward, faster than before.

When she saw the silver thread of a river curving through the forest below, she descended toward it. Too fast. At the last second, she flapped madly, managing to land with only a minor stumble.

Zeru alighted next to her and drew in his wings with a snap, his expression furious. “You have to slow down when you land!”

Ignoring him, she moved back to the riverbank. She fell to her knees and scooped water into her hands, watching it sparkle before bringing it to her mouth. Her reflection stared back at her. She blinked in some surprise, though she didn’t know what she’d expected to see. Her face was speckled with dots, some light brown and some gold. Her eyes, a mix of brown and green, had the same gold flecks in them. Her eyelashes were much darker than her hair, which held myriad shades from gold to light brown. Her feathers were a richer gold, almost like metal.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zeru join her, kneeling and putting his hands in the water before drinking from his palms. Wanting space, she waded in up to her knees.

“Careful,” he said, his voice still sharp. “The current is strong.”

Continuing to ignore him, she used her fingers to comb her hair from her face and gazed at the river as it rushed past. A rippling reflection showed her feathered wings, which looked like they were painted with sunlight. Her hair was tangled, her face streaked with dirt, and it occurred to her that Zeru had been looking at her all this time and never seemed to notice these things. He only looked at her as if she were… beautiful.

She heard him slide into the water behind her. He had long since discarded his shirt and boots and walked barefoot like she did.

Suddenly, water hit her in the face, dripping down to wet her tunic. She turned to him with a gasp. He was smiling, his hands cupped as if he’d thrown the water at her deliberately. She looked down at herself. Her tunic was sun-bleached and ragged, the material stained with dirt and berries. Now it was wet and cold, too.

He cupped another handful, but before he could move, she used both hands to splash him. She hit him square in the face, wetting his hair and bare chest.

“Much faster than you used to be,” he said, his eyes aglow with admiration. “Almost as fast as me. But not quite.”

He splashed her with the heel of his hand against the water’s surface. Blood heating, she came back with four handfuls in rapid succession. Each hit him dead on, making him splutter.

He put his hand to his stomach and bent at the waist. It took her a second to realize he was laughing. When he looked up, his dark hair fell over his sparkling eyes. “I guess if you don’t have turnips, you improvise.”

For some reason, Cassia found herself smiling.

“Do you want to swim?” he asked.

She shook her head.

He slid into the water and moved to where her feet kicked gently. “Swim with me,” he said. “It’s cold, but that never seemed to bother you.”

She stared into his eyes, wanting to join him. Trying to resist.

He put his hands out. “Come on.”

With a sigh, she settled her hands in his and let him pull her into the water. Fear pulsed in her chest as her wings dragged her deeper.

Zeru gripped her. “I’ve got you. Put out your wings like this.” He showed her with his own, spreading them over the water.

She tried, but the sudden movement made her slip, and she took in a mouthful of river.

He grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close to his chest. “See? I’ve got you.”

Heart thumping at all the new sensations, she looked around, examining the bulrushes, the sticks and logs and other flotsam that had gathered against the riverbank. When she looked back at Zeru, he was lifting his face to the sun. She stared for a minute, admiring the corded strength of his neck. Then she closed her eyes and did the same.

“Dracu stillness, we call it,” he said, his voice as soft as a cattail. “I always struggled to master that. It’s like you were born with it. I keep noticing little ways you’ve changed. You see better at night now, don’t you?”

Not interested in discussing her vision, she opened her eyes and looked at him, feeling the solidness of his chest against hers. She put her hands to his shoulders, listening to his breathing change as she touched him.

“You’re so delicate,” he said, barely above a whisper. “And so strong.”

“You’re sunlight and water and roots,” she said, not knowing quite why.

He blinked. She saw his throat bob as he swallowed.

She raised her hand toward his face and stopped an inch away.

“Touch me,” he said, his heart beating against hers.

She placed her palm against his cheek, feeling the scrape of short hairs on his jaw.

He closed his eyes.

Raising her hand, she raked her claws gently through his hair, scraping his scalp with a feathery touch. His mouth opened on an inhale. After a brief hesitation, she put her fingertip to his top lip and traced the bow, then slid it across his bottom lip. “Soft.”

When he didn’t move, she put her arms around him, her palms coming to rest on his back under the spot where his wings grew. His arms tightened around her waist. She rested her head on his chest, waiting for her heart to calm.

“Your eyes have always been beautiful,” he said, his voice rumbling through his chest into her ear. “Now they’re stunning. Not just the color, flecked with gold. They’re more open. I used to wish I knew what you were thinking, but now I usually have an idea.” He went quiet for a few seconds. “I want you to remember, and still look at me like that.” He swallowed. “And I don’t know if you will.”

The fear in his voice made her look at him. “I don’t want to remember.” There. She’d said it.

“I know,” he replied, his eyes darkening with sympathy. “And part of me wishes you didn’t have to. That we could stay here forever. But I have responsibilities. And so do you. Your people—”

She pressed her lips to his. He gasped and she froze, wondering if she’d made a mistake. But before she could pull away, he returned the pressure, his hand coming to rest on the back of her head. Sunlight exploded behind her eyes. Dizzy with a thousand sensations, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and leaned into him.

