20
Finn
My mate is a hard witch to get a moment with.
Over our week at camp, she’s been engrossed in her work with Vayla. Obsessive, almost.
But I suppose that just comes with the territory for someone as gifted as she is.
Between the two of them, the guards, and the assistants Vayla brought along, they staked out more than a dozen patches of stellarin flowers and spent each evening gathering blooms.
Once the flowers have had the chance to rest overnight, the team is hard at work removing the internal structures of the blooms to add to their tinctures and potions.
It’s time-consuming, tedious work, and my witch is determined to take double shifts both harvesting and processing the flowers.
Add to that the hours she needs to sleep—stubbornly still in the tent with Vayla despite my very earnest invitation for her to join me in mine—and my guard duties, I feel like I’ve barely seen her by the time we reach our last night on the mountain.
In fact, it seems like she’s deliberately avoiding me, using work as an excuse to keep herself occupied and without a single free second.
I don’t know what to make of it, and in the brief interludes we get together she doesn’t seem like she resents my company. I’m still able to draw more teasing from her, more sass, some of those private little smiles she never seems to give anyone else.
All of it is damned frustrating, and by the end of the week I’d give my left horn if it meant a few hours of uninterrupted time with her.
Still, there have been moments.
A look shared over the fire.
An early morning walk by the river.
An almost-kiss outside my tent on the second-to-last night we spent at camp.
My hand on her jaw, a tapestry of stars above, emerald eyes shining in the darkness.
Beautiful, so beautiful, my mate.
But she retreated into her tent for the evening before anything more could happen.
And that’s alright.
It’s just fine if my witch needs a little more wooing. I’m nothing if not determined, and showing Soleil what a suitable mate I’d make for her is my new life’s mission.
My guard shift is over by early afternoon, and after putting my latest plan in motion and taking a quick dip in the river to freshen up, I head back to camp to search for her.
I run into Glenson first, standing just outside the tent the guards have been using as a makeshift base of operations.
He nods as I approach. “Nighfall.”
“Glenson,” I return the greeting.
For a few moments we stand side by side in stoic silence, surveying the camp, the demons wrapping up their last day here. The blossoms have all been gathered and processed. The guards and Vayla’s team are at work beginning preparations to break down camp and leave in the morning.
We’ll all have one last night of revelry, dinner and drinking around the fire to celebrate the end of our mission.
A successful trip, all things considered.
Aside from the whole nearly dying by drakon fire thing. But what’s a trip to the Bone Peaks without a bit of danger?
“I meant to thank you,” Glenson says, breaking the silence.
“For?”
“For volunteering to come along. I know you haven’t been much involved with the guard or court business, but I always appreciate a demon willing to lend a hand. And, of course, for what you did for Soleil.”
I clear my throat, still tight at the reminder of how close I came to losing her. “Of course.”
I start to say something else, but a glimpse of long raven curls from the other side of camp halts those words in their tracks.
Another sunset graces my witch with its light, and like every time I see her, it’s enough to freeze my breath in my lungs.
Soleil is talking to Vayla, entirely oblivious to who’s admiring her.
Or… maybe not.
Like it’s started doing the last few days, the magick in my chest gives a sharp tug as soon as she’s near. Effervescent and anticipatory, it fills me up, suffuses me with warmth, until I’m surprised my skin isn’t glowing with it.
Soleil meets my eye.
A spark, in those beautiful emerald depths, as if she’s just as aware of that magic as I am. She smiles, shakes her head in slight exasperation, and turns back to Vayla.
I continue to admire her for a few long moments, and it takes me even longer to remember I’m not standing here alone.
Glenson’s eyes bounce back and forth between the two of us, and he looks so forlorn I’d almost have pity on him in any other circumstance.
Almost.
He lets out a long sigh. “There’s something between the two of you, isn’t there?”
Would Soleil want me to keep this a secret?
We haven’t talked about it, and maybe we should before I say anything, but…
“She’s my mate.”
It comes out so easily, so naturally, a quiet claim I’d rather be roaring from the mountaintops.
A startled laugh punches out of Glenson. “Really?”
“You’re surprised?”
He puts up his hands at the surliness in my tone. “No, I… I just… wow, Finn. Congratulations. To you both. A rare gift from the Goddess, finding your mate.”
Thanking him, I take my leave.
