13. Like an Addiction – Elias
Like an Addiction
ELIAS
Rosemary wandered through the woods, her leather-bound journal always in hand.
Her tongue peeked from the corner of her mouth as her brow furrowed in concentration.
Each image she captured was a near-perfect likeness, capturing the essence of every plant she studied.
I often had to shout warnings as she attempted to jot notes while walking.
She dismissed my complaints about her frequent stops to study the forest fauna, finding my objections to her drawing while moving equally unwelcome.
"You know," she said suddenly, stopping mid-step and turning to face me with an expression I hadn't seen before, "I'm tired of you treating me like I don't know what I'm doing."
I paused, caught off guard by the firmness in her voice. "What do you mean?"
"Every time I stop to gather something, you act like I'm wasting precious time.
But I've been a healer for over a century, Elias.
I know which plants we'll need." She secured something carefully in her pack, her movements deliberate and confident.
"Those pixies we encountered? If they had enchanted you instead of just trying to lure you into their dance, some of these plants could have saved your life.
The sedatives I've collected could help us escape if we're cornered by something we can't fight.”
"I never said you didn't know what you were doing," I replied, but something in her stance made me reconsider my usual dismissive tone.
"You didn't have to say it. It's in every sigh, every impatient gesture.
" She shouldered her pack and met my gaze directly, unflinching.
"I may need your help to reach the daemonacus flower, but don't mistake that for incompetence.
I've kept my sister alive for a century when everyone else said it was hopeless. And I’ve survived living alone in the woods for all that time. I am capable of more than you know."
I found myself studying her with new eyes, seeing something I'd somehow missed. "You're right," I said, the admission surprising me. "I apologize. I'm not used to..." I trailed off.
"Used to what?"
"Used to traveling with someone whose judgment I trust as much as my own." The words came out before I could stop them, and they were truer than I'd expected.
Something shifted in her expression, a confidence settling into her features that made my chest tight. "Then trust me now. The next time I stop to gather something, it's because we need it. Not because I'm being careless with time."
For the first time since we'd started this journey, she felt like my equal rather than someone I was protecting. And that realization was both thrilling and terrifying. I loved this side of her.
We walked for hours this morning in a deafening silence.
The quiet didn't seem to bother Rosemary as much as it did me. I couldn't figure her out. How had she forgotten me so easily? I'd given hints to our past that should have gone off like fireflies within her mind, but still, our history seemed lost to her.
Getting her to love me again would be difficult if I wasn't within her memory, especially with her newfound biases against the unseelie. How was I supposed to do it? How could I bypass those prejudices and get her to fall for me again before time ran out?
She shut her journal with a loud snap, her fingers gripping the weathered leather cover firmly. With narrowed eyes, she glanced back over her shoulder, clearly annoyed. Her brown eyes sparkled with irritation as she pursed her lips at my deliberate dawdling behind her.
Her ankle was no longer swollen, but she still walked cautiously as if the pain lingered. She tucked the journal into her pack. The plant she'd been documenting lay at least thirty minutes behind us now. When her gaze met mine, I smiled.
One day… The full moon was in three days and we still had a long journey ahead. Each second we hesitated was another second taken from us and our chance to break the curse. I hated that our time was limited, that this deadline loomed over us both in more ways than one.
A stream of sunlight caught her golden hair, highlighting the brassy red beneath the glow.
She'd twisted it into two braids, though many loose strands had fallen free during the hike.
Waves framed her soft, delicate face and drew attention to the smooth lines of her jaw.
It was mesmerizing. Honestly, her hair had always been my undoing.
Even now, my fingers itched to undo those ties at the ends of her braids.
A blush crept up her neck, painting her cheeks rosy as her attention dropped to my crooked smile.
I lifted my right arm over my head and leaned back until my spine pressed into the trunk of a nearby tree.
She tore her gaze from me, but not before I saw a flash of anger behind her eyes.
My smile still affected her, and she didn't like that one bit. Knowing this only made me smile wider.