When she pulled back, they both gulped air.

“You taste…,” he said, “I don’t know… like sunlight and evergreen with a hint of metallic gold.” He closed his eyes, his lashes dark against his cheeks as he rested his forehead against hers. “Irresistible to a Dracu who spent his childhood in darkness and stale air.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, not knowing why. She swallowed, feeling something coming in the back of her mind, a knowledge she’d been keeping hidden. She put her lips to his once again to drive the thoughts away.

As his hands moved over her back, Cassia’s fingers sought the hair at his nape. So silky. Soft lips, soft hair, hard chest against the softness of hers. It was like flying. Any moment she could fall.

She sensed him the same way she heard the forest. His blood hummed through his veins like the water that rushed underground. His breath was like a warm breeze caressing her face. The rapid beat of his heart was a woodland creature startled by a predator. She was making his heart rush like that, which meant she was the huntress. But he didn’t try to run, only to pull her closer. The press of his fingers on her back seemed as desperate as hers. He tasted like the river, pure and sweet, with a hint of clean earth.

Since she was the predator, she gently bit his lower lip, opening her eyes to watch his reaction. He grunted softly, his eyes dark as he opened them. Her hands left his hair to touch his face, her fingertips resting on his cheekbones before sliding down to his neck and coming to rest on his shoulders. The ripple of muscle underneath felt like the current of the river flowing past them, strong and dependable.

She pulled back, and they stared at each other.

Do my eyes look like that? she wondered. She tried to find the words for how his eyes looked: Sleepy. Shining. Dreaming.

His eyes were the woods at dusk. She could get lost in them and still feel at home.

“I’m sorry, Cassia,” he said, a vulnerability in his voice drawing her out of her daze. “But… you’ll hate me later if I let any more time pass. As much as I don’t want…” He shook his head. “I have to do this. It’s too important.”

“What?” she asked, her stomach twisting at the urgency in his expression.

“Remember,” he said, taking her hand and covering the ring with his palm. “Remember.”

As his grip tightened over hers, she had an image of him from another time when he had held her hand in a brightly lit ballroom. She would have liked to stay in that memory, but other images soon followed. A fortress. A smiling face of a woman with light greenish-brown hair. An antlered king. Girls whooping as they chased one another in a rose garden. Tall trees at night. A green-eyed boy. A gemstone on a gold band. A queen wearing a dark crown. Battles. Revels. A castle in the clouds. A fox-like creature with wings. The memories she’d held at bay crashed over her, washing away her sunlit peace.

Zeru held her, but she was being carried away from him, too many sensations rolling toward her, burying her. She doubled over as she relived Voz’s death. Her father banishing her. The pain tore through her, as fresh as if it were happening at that moment.

When she thought it couldn’t get worse, she felt the stone slab underneath her, smelled the herbs as the Seer cast a spell, saw her long-fingered hand raising a knife. She felt the blade slice into her, tearing the world apart.

Finally, the images flickered away, and she felt Zeru’s arms around her, smelled his scent, the water cool against her skin. She had survived remembering. And she was still here.

But with knowledge came the heat of shame. How could she have forgotten her sisters?

After a few minutes, she caught her breath. She tried to stop shaking, but her limbs were out of her control. Realizing she had Zeru in a death grip, she let him go, putting her hands into the river and splashing water on her face.

“Cassia?” he asked tentatively. There was so much hope in his voice.

Finally, she lifted her head to him and asked, “How… how did you get your wings during the day?”

He blinked, seeming surprised at her question. His voice was rough as he answered. “I don’t know. You ran. I was scared. I wanted to follow you. And they were there.”

Her chest tightened. “Your wings appeared… because of me?”

He nodded.

She shook her head. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it, that their connection went that deep. That her need transformed him. She wished she had time to explore this bond and what it meant.

But she’d wasted too much time already. Hiding. While her sisters were facing a lethal enemy. Suddenly, the water felt too cold, the forest too vast.

“What’s happening?” she asked, bracing herself for whatever he would say. “Back home?”

His eyes were the deep green of shaded pines. “Scarhamm is under attack. For all I know, Selkolla might have broken your wards by now. That was… six days ago?”

Cassia exhaled, a fist gripping her stomach and twisting it. While the seat of her people was under attack, she had flown off, abandoning them. It didn’t matter that her father had ordered her to stay away. If her sisters were in danger, she would break any ban to help them.

It wouldn’t take long to return to Scarhamm now that they both had wings. One last question before they left. “How did you make me remember?” she asked.

His nostrils flared. His eyes fell to her lips, and there was sadness mixed with longing. “I felt the magic of your ring. It’s the same feeling I get when I use the amulet. I recognized it… and I used it.”

Pain thrummed behind her aching eyes. “You used my own magic against me.”

“No.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “ For you. I knew you’d want to go home.”

“It’s not my home anymore,” she said, taking a steadying breath. “But you’re right. I’m going.”