9. A Map of Scars – Elias
A Map of Scars
ELIAS
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?
I swear we’ve passed this tree at least three times now," Rosemary asked as we trudged along the path that led through the borderlands and into fae territory.
She paused, looking at the ever-darkening trees surrounding us, the foliage above so thick that barely any sunlight trickled to the moist ground beneath our feet.
Every step we took, the atmosphere changed, charged more and more with magic that seemed to sizzle within the air around us.
I couldn't keep my annoyance at bay as a I heaved a heavy sigh. "Yes. For the tenth time, I’m absolutely positive that we’re going the right way," I informed her. "The forest plays tricks on the untrained mind."
I walked a few feet ahead of her, turning to watch as she took in the land before us. Like me, she could feel the magic in her veins as strongly as I could, the wildness of it as it danced across our skin. I breathed easier within its hold.
It was a magic that called out only to fae. Wild and possessive. Unpredictable. And powerful. In many ways, the pure essence of fae magic reminded me of the woman with me. She was definitely unpredictable.
Our journey had only just begun and she’d already scolded my pace half a dozen times, accusing me of not taking her quest seriously enough.
There really is no hope for my boots at this point.
Yet, by now, we’d already stopped three times for her to examine…
a plant. They looked identical to me, but Rosemary's keen eyes spotted differences in each petal, flower, and stem.
She would ask if I knew what she had discovered, her fingers brushing the plant with a reverence that captivated me.
Her face lit up with wonder as she softly explained the plant's uses, harvesting a small portion for later.
"When you came of age, for your ceremony, what was your magical affinity?" I asked, trying to distract her mind. She needed to be focused on the path ahead.
"I don't know." She shrugged, her boots shuffling on the dirt-trodden path. We would need to move deeper into the wood and off the beaten path soon. There were plenty of darker souls who would prey upon weary travelers too foolish to know better than to travel these paths.
"What do you mean: you don't know?" I asked, pulling two apples from my pack and handing one to her.
She eyed it carefully, even bringing it to her nose to give it a sniff, before she sank her teeth into it.
I swallowed deeply as I watched her lips slide against the shiny red skin.
When her gaze met mine, I smiled. "It's not enchanted.
Remember?" I held up the back of my hand for her inspection, showing her the tattoo that matched her own. "I can't harm you."
Already, the path had become thick with overgrowth, an indication that we needed to step off it soon. She took another bite of apple, licking the juices from her lower lip before she replied. I’d become so fascinated with her mouth that I'd almost forgotten my question.
"I was too young to have a ceremony or to learn how to develop my magic when..." her words trailed off, and a faraway look passed over her face.
I waited, enveloped by the forest's whispers as we ate in silence. Finally, she backed away and started walking. I climbed to my feet and hurried after her.
"Princess," I called out to her, watching as her back straightened and her fists clenched at her sides.
She turned and snarled at me, "For the last time, do not call me that! I’m no princess."
I smirked, but I didn't correct her. She had no idea who I was, but I knew her. Instead, I let an apologetic expression form on my face. "Sorry. It's just that you remind me of someone I once knew."
The words were out before I could stop them, too close to the truth. She was looking at me with such warmth, such faith that I might actually be worth saving, and it took everything I had not to confess everything right then.
Tell her who you really are, a voice in my head whispered. Tell her about the bond, about what your mother did, about why you're really here.
But I couldn't. Because if she knew the truth, she'd never trust me to get her to the flower. She'd never let me help save her sister. And she'd never forgive me for what I planned to do.
No, the plan had to stay intact. Let her care for me, let myself fall deeper in love with her every day, and then walk away before she discovered what I really was. It was better this way. Cleaner.
Even if it was slowly killing me.
I walked past her, our shoulders brushing as I took the lead. I turned from the trail, choosing now to travel an uncharted path through the woods for our safety.
"Shouldn't we be going straight?" she asked, remaining in place with her arms folded over her chest.
"No," I replied, my hands working to hold branches out of my face as I moved through the thicker wood. "It’s far more dangerous to be caught on that traveled path than to forge our own way through the forest. We take the untraveled path always, as is our way."
