18. Evanee #3
Dimitri turned, looking to Aiden, whose face twisted into something lethal. I forced myself to swallow the remaining leaves as the air thickened with tension.
“I’m not trying to sound like an ass, but we do have a job to do,” Dimitri finished, strapping his sword on.
“He’s right,” I blurted, although part of me was a little perplexed. I thought we’d developed a small friendship. If anything, I'd have expected this from Malachai.
“No, he isn’t.” Aiden locked in on Dimitri, his expression unwavering. “You’re not in charge. I am. And I say that we made it through those cliffs in record time, therefore she has time to enjoy something as inconsequential as the springs.”
Dimitri held his hands up in a defensive posture.
“Easy, Aiden, just trying to be the responsible one. It’s easy to get sidetracked when our mission is something so pretty for once.” I glared at him. He rolled his eyes. “It’s a compliment! Fine, whatever. I’m not the one in charge, like you said. Just… trying to watch out for you, boss.”
“I don’t need you watching out for me, Dimitri.” Aiden glared at the wolf until the latter conceded with a small bow of his head.
“Malachai and I will escort her. You can keep watch over the horses and get everything ready.” Aiden’s authoritative tone was not one you argued with. It would seem Dimitri recognized that as well, turning to the tasks at hand. Meanwhile, Aiden beckoned me to follow.
Malachai followed a short distance behind us, always watching.
“Is this going to cause problems with Dimitri?” I asked. Though I’m not sure why I cared. Discourse between the three of them would actually work in my favor.
“He’ll be fine. He’s mostly eager to get back to his mate.”
“His mate?”
“Yeah, they were newly mated right before we were sent on this mission. They didn’t get much time to….” He glanced sideways at me. “They just didn’t get much time.”
“But he—and Marigold—”
Aiden smirked. “Wolves are very sexual creatures—especially alphas like Dimitri. With his mating being so new and not much time to be with her, it was bound to happen.”
My eyebrows flew into my hairline. I’m glad I’m not a wolf.
He laughed as he took in my face. “I still manage to forget you don’t know about the nature of different beings.”
“Are there any other beings like that?” Are you? I wanted to ask. Is there a female waiting for you, and I’m just here to pass the time?
He ducked under a branch, holding it for me as we passed.
“Fae don’t really mate.” He kicked a hollow log from our path.
“Contracts suit them better since they’re solitary creatures.
The Dragon Shifters in the south mate. Unless a stronger male or female challenges to steal a mate and kills them.
I’ve seen one of those fights happen and…
” he chuckled darkly, shaking his head. “It was brutal.” I wrinkled my nose.
“Not sure about the Elementals. They kept their secrets pretty close. ”
“And the Gargoyles?” The question slipped past my lips before I could stop it.
He hesitated before answering. “They were the only beings that mated for life, if they were blessed enough to find their mate. True bonds disappeared when their powers did. So, they created matching ceremonies.”
“Matching ceremonies?”
He scratched the back of his neck. “They’d perform a ritual that would make a female’s color change to that of the male she was matched with.” I scrunched my nose at that. Arranged marriages, matches, or whatever they were called, sounded awful.
“Would have made things more interesting if the Gargoyles had been able to find their bonded mate. The few texts I’ve seen say they’d often send mated pairs away until their bond calmed.”
“Why?”
“Because they became dangerously territorial and couldn’t keep their hands off one another.” He offered his hand as we stepped over a fallen tree.
I smiled. “What’s wrong with that?”
“I imagine it would've been difficult for everyone else when a mated pair tried to kill anyone who got too close to their mate. That and they’d walk around smelling like sex constantly.” Oh. I cleared my throat, yanking my hand from his and fiddled with the end of my braid.
“How do you know so much about them? About everything?” The Gargoyles fascinated me the most—and something in my chest tightened at the admission. I hated that they were gone now.
“I studied and spent time in different places. As I said before, as captain, I need to know all of the histories."
“Where did you grow up?”
