Chapter 14
Up on the mountain, Naia found the cave empty, as she’d expected. She padded to the back, where she sat and stared into the pool. A monster gazed back at her—blinking when she blinked, baring its fangs when she smiled.
She was alone, here. The villagers hadn’t followed her, but autumn would turn into winter, then winter into spring, and spring into a summer that would last and last. Elias and the others would grow old, but their children’s children would come to stab her. Burn her. Strangle her with ropes.
Still, she didn’t regret singing. Kano would grow up in a world rich with flowing rivers and fleecy sheep and apples like overgrown jewels. He might even learn to love his butterflies, better than she had, before it was too late.
Naia leaned over the mirrored pool and asked the question she finally knew the answer to. “Who will see me for me?” Her reflection wavered, then smiled.
“I will.”
She whirled. There, at the cave’s mouth, stood a man, framed by the autumn day.
Her heart plummeted. “No,” she cried. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to leave. You were supposed to go see the sun.”
“I did.” The beast sauntered inside, entirely human now, his wild dark beauty even more breathtaking than she’d remembered. “And it was remarkable. I hadn’t felt daylight since I sang that song, a hundred years ago. But I’ve gotten my wish. Now I’ve come to grant yours.”
Her breath stalled. “What? What wish?”
“You said didn’t want to be alone. And to be honest, I’ve rather had my fill of that, myself, so...” He trailed off with a lopsided grin.
She blinked. Then sniffled. Could beasts cry? It seemed so, because her cheeks were wet.
He came close. “Hush, my beauty. There’s no need for tears.”
She gulped. Even the act of swallowing felt different. “I’m no beauty. Not anymore.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything so lovely.”
A painful, hope-laden silence crowded her throat. When she finally found her way past it, she said, “You mean you’d have me, still? Even like this?”
In his human form, he was tall, and broad enough to wrap his arms around her. She resisted for a moment, then settled into his warmth and solidity.
“Haven’t I told you?” he said. “I like my roses to have a few thorns. So yes, even like this. Especially like this.”
Naia couldn’t help but smile against his chest.
Because for once, it was exactly the answer she wanted.
For a bonus epilogue (with spice!) and NSFW character art for Song of the Hundred Year Summer, please visit onus.
I also have a standalone, brother's best friend romantasy called Once Charmed, Twice Cursed, which is essentially an angsty take on Princess Bride about a woman burdened with supernatural luck who dreams of being normal. When she’s kidnapped by a man who can grant her wish merely through touch, she sets out to convince him to steal her unwanted luck.
But if she's not careful, he may steal her heart as well. ..