She remained where she stood. "You mean the unseelie way."
I shrugged, letting go of the branch to grab the next one. "Same thing."
I heard her steps hesitantly following behind mine. Her grunts as she ducked under reaching branches. "But it's not the same thing."
"But it is," I said lowly, with more bite than I had intended as I whirled to face her. The prejudice in her words and thoughts bothered me more than I cared to admit. I breathed in deeply, trying to let it go.
She shook her head and stepped back, creating space between us. Her eyes fiercely locked onto mine, even as I towered over her. I licked my lips while staring down, catching what seemed like a fleeting desire in her deep brown eyes. But it vanished too quickly to be certain.
"I hate to tell you this, darling, but we were once the same. There was no division between us until we came to this realm." I leaned closer, erasing whatever distance she tried to place between us. "So trust me when I tell you that it’s our way."
She smelled of vanilla and sunshine, a heady scent that filled my senses as our noses almost touched. I inched closer, and she met my gaze with defiance. We breathed the same air, and her nearness ignited my blood.
"Yeah," she said, her words breathy. "That was a really long time ago. It's been different ever since."
"You know what I think, Rosemary?" I asked, not giving her time to answer as I let my chin graze her cheek as I lowered my lips to her ear. My voice dropped to a whisper. "I think you're just worried how much like me you truly are."
She sucked in a quick breath, taking a step backward as she glared up at me. "I am not!"
I smirked. I could see that fear all across her face, written there like a story for anyone to read. Her chest heaved with her enraged breaths.
"I think," I continued, "that you are using it as a way to keep your distance from me. I've seen the way you look at me. How I make you feel. That scares you, so you're drawing a line of separation that will make it easier for you to keep us apart. It won't work, of course."
I turned then, having said what needed to be said, and pushed forward, holding branches aside so she could follow. I couldn't keep the smirk from my face at the sounds of her heaving breath and stomping feet.
"I don't even know you!" she huffed, her hurried steps trying to keep up with my lengthier pace.
Stopping for a moment, she almost slammed into my back before I faced her again.
"Don't you though?" My hand hesitantly rose between us, until my fingertips toyed with the bottom of one of her braids that laid over her shoulder.
I gave it a soft little tug, the same way I always had.
Something flickered across her face, but then it was gone again.
Rosemary turned her head, trying to keep me from reading her.
She opened her mouth as if to respond, but she snapped it shut a moment later.
She pulled in a deep breath and placed a careful step between us.
"Listen," she said, her gaze still not meeting mine. "If we’re going to do this, if we’re going to help each other, then we’re going to need to set some ground rules.
This..." She motioned between us, finally lifting an accusing glare my way.
"Whatever it is you are trying to do here, it isn't going to happen. "
"As you wish, princess," I said with a cocky smirk before I turned back around, starting forward once more.
I only made it two steps before I heard something rustling behind me, then something hit me square in the back.
When I glanced down, a stone rolled to a stop beneath me.
I spun around. "Did you just throw a rock at me?
" I sauntered toward her, unable to keep the smile from my face.
"Oh, you vicious little thing. You know that a little violence really tur—“
She didn't let me finish. "I was aiming for your big dumb head, but you're too damn tall!" She crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at me. "Now, you’ll promise me that you’ll respect what we need to do here and not try anything, or I won't take another step forward."
"I'm the one you maimed, and you're worried about me trying something?" I feigned bafflement. "Next, you'll drown me in the river and blame it on me."
While my features portrayed an air of amusement, I watched her carefully, willing her to remember who I was. She stared at me, her arms still hugging her chest in frustration. There was something there between us, but it vanished within a blink.
"If I drown you in a river, it will be because you deserved it. Trust me."
"Aren't healers supposed to be all do no harm and such?" I teased.
She mumbled something about some things deserving harm before she dropped her arms. "Forget this," she ground out before storming off.
"Rosemary," I called out to her slowly retreating form, the thick brush of the forest slowing her progress.