“Malachai and I both grew up far away from here.”
“Will you tell me what you are?”
He paused a moment, chewing on his lip, before saying, “You don’t want to know.” Then pushed forward.
I ground my teeth. Why wouldn’t he just tell me what he was? What did it matter? Odds were, I wouldn’t even see him after he handed me over to the King. Hell, I’ll probably have a permanent spot in the dungeons or something worse.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Malachai’s golden glare. I jogged to catch up to Aiden.
“Is Malachai always like that? Or is it me? I get the feeling he’s not my biggest fan.”
Aiden smiled tightly. “Malachai can be intense. But I assure you that if he had a problem with you, you’d know. He just…. lost something long ago. Ever since, he’s been closed off.”
I wondered about the brooding male behind us. It was hard to picture him as anything but a serious warrior. But maybe he had a family he lost. Like me in a way. It made me look at him in a different light. Kind of.
We came to a stop, and my jaw dropped at the serene beauty before us.
Massive trees stood tall and proud, with snow delicately blanketing the top.
Thick vines looped across one another, connecting them all, cascading down to the white forest floor.
Aiden pulled the dense curtain of vines aside, revealing a small, steaming body of water, barely big enough for two people in the center of the trees.
“We’ll be nearby if you need us.” He winked, eyes raking over my body. Blood rushed to my cheeks, and I knew Aiden noticed his affect on me. My gaze flicked toward Malachai, where he’d stopped some distance away.
“All of this flirtation, and you don’t even know if I have a male in my life. You didn’t bother asking,” I spoke lowly, with as much confidence as I could muster.
Aiden dropped the vines, shielding us both inside, stepping so close that I had to crane my neck to look at him.
“And do you have a male?” His voice changed—a challenge.
I reveled in it.
“Maybe,” I said, breathlessly. His mouth curved, fangs grazing his lower lip. He leaned closer. The scent of him filled my nostrils, making my stomach flutter. Close enough that with one small movement, we would collide—
“Doubtful,” he murmured, his lips a hair’s breadth from mine.
“I can see the hunger in your eyes when you look at me. I could feel it on the beach.” His gaze dropped, just for a heartbeat, before lifting again—dark, intent.
“If Malachai hadn’t interrupted, you would’ve gotten exactly what you were asking for. ”
Heat coiled low in my body, sharp and insistent, my pulse betraying me as it thundered in my ears. I stood perfectly still, not trusting myself to move—not trusting what I might do.
“Aiden.” Malachai’s voice cut through the vines. Indifferent on the surface—but the warning beneath it was unmistakable. “We don’t have all day.”
Aiden straightened, his face falling, the moment snapping like a cord pulled too tight. I used the distraction to duck away; my legs trembled as adrenaline and need rushed through me.
I dared a glance over my shoulder. Both males were gone, swallowed by the wall of vines, leaving me completely alone.
A shaky breath brushed past my lips.
I slipped out of my clothes and laid them on a rock, as I did countless times at the river.
Goosebumps covered my exposed flesh as the icy air assaulted me and my bare feet touched the snow. One foot after the other into the water, and I was already sighing. It was deliciously hot as I lowered into the welcomed heat.
At the river, I always had sounds all around me.
The water rushing, birds singing—here, it was silent.
Eerily so. I listened for hushed conversations between Malachai and Aiden, but not even that sound carried past the vines.
Nothing. Like the vines and surrounding trees created a private little oasis in the middle of a tundra.
I sank beneath the surface, shuddering as I continued to thaw, the heat sinking into my back in a gratifying way. My lungs burned as I tried to stay under longer, but I lost the battle and popped back into the frozen world surrounding me.
“Hello again.”
My eyes snapped open, locking onto the enrapturing gaze that plagued my thoughts and dreams.
But before I could say anything, my skin prickled all over, a metallic scent burning my nostrils.
“What the hell—” My vision darkened as my body slid down. The last thing I felt was warm, strong arms pulling me up.
Then nothing.