Chapter Ten
Dustin
Tir an Fhomhair ~ The Realm of Autumn
“Just sit tight back there and hang on,” Notalus instructed him, but Dustin was already getting anxious.
He’d helped in the stables plenty, but he’d never had the desire to ride a horse. And after seeing what Notalus’ stallion could do, he was even more leery that he was worthy of the trip.
“What if I fall off?”
“You won’t,” Notalus laughed, settling himself into the wide saddle. “Trust me.”
“Exactly how far up do we have to go?”
“High. But it’ll be over in seconds—you won’t even have a chance to notice you’re flying before we’re going back down.”
“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.” Dustin squeezed the hell out of Notalus’ middle as Joldryn took off at a record-breaking speed.
“It’ll be over before you know it, handsome.” Notalus laughed as his horse shot straight up into the air and Dustin screamed for his life.
It was the least masculine sound he’d ever made, but he didn’t care—he was falling, flailing, or flying, whatever.
Weird was not the way he would’ve described bursting through a thick billow of the clouds, the setting sun heating his skin impossibly warm before the atmosphere shifted and cool, honey-scented air washed over him.
“Almost there!” Notalus yelled, clutching the reins and leaning back as Joldryn reversed course and turned his muzzle to the ground and descended toward a sea of treetops that were all the colors of fall and more.
Dustin ground his teeth at the speed they were dropping, his wolf tearing at his insides, his apprehension shooting through the roof after Dustin glanced down and saw he was still way too far off the ground.
Joldryn kicked harder, and Notalus flung his arm forward, sending them hurtling toward the ground at a terrifying speed that sent Dustin’s wolf into emergency survival mode.
He leapt off the back of Notalus’ horse and shifted in the air, his clothes shredding around him and falling like pieces of a ripped parachute.
“Dustin!” Notalus yelled and sent a blast of wind beneath him that allowed him to coast to the ground, his beast landing on all fours. He felt a warm, soul-touching pull in his chest as he turned his muzzle to the sky and howled long and low, sending his cry of praise up to the sky.
Notalus landed with his usual flare and bravado, leaping off Joldryn while he was still running, and drifted to Dustin’s side. He shifted and closed the space between them, growling with irritation.
“I understand that time moves slower for immortals, but that was not a few seconds, Notalus. It was more like minutes that were too long for me to be free-falling.” Dustin scowled.
Notalus didn’t seem fazed by Dustin’s anger; he looked more turned on than anything as he gazed down at Dustin’s nakedness.
With a swift flick of his wrist, Notalus unclasped his robe and slung it around Dustin’s shoulders.
“Your body is a masterpiece, and I hate to cover it, but I doubt you want to meet my son and court in this manner.”
Dustin had been too busy fussing to notice the garland and flowers flying toward them from the gathering crowd.
The wide streets were paved with large, gray cobblestone and void of any automobiles.
Instead, the road was adorned with vendors selling everything from silk scarves to cloves of cinnamon.
All business and social conversations came to an immediate halt as a loud cacophony of horns blew and announced Notalus’ return.
“Notalus Cavalerie, the last of the horsemen and harbingers of justice, the overseer of the harvest and creator of new life. All hail the Lord of the South Wind and his lord consort, the alpha wolf of the Moon Tribe!”
Dustin snapped his head around to Notalus. “What?”
His smile was dangerously sexy. “I will explain later.”
“How did they even know I was coming? I just decided an hour ago.”
“I sent a message ahead to my son after you agreed. Your arrival has been eagerly anticipated.” Triumph danced in Notalus’ eyes.
“Me.” Dustin frowned. He was so confused that he didn’t know what question to ask first.
“I am always welcomed home anytime I leave Fhomhair, Dustin… but nothing as grand as this after only being gone one day. They’re here to see you, my alpha… not me.”
Wait, what’s the Moon Tribe? Dustin wasn’t sure what all of this meant, but it sounded like they had the wrong man.
Great. Now I have a case of mistaken identity, and I’m naked.