"You know, for a healer, you sure have a talent for attracting trouble," I said, stifling a laugh when she swung back to face me.
Rosemary gestured to the path ahead with her hand. "I thought you were annoyed with my frequent breaks. Shouldn't we be moving along?" she said, her teeth setting with irritation as she glared back at me. "And I'm not trying to attract any trouble. I'm just trying to save my sister from her curse."
I pushed myself forward, following behind her as she moved through the woods. She never held the branches at bay for me to walk through with her, and I'd caught her soft giggles the few times I'd caught them with my face or body instead of my hands.
She walked through the trees as if she were one of them, and I'd have sworn that I'd seen them bend out of her way, if only just slightly, at least a time or two. Out here, she didn't have to tend and worry and measure. She could simply be.
"You might not be trying to attract trouble, but you certainly are doing it," I replied, catching the branch she'd moved out of her way seconds before it smacked right into my nose.
Inches. I'd caught it in time by a mere two inches.
"Those pixies haven't been seen this far from their borders in decades.
Luckily for you, though, I'm here to keep you safe.
" When she shot another look my way, I waggled my eyebrows.
She almost dropped her anger for a smile then. Almost.
"You think it was your influence that kept us safe from the pixies' lure last night?
" she asked, stopping so suddenly that I came a breath away from walking into her when she spun to face me.
She had her arms crossed over her chest, a single dark brow arched as she stared at me.
"You would have danced your feet bloody if not for me! "
"Maybe that's how it looked from where you were sitting," I said, lifting my arms as I sashayed closer to her using some of the dance moves that I put to use last night.
"They wouldn't have denied my prowess for long though.
" I danced a tight circle around her. "No one can withstand my charm for long. "
Rosemary choked on a laugh. "You aren't as charming as you think." Her whiskey gaze followed my movements as I spun around her. "You're like a bad dream that I simply cannot wake up from."
"Oh, princess, I think you misspoke. I'm like an erotic dream that you don't want to escape."
My balance faltered as she shoved my shoulder hard. "You’re dreaming," she replied, turning from me and heading forward once more as I fell to the leaf littered ground.
I jumped to my feet and trailed only a few feet behind her, dodging the branches she pushed away from her as she passed them.
"Oh, princess," I answered, unable to keep the smirk from my lips as my words worked their magic on her.
"You have no idea just how close to the truth you are.
I do dream. Every night, actually." Something I'd done for nearly the past one hundred years.
"Then," she said over her shoulder, not bothering to even glance my way, "It looks like you're the one stuck in a nightmare. Doomed to chase something you want but are never quite capable enough to actually capture it."
My stomach churned at her words, because she had no idea how accurate it felt like she was.
A large root caught the toe of Rosemary's boot, and she stumbled.
Within the blink of an eye, I went from a few paces behind her to next to her, my arms stretching to break her fall.
I lifted her back onto her feet, letting her straighten her skirts as I smiled at her.
"Careful, you're going to want to keep your eyes on where we're headed.
You keep looking back at me and you'll end up falling again. "
She swatted at the dust that had settled onto her skirt a bit more forcefully as she glared at me. "It seems to me that you have a talent for making women reassess their life choices," she said through clenched teeth.
I placed my hand to my chest. "Oh, you wound me!
" I batted my lashes at her. "It seems the pixie queen has been spilling all my secrets.
" I lowered my voice as I trailed behind her again.
"Because if I’m being serious, the only one who should be stumbling here is me.
Truly. Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? "
She sighed. "My sister is the beauty of our family."
"Oh, I'm sure she’s beautiful too, but I was referring to the beauty that is right in front of me. You’re aware that you shine brighter than just the beauty of your skin, right?
" I grabbed her hand, halting her steps as I forced her to hear these words.
She needed to know the effect she had on those around her.
"You have the type of beauty that’s not just surface deep.
It's richer than that, and it radiates from you like a beacon for all. "