Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Where?” Aislan asked eagerly.
“Aislan,” Sierra turned to Aodhan’s brother. “Do you think your father would really punish Aodhan for betraying him, or do you think he probably just wanted to scare him a little?”
Aislan rubbed his chin with his hands. “I think he would probably just want to scare him a little; after all, he is the favorite child.”
Sierra nodded in agreement. “I don’t know your father well, but I know my parents, and although they frequently get angry, they usually just want to scare a little sense into me.
Therefore, I think it is unlikely that Conlan actually sent Aodhan to Sceach Gheal, if it is as scary and difficult to escape as it sounds. ”
“I agree,” Aislan said. “I think he is in Cuileann.” Braan raised one eyebrow, still clearly thinking that Sceach Gheal was the better choice, but he let Aislan continue.
“It’s safer to traverse the forest during daylight hours, so I vote we stay here for the night and leave in the early hours of the morning. ”
Sierra bit her lip. While she would much rather be able to see where she was walking, she was also still a bit worried she was being hunted. “But what about Conlan?”
Aislan shrugged. “Honestly, at this point, there’s enough forest that the chances of running into him are very slim, and I doubt he would search for you for more than a day. Either way, we will be careful.”
Kaye stood up from the table, putting her hands on the wood surface. “Now that we’ve settled that, how about we have some dinner and take some baths?”
All of them nodded enthusiastically, and Sierra followed Kaye into the kitchen while the men folded up the map. “Need any help?” she asked.
Kaye smiled. “Actually, I’ve already got something in the oven, so most of the work is done, but I’m glad you followed me.
” She looked over Sierra’s shoulder to ensure the men were occupied before lowering her voice.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay and that nothing happened that you couldn’t tell Aislan about. ”
Sierra was glad that Kaye was checking in on her, even though it was unnecessary, “No, I’m okay; mostly just scratched and bruised but nothing serious happened. I actually got in some good thinking time while I was locked up, believe it or not,” she joked.
Kaye’s eyes searched her face for a moment; looking for what, Sierra was unsure of.
But she nodded and then turned to the black iron oven, where Sierra could see a flame behind the rack holding whatever their dinner was.
“If you’re sure. You know you can always talk to me, right?
I’m a girl’s girl, so I’ll always side with you. ”
“I’m sure,” Sierra assured her. “Now let’s eat!”
Dinner turned out delicious, though Sierra wasn’t sure what it even was. It was some form of casserole filled with potatoes, mushrooms, and some other vegetables she had never seen. Either way, they all took seconds and thirds, scraping the bottom of the pan when it was eventually empty.
After dinner, they sat in the living room, discussing the route they would take the next day. Well, everyone except Sierra discussed, since she had no idea where anything was in Sidhe.
As they sat there, Sierra felt herself getting tired. She had slept all day, but yawn after yawn kept passing her lips. After fighting it for a while, she finally gave up, standing to announce she was going to bed.
While Braan tried to argue that she had slept all day, Aislan understood, bidding her goodnight as Kaye rose with her to work on filling a much-needed bath.
Sierra watched as Kaye added a few pots of boiling water to the tub, adding room temperature water to help dissipate the heat. Although Sierra’s skin was now almost completely clear from her psoriasis, she stayed dressed out of habit, leaning against the wall as Kaye worked to fill the tub.
“Can I help in any way?” Sierra asked, feeling bad that she wasn’t lugging her own water for her bath.
Kaye shook her head. “No, I’m almost done.” She patted Sierra’s shoulder as she returned to the kitchen for the final bucket of boiling water. “When you’re done, allow the water to cool completely before you release the plug. The water goes right to the tree, and we wouldn’t want to burn it.”
Sierra nodded, thinking how cool it was that they recycled their bath water directly to the forest. “How does the water get up here anyway?” Sierra hoped that Kaye wasn’t lugging it up from the ground below by the bucketful.
“A type of hose that runs up the side of the tree. It’s made from old tree roots, so it blends right in. But of course, we can’t cover the full tree with them, so most treehouses have only one tap, though some have two.”
Kaye turned to leave, but Sierra had one last burning question she couldn’t brush off.
“You talk about this place as if you’ve been here before.”
Kaye smiled. “I have. Aodhan spends a lot of time here, and he and Braan have been friends since I’ve known Braan, so whenever we come to visit, we stay here.”
Sierra didn’t say anything else as Kaye closed the door behind her.
Glad to finally be in water which was for bathing, and not preparing her for bloodletting, Sierra didn’t waste any time slipping off the loaned clothes and sinking into the water. She wasn’t sure how Kaye did it, but the water was the perfect temperature.
Using the soap that had been left for her, she quickly scrubbed herself and washed her hair, marveling at how smooth her skin was. It had been lesion-pocked for so long, it was an absolute luxury to be able to run her hand up her arm without stopping.
The water seemed to stay warmer much longer than was natural, and Sierra briefly wondered if the tub carried an enchantment or if it, too, was made from a special material to help it fulfill its purpose.
Either way, after some time, she climbed from the tub, wrapped a towel around herself, and headed into the bedroom to find that Kaye had managed to put fresh sheets on the bed while she had been bathing.
A large tunic was laid out on the bed, likely belonging to Aodhan, along with some undergarments that resembled boy short underwear in the human world.
Sierra was so tired that she didn’t really care who the tunic or undergarment belonged to as she pulled them on and slid into bed.
She must’ve fallen asleep quickly because the next thing Sierra knew, it was pitch black in the room, and she could hear a rustling sound in the dark.
Kaye must’ve removed the lighting jars or shut them off somehow.
She was so sure it was Kaye cleaning up after her bath that Sierra rolled over to her other side, intending to go right back to sleep.
It wasn’t until she felt the covers being pulled back and a warm body slipping into bed with her that she realized something was off, and within a millisecond, her mind snapped awake.
Sierra yanked herself back from whoever was in bed with her, yelling as she ended up on the floor.
It was still pitch black as Sierra fought her way to her feet, her legs tangled in the luxurious sheets she had been praising just hours before.
Once she was standing on her feet, her back against the wall, she realized whoever it had been wasn’t trying to grab her or put a hand over her mouth as she expected from a kidnapping.
Debating whether to yell again, or to use her words, Sierra finally decided on the latter.
“Wh-who’s there?” She stuttered, her voice coming out way weaker than she intended.
“It’s me.”
For a moment, Sierra’s mind was confused. The voice sounded so familiar but much lower than Aislan’s—
“A-Aodhan?” she asked in shock.
He must’ve been fixing the lights, or turning them on or whatever, because a moment later, the jars illuminated the room in a low yellow glow that glinted off Aodhan’s chiseled jaw, his eyes looking ocean green rather than their usual emerald.
Sierra wasn’t sure what she was expecting him to say as they stared at each other in the dim light after what had been a terrible week—or was it two? But it certainly wasn’t the “yes” that came out of his mouth as he crossed the bed, coming to stand in front of her.
Sierra’s breath came out in ragged gasps as her sleep-addled brain tried to catch up to what was going on. “Is this a dream?” she asked in a breathy whisper, as Aodhan’s hands came to rest on either side of her face.
“If so, we are having the same dream, I suppose,” he replied, pressing his lips to hers.