I’ve got other things on my mind tonight than making small talk with the Lieutenant.
It’s our last night here at camp, our last night before we return to the court, and I’ve tried to avoid thinking about what that will mean.
Soleil let me know she initially came to this realm to help Vayla with a grimoire—some complicated, esoteric task, no doubt, given my witch’s considerable skill.
But after that?
I have no idea.
Other than what she shared that first night around the bonfire, Soleil has been cagey about her life in the human realm or when she plans to return to it.
Tonight, I intend to get some answers.
I intend to draw my witch away, to spend some time with her, to enjoy this evening together before we plunge back into the chaos of the court.
As the sun sets behind the mountains, I make my move.
Soleil has been helping to pack up the healer’s tent, but as everyone finishes up their work and drifts out for the evening, I position myself strategically nearby.
It pays off when Soleil exits alone, still looking half-distracted by her thoughts, and I’m able to catch her hand as she walks by. She startles, but her expression immediately melts into a delightfully put-upon smile when she realizes who stopped her.
“Have you been avoiding me, sunshine?”
I think she’ll laugh, maybe tease me a little about being overzealous and obsessed with her. Neither of which are untrue, and though her smile doesn’t disappear, it falters a little, not quite reaching her eyes.
“Sorry,” she says, running her other hand through her hair. “It’s been a long week.”
“A successful week,” I point out, hoping it will lift her spirits from whatever is weighing on her. “Vayla said you got more of the blossoms than you expected.”
She nods. “Yeah. We did. There should be plenty to brew the essence they need.”
“Will you be helping with that, too?”
Now, her smile leaves her. Her face falls, and she lets out a long breath.
The weight of the world in that sigh. So much said without a single word.
“I wish,” she mutters.
“I’m sure they would be glad to have your expertise,” I try for encouragement, but it only seems to deflate her spirits further.
She drops my hand and looks away, eyes caught on where Vayla and the rest of the healers and apprentices are gathered, toasting a job well done. The longing in Soleil’s eyes finally makes it click.
“Unless… you won’t be here to help?” Even as I say the words, a chill runs through me.
Goddess, we haven’t talked about any of it.
We’ve barely had any time at all, and a clock I never even considered starts ticking.
How much longer do we have?
“That’s part of it,” Soleil says, speaking slowly and choosing her words carefully. “I will have to go back to my realm, eventually.”
My heart sinks. “How soon?”
Soleil looks at her feet.
Hiding again. Avoiding this conversation. I don’t know the reason, but it sends a shot of panic through me. An unpleasant reality check I’d rather not face.
My mate and I are from different worlds, with different lives, and I don’t yet know her well enough to figure out what that means.
Perhaps I merely need to give her a reason to stay.
A reason to be here, with me. To accept her demon mate and all this realm has to offer.
“Come for a walk with me?”
I’ve had this plan in mind all day, but it hinges on my mate being willing to trust me, to spend some time with me, despite whatever reasons she’s kept herself at arm’s length these past few days.
Perhaps she won’t.
Perhaps she’s seen enough of me to know I’m not the demon for her.
Perhaps whatever’s waiting for her back in her realm is better than anything I could offer her here.
Perhaps—
“Okay.” She extends her hand to me, and I take it gratefully within my own. “Lead the way.”
Heart singing in my chest at the show of trust from my mate, I lead her away from camp and up the sloping path into the mountains.
Understandably, her eyes scan our surroundings warily.
She’s been careful each night she’s been out collecting flowers, and whether she knows it or not, most of my attention has been on her.
I’ve still been doing my duty to protect the group, but all of my senses orient themselves toward her, ready to spring into action at the first sign of a threat.
And tonight is no different.
“We’re safe,” I say softly, pulling her closer to my side. “I’m quick with a portal, if you haven’t noticed.”
That earns me a smile. “Oh, believe me, I noticed.”
She relaxes as we continue on, and when we reach our destination, she lets out a gasp of pleasure and surprise.
Goddess, I nearly preen with pride. Such a small gesture, but the way it delights her makes me feel like I could move mountains as I take her hand and lead her to her surprise.
A picnic.
Perhaps a bit fanciful, but I took my free time this afternoon to arrange everything.
Dinner. Wine. A soft blanket to sit on and even a small pit dug nearby with a fire ready to be started.
We’ll be warm here, safe here, alone here to spend our last night on the mountain together.