Chapter 18
AUREN
Afaint thread of tension pulls at my senses through our fated bond.
Vivienne is still upset. Aside from our connection, I can tell by the way she sits a little too stiffly in front of me on Vaelen’s back, and the way her spine remains straight as a spear.
She’s been silent since we left camp a few hours ago.
The only reason she allows my arm around her waist is because she nearly tumbled from the saddle earlier when Vaelen stepped over a giant root.
For a fleeting moment, something flickers through the bond… almost like a presence. Something dark and cold. Watching… waiting.
Closing my eyes, I try to focus, but it vanishes before I can grasp it. It feels similar to what I sensed during Vivienne’s nightmares. Unease settles in my chest as I wonder again if it’s some lingering magic of the Goblin bargain.
Sighing heavily, I wonder if she can sense anything of me through our bond. If she can, she has said nothing. Then again, neither have I.
The forest is quiet around us, sunlight weaving through the canopy in shifting ribbons of gold. The air smells of damp earth and the river winding alongside the road. But beneath all that is her.
My nostrils flare as I draw her delicate scent of vanilla and jasmine deep into my lungs.
Gods. If she only knew what her scent does to me.
“Do shadowbeasts exist?” she asks abruptly, pulling me back from my errant thoughts.
I blink. “What?”
“Shadowbeasts,” she repeats crisply. “Creatures that lurk in dark forests and drag unsuspecting travelers into the underbrush.”
I arch a brow. “Some would say Ogres qualify as well.”
She huffs. “That was not helpful.” She looks back at me. “And what of Elves? Do any of your kind still lure unsuspecting humans into the woods, never to be seen or heard from again?”
I arch a teasing brow. “Why do you think we’re in the forest right now, my darling wife?”
She narrows her eyes, and I fight back a grin. I probably shouldn’t tease her, but I’m just so happy she’s speaking to me again, that I cannot help it.
Vaelen’s ears flick back as if he is equally entertained as well.
She crosses her arms. “Can you be serious a moment?”
I smile. “I am always serious, Vivienne.”
She stops short of rolling her eyes. “Well, then answer my question: are shadowbeasts real?”
“Yes, they do exist, but they are usually found in the north.”
She shivers slightly. “And Kraken? Do they reside in woodland rivers and streams?”
Does she truly believe such a large creature could inhabit such a small space? “Kraken tend to prefer oceans,” I manage, with great effort, to keep my voice even as I hold back a laugh.
“Oh, good,” she says dryly. “Then we only have to worry about Kelpies, Shadowbeasts, and whatever else you’ve conveniently neglected to inform me about.”
I hum thoughtfully. “There’s also Night Pixies, but they are not quite as terrible as they’re made out to be.”
She twists in the saddle just enough to glare at me over her shoulder. “You are enjoying this, aren’t you?”
Immensely. “Vivienne,” I say mildly. “I had no idea how much your education was… lacking in this regard.”
“I had a very thorough education, thank you very much.” She scoffs.
“I’m sure my tutors simply considered it irrelevant to teach me about such creatures because they never imagined I’d be traipsing through the woods on the back of a wolf, no less,” she says indignantly, “and so far removed from civilization that I’d be forced to sleep in the forest like an Orc barbarian. ”
While her misdirected anger is amusing, she is right.
I need to rectify this right away. “We’ll find you a tutor when we reach my kingdom.
Someone who can assess what information may have been”—I start to say lacking but instead choose—“incomplete in your formal education regarding various creatures that inhabit the realm.”
“A tutor?” She turns back to look at me. “You’re a soldier, Auren. We cannot be spending coin on something I can easily learn in a library.” She arches a condescending brow. “Or do Dark Elves not have those in their underground caves?”
“You know, Vivienne.” I sigh heavily. “I believe you’re going to be pleasantly surprised when you see our ‘underground caves’ for the first time. Not to be prideful,” I say, even though I am when it comes to my home, “but poems and songs have been written about the beauty of the Valethryn.”
“Well,” she says haughtily, as she spins back to face forward again, “I suppose we shall see.”
A snort escapes me before I can stop myself. Gods, I enjoy her spark.
She lifts her chin. “And I’d like to point out again, that had I known the river housed murderous water spirits, I might have declined to bathe. Do not think,” she says primly, “that your concern for my well-being excuses the fact that you looked when you’d distinctly said you wouldn’t.”
“I thought you were drowning,” I stress again. Closing my eyes, I can still see the flash of red beneath the surface, the current pulling at her hair, the split second where I thought I had lost her.
I tighten my arms around her without meaning to.
“You thought I was being dragged under by a Kelpie.”
“That too.”
She huffs. “Well, now that I know Kelpies are real, I find it difficult to believe you thought it wise for us to sleep in the middle of a forest.”
“There was no inn.”
“We could have traveled until we found one.”
“In the dark?”
“Yes.”
I lean forward slightly, lowering my voice near her ear. “And risk encountering Shadowbeasts or something else equally as dangerous?”
She makes an indignant sound and crosses her arms again.
I watch the way the sunlight catches in her hair. A loose strand brushes my knuckles where my hands rest at her waist, and I have to fight the urge to wrap it around my fingers.
She truly is the most lovely female I’ve ever seen, stubborn pride and all. And I would let her scold me until the end of my days if it meant she remained within reach.
She mutters something under her breath about “reckless Elves” and “poor communication regarding aquatic threats,” and I find myself smiling.
Gods help me, I adore her.
The way she snipes to hide embarrassment, how she lifts her chin even when flustered, the way her temper burns hot and bright when she’s riled… and how she leaned against me this morning without realizing she had.
I shift a bit closer, feeling the warmth of her back against my chest, pleased when she doesn’t move away.
“Are there any other creatures I should know about?” she demands.
“Several.”