Dustin was pissed off at his wolf for tearing through him and shifting like that without his permission; Dustin wanted to arrive in Fhomhair with dignity and grace. Not like a freaked-out little pup.
“My home is up this way.” Notalus gestured in the direction of a shaded mansion that was about a mile up a beautiful cobble walkway.
After a couple of seconds, the wind stirred around them, and another robe flew into Notalus’ outstretched palm.
With a smug grin, he slung it around his shoulders and clasped the heavy bronze medallions over each pec.
Children poured buckets of colored leaves the size of his hand from the rooftops as they walked, and beautiful autumn colors rained down on them as they made their way up the path.
It reminded Dustin of a parade with the way the people cheered and jumped for their lord while Notalus waved with the evident love that he had for them.
People hung out of the windows of tall buildings that were constructed of brick and vines that crawled up the sides and snaked across the rooftops.
Small cottages were built within the trunks of trees so wide Dustin thought they were unreal.
He’d never been anywhere like Fhomhair before.
For as far as his eyes could see, there were trees and orchards and hills with rows of crops being tended to by dozens of farmers.
The sky Dustin soared through was saturated and frigid with billowy clouds and looked nothing like the calypso-orange sky that he was gazing up at now.
The sun appeared like a pumpkin hanging low on the horizon while the almost full moon sat off to the most northern part of the sky, and they looked three times the size they did on earth.
Towering statues of gods and goddesses were carved out of fine wood that stood as tall as skyscrapers and were adorned with lush greenery and canna lilies.
Dustin inhaled the perfumed air that was thick with cinnamon and chrysanthemums, admitting to himself that this place felt good, right, like he should be here.
Dustin was dizzy with how much he was trying to process at one time as they slowly made their way toward Notalus’ palace.
I had a feeling he lived in luxury. Dustin was a bit self-conscious when they’d first arrived, but the more they walked and the more praises and flowers that were hurled in their direction, the more at ease he became.
Even Joldryn was soaking up the attention as a young boy who looked to be in his early teens held out a bright red apple and encouraged Joldryn to come get it.
The stallion clomped in his direction and chomped the fruit in half, chewing noisily before he accepted the other piece.
“Was that an apple or some sort of melon?” Dustin grinned, his admiration growing for this place with each step he took.
“It was a regular apple. But everything grows bigger and stronger here,” Notalus told him, watching Dustin carefully as he took in this new world with fresh eyes and wonder.
“My gods.” Dustin gawked at the vendors with carts loaded up with assortments of fruits, nuts, figs, and cheeses.
His eyes caught on a platter of purple and orange berries the size of tangerines that he’d never seen before.
A young woman in a flowy white dress who’d been throwing canna lilies in their path stopped to approach him humbly with a generous sample of the fruit.
“With your blessing, my lord.” She bowed reverently to Notalus.
He gave her a thankful nod before she offered the fruit to Dustin. She spoke in a tone that was wistful and respectful. She was beautiful, with eyes a lighter shade of green than Notalus’.
“These are called heamquats, Lord Consort. We stopped allowing them to be grown in the earthly realm as they’re quite poisonous to most reptiles. But they’re very sweet and exhilarating on the immortal palate… Enjoy, please.”
Dustin took the offering and bit half of the fruit, the sugary juice running down his forearm. “Damn, that’s good.” He beamed.
“There’s plenty more where that came from.” Notalus took his hand and walked them faster toward the palace. “Come on. Someone waits impatiently to meet you.”
“Can I put on some clothes before I’m introduced to anyone else?” Dustin glanced down at his bare feet on the smooth stones. “You told me I didn’t even have to bring a toothbrush.”
“I have all you will ever need.”
Dustin gazed up at Notalus, his heart thudding at the conviction in his words.
Notalus reminded him to wave to the people, and Dustin did, albeit feeling a bit foolish until he noticed the mile-wide smiles and the cheers that grew to an octave that rattled his eardrums.
“Why are they applauding like this? Is it because I’m human?” Dustin smiled as he bent to accept a bouquet of safflower from an elderly woman in linen pants and a paisley top.
Notalus shook his head. “That is not why at all.”