Chapter 36 Paeonia #2
“I will come for you soon after,” he added as if he wanted to placate her panic.
“How?”
He shifted from her but still kept her eyes. “I am a Grim Fae, therefore, my magic dwells within the trees. They will tell me where you are. They will guide me to you.”
“Is that what happened last time? Did you have the trees lead you to where I was taken?”
He nodded.
Her lips formed a tight line. “Why didn’t I turn to stone?” A question she had been brewing with. Though, she knew the answer.
“You didn’t leave out of your own free will.”
“No. Not when the Eldritch stole me.” She shook her head. “Last night. When I left for my father—why didn’t I change?”
He moved away from her, edging toward the door to leave. “There was no reason for it.”
“Rowan,” she called. “Our bargain”—she summoned an unsteady breath—“it was never real… Was it? That night, you bound your blood with mine. But you never solidified a true bargain.” She never signed anything—or whatever it was that fae did to finalize a bargain.
He never followed through. Never sealed her life away to be at his mercy.
“No.” Rowan gave her a once-over, before gesturing his head to her plate of food. “Eat.” He turned and left.
Paeonia remained in the garden the rest of the day. She didn’t hum her usual tune as she tried to heal the wilting rose bush.
“How did it get like this so quickly?” she asked, bending to prep the hardening soil.
Castor lingered behind her. “I think you know.”
She glared at him over her shoulder. “Must you always speak in such riddles?”
He grinned. “Now, what fun would it be if I just spoke plainly? Why, I’d be just like those plebs that do everything the same each day.”
She sighed, standing and brushing her hands on her skirt. “Just because their day is monotonous, doesn’t mean they’re boring. It’s not a farmer’s fault he has to spend all day tending to his crops in order to survive.”
“Always so defensive over your little humans.” He leaned against a statue of a swan, sprites that twinkled in the evening sun. “I loved a human once,” he said wistfully.
Paeonia halted. “Cecilia.”
Castor didn’t move his head, not surprised that Paeonia seemed to know her name. “After you tended to her tombstone, I thought you might ask about her,” he mused, a tinge of hurt in his words.
“I didn’t want to overstep.” She walked over to him, and leaned against the statue beside him. “What was she like?”
“Cecilia,” he mused, “was tall. A wicked tongue. The sharpest eyes you’d ever seen.” He smiled like he was picturing her in front of him now. “But a fae and human are not a good match.” He turned his head to face her. “Humans have such a finite amount of time. And it’s never enough.”
She rested her hand over Castor’s and he trailed the movement. He gave her a lopsided grin.
“But that’s not to say you and—”
Paeonia cut him off. “Stop. I don’t… Just…”
“Peony, my dear, if you no longer desire him—”
“No.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.
None of it matters. Even if I did want him, it wouldn’t matter!
I don’t think we’ll ever truly work. Maybe I thought we could, but we can’t—” Her brows knitted together like she might cry, but this time from sheer frustration.
“What are we to do, Castor? You just said humans and fae are terrible matches. How much time would we even have?”
Castor gazed back at the castle, his voice lowering. “Not everyone gets saving. Even those who might deserve it.”
She picked at her nails, her heart thrumming.
“I can’t remember her voice,” he said quietly. “Our time was brief, but what I wouldn’t give to have just a fraction of it back. Even if it still ended the same.” His head tilted in her direction. “Live, Paeonia. Don’t just exist.”
“But, Castor,” she cried, “what good would such a short time be? We’d tear each other apart. I want forever. And he can’t give me that.” She knew he’d try to, though. And maybe that is what hurt her the most.
Castor hummed. “Maybe forever was meant for memories, not people.”
She rolled her eyes. “How do you always have the perfect retort?”
He patted the top of her hand. “A lot of good would come from your love, Peony. A lot of good.” He angled his head to the side, and Paeonia followed his gaze, the tulips blossoming amongst the hard winter ground.
The sun cast its final gilded crown over the horizon, decorating Castor in gold and copper.
He gestured his head behind her, and Paeonia shifted to look.
Rowan made his way toward them. Something within her hardened, and she completely forgot about whatever it was her and Castor had been discussing.
Suddenly, her lungs restricted her air. “How?” she asked Castor the same question she asked Rowan earlier.
Somehow, Castor understood what she was asking. “He can track you.”
“Promise me,” she pleaded. “Promise me you’ll make sure he finds me.” Her eyes were wild, the sudden terror igniting her blood. The closer Rowan got, the more her hands shook. She almost couldn’t breathe; she was so scared. She didn’t think she would be so scared.
“Peony,” Castor said. He reached for her shoulder, but Rowan’s hand beat him there.
Rowan loomed behind Paeonia, his warm hand weighing her down, grounding her. “It’s time,” he said tersely.
She nodded, spinning to face Rowan. “No matter how complicated this is between us, I need you to find me. I need you to promise you’re going to find me, and kill the Eldritch. The entire town’s life depends on it. My father’s life depends on it.”
Rowan’s hand fell to his side as he muttered quietly under his breath. “I will find you, Pae. I will come for you. Always.”