Her shoulders tense.
I let the silence stretch just long enough to make her suspicious before I add teasingly, “Believe me, my beautiful mate, most of them would be far more frightened of your wrath than you are of them.”
She snorts softly despite herself.
Victory.
She turns back to me again, her brow furrowed. “Have you ever seen someone get taken by a Kelpie?” she asks a bit hesitantly. “Is that why you were so concerned?”
I was worried because she is more important to me than anything. After losing my parents, my greatest fear became losing the people I love. But I don’t know how to tell her that without making her uncomfortable.
She knows my parents were killed by Trolls, but I didn’t explain what fully happened because the memory is something I do not linger on… not if I can help it.
“Well?” she asks, pulling my attention back to her.
“I’ve not seen someone hurt by a Kelpie,” I admit. “But I learned early in life never to let down my guard, even if I suspect something is relatively safe.”
“What do you mean?”
“I told you that my parents were killed by Trolls, but I didn’t tell you how it happened.” I clench my jaw as the echoes of remembered pain move through me. “My mother and several others were captured while traveling through the woods along the border of the Troll territories.”
I swallow against the knot in my throat. “We declared war on their people, and I rode with my father into battle, to help free them… to get her back. Naively, I thought we would rescue her. That it would be a victory story we'd tell for years, but when we got there, they had already killed her.”
I close my eyes briefly against the sadness. “Our people eventually defeated the Trolls, but at great cost. I lost my father in battle.”
“Oh, Auren, I’m so sorry.” She gently squeezes my arm, around her waist. “I can’t imagine how terrible that must have been.”
Unable to speak, I nod. After a moment, I find my voice again. “When I lost them, it made me realize that I should never take things for granted. Anything can happen in the blink of an eye, and your entire world can change in an instant.”
“That’s why you were worried about me drowning,” she murmurs, and I nod.
She looks at me, concern etched in her features. “I understand why you were worried, but… you cannot live your life in fear, Auren.” She shakes her head. “I’ve seen what it’s done to my father—the fear of losing me and Aldric. Trust me: you don’t want to live that way.”
“I understand what you are saying.” I sigh heavily. “I know that life is too short and too uncertain to hold it at arm's length. So I try to enjoy each day as it comes, but to also be mindful of the world around me.”
I meet her gaze evenly. “I won’t allow fear to dictate my actions, but I will always do what I can to protect those I love. And I try to honor my parents—to live in such a way that they would be proud of the man I’ve become. At least… I hope they would be.”
Gently, she squeezes my hand again. “That starving family at the gates the first day of our travels,” she begins quietly. “You didn't hesitate. You didn't look around to see if anyone was watching. You just… gave.” Vivienne pauses. “I believe your parents would have been proud of you, Auren.”
“Thank you.” Tears sting my eyes, but I hold them back. “That means more than you know.”
She hesitates a beat before adding, “Thank you for watching over me. It… makes me feel safe when you’re around.”
Pride swells my chest even as I blink at her, shocked by her words.
“But don’t let it go to your head,” she says primly. “I’m not some helpless maiden who needs her big, strong Elf husband to do everything for her.”
I arch a brow. “You think I’m big and strong?”
A pink blush spreads across her face even as she gives me a haughty look. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I think it was, my darling wife.” A smile quirks my lips as I flex one arm to show off my biceps, and wink.
She stops short of rolling her eyes. “You’re incorrigible,” she huffs, and I bark out a laugh.
When we stop for another break, she still complains when I insist upon being nearby while she relieves herself, but not as much as she did in the beginning. Not now that she understands my reasoning for being so cautious.
She does, however, begin to complain again once she learns there are no inns on this leg of our travel. And I get the feeling she doesn’t quite believe me about how remote this area is as Vaelen’s stride remains steady, the forest opening ahead into a narrow pathway through the thick woods.
“Are you absolutely sure we’re going the right way, my dear husband?” Vivienne asks, sarcasm lacing her tone.
“I am always sure, my dear wife,” I joke lightly in return.
The scent of iron hits my nostrils and I go still at the same time my Dire wolf comes to an abrupt halt. He lowers his head, ears flat as he emits a deep growl.
“Steady, Vaelen,” I murmur, scanning the woods.
Vivienne looks back at me. “What is it?”
“The scent of iron,” I whisper. “I smell blood.”
All the color drains from her face as I search the woods. “Something is watching us,” I murmur.
A cool breeze winds through the trees, carrying the distinct smell of wet stone mixed with the iron, along with a hint of something floral… something human.
“Stay here, Vivienne.” I dismount in one fluid motion, magic arcing between my fingers and my hand hovering near the hilt of my sword. “Vaelen will keep you safe.”
As I glance at my wolf, understanding passes between us. She is my mate, and he knows that she is the priority.
“Auren, don’t you dare!” She grabs my arm before I can leave, her eyes full of worry. “Don’t go. This could be an ambush.”
Something shifts inside me. Vivienne is genuinely afraid for my well-being.
I move to reassure her. “Vivienne, I swear to you that I am far from helpless.” To demonstrate, I raise my left hand, allowing her to see the tiny sparks of blue magic arcing between my fingers.
“But if someone is injured, they may need our help.”
“Well, maybe we could tell someone at the next village, and they could come back to check on them?” she offers.
As much as I’m enjoying her worrying about me, I hate seeing her so afraid. “All will be well, Vivienne. Now, stay here with Vaelen. I’ll be right back.”
“If you get yourself killed, I’ll never forgive you,” she threatens.
Despite my wariness at our current situation, I bite back a laugh at her ridiculous threat. “Well, now I definitely have to live,” I tease, trying to lighten some of her fear.
She gives me an incredulous look. “I’m being serious, Auren.”
“So am I.” I grin. “Now, wait here. I’ll be back shortly.”