Chapter 25
twenty-five
The smell worsened, and a firm hand was around her arm a hairsbreadth later. Vade pulled her close to him. They made it a few steps through the fray before Evie intercepted them.
“This way!” the pixie ordered, directing them back to the ruins. They ran through the decrepit temple, and Orelia called to both of their packs as they passed the alcove. They came to her quickly, her boots and socks joining a second later, though she didn’t waste time putting them on.
Vade grabbed his pack from her and palmed a dagger from his belt. “Stay close to me,” he said.
When they had all their belongings, they ran after Evie.
“Follow me!” The pixie wove through the trees with Orelia and Vade running behind her. Shrill screams rang out as the creatures took shelter, scrambling to get into the Tree.
“I thought you said the carnador doesn’t bother you!” Orelia shouted from her place behind Evie.
“He must have smelled you two,” she said over her shoulder, wings fluttering faster as she picked up speed.
“You better not be leading us into a trap, pixie!” Vade called out from the back of the line.
Evie made a hard left, and they dashed through the trees, Orelia’s legs burning as she tried to keep up. They hurdled over bushes the pixie seemed to forget they couldn’t just fly over. Brambles nicked Orelia’s exposed arms and legs as she struggled to clear the thick foliage, breathing heavily.
Thankfully, the stench of death faded the further they ran.
Evie dropped to the ground next to a cluster of birch trees and frantically tore through a patch of moss, revealing a wooden hatch. Vade helped her brush away the rest of dirt and moss, throwing open the door to reveal a ladder descending into a pitch-black hole.
“This was one of our hideout bunkers during The White War. You’ll be safe here, but don’t come out until morning,” Evie said. “He can scent creatures that aren’t of the Greywood.”
Vade stared into the hole.
“It’s safe. I promise,” Evie reassured him.
Crows shot into the sky, squawking a horrible sound.
“Get in! Hurry!” the pixie ordered.
Orelia descended the first rung and paused. “Wait! Your gems.” She started trying to untangle her crown from her hair, but Evie grabbed her wrist.
“Consider it a gift.”
“Are you sure?”
“We don’t have time for this, Orelia,” Vade said from above.
“He’s right. Keep it.” Evie gave her a warm smile, making Orelia do the same.
“Thank you. I won’t forget you, Evie.”
The pixie winked. “You better not.”
Orelia climbed down the ladder and blindly jumped the final distance, landing on hard ground. Vade descended and stopped when only his head was above ground. She could see him moving his hands to make a ward while saying something to Evie.
Orelia felt around the bunker, finding only dirt-made walls and dirt beneath her bare feet. She used the cuts from the shrubs to call on her healing and illuminate the space around them.
Broken pots lay scattered in the back of the bunker. The space was cramped, but large enough for a few people about her size to lie down comfortably. Thankfully, she could stand up straight with a few feet of clearance remaining above her head.
She walked toward the ladder, giving Vade enough light to see what he was doing.
He closed the hatch and stuck the haft of his axe through the door handle, locking them in. The head of his weapon was still non-existent, but the haft was enough to bar the door.
Vade dug through his pack and pulled out his trulight, holding it close to the ceiling and releasing it, letting the orb float. He tapped it twice, and orange light soon illuminated the small shelter they’d found themselves in for the night.
When he seemed satisfied there was nothing hiding in the shadowy corners of the bunker, Vade released a breath.
Orelia dropped her boots next to her pack. “Damn carnador ruining the first dark moon I’ve actually enjoyed.”
Vade began laying out his bedroll. “We’re lucky it didn’t find us. Without my seidr weapons working, we never would have stood a chance against it. Even my shadows wouldn’t hold up against that beast.”
“I’m angrier that it put a damper on my dancing.” Orelia began twirling, humming along to the pixie’s song the best she could remember.
“That’s what you’re most concerned about?”
Even though her eyes were closed as she danced around the space, she knew he was glaring at her. “I was having a nice night. He ruined it.”
“I don’t understand you,” Vade mumbled.
She paused. “What do you mean?”
Vade dropped his blanket and stood, head nearly touching the ceiling. “How do you do it? How do you always find a way to spin every situation into a positive? We could have been eviscerated had that monster caught us.”
“Yes, yes,” she said with a nonchalant wave of her hand, “and then we would have died, and this would have all been for nothing. I know.”
His brows scrunched so tight they looked like they were one. “And that doesn’t bother you?”
She sighed. “Of course, the prospect of imminent death bothers me. But I’m able to see the good in the world because I choose to. I’m not only looking for the bad like you are.”
He recoiled slightly.
“I choose to enjoy the good things, not resent the world for all the bad.” Orelia lifted the vines making up the leafy skirt of her dress.
“I’ve never left Minro, and here I am in the Greywood, having danced in the forest with pixies under a beautiful willow dressed like a forest creature.
I’m going to enjoy it while I can. Not even the carnador can dim my happiness on this night. ”
Vade shook his head. “Your positivity is annoying.” The words were harsh, but his tone wasn’t.
“And your pessimism is exhausting, fae. Why don’t you ever let yourself enjoy anything?”
He plopped down on his bedroll. “I do enjoy things.”
“I mean something other than fucking and killing.”
His lips quirked. “When it comes to things I enjoy, hearing you curse is one of them. It’s . . .cute. Such harsh language from such an innocent little lamb.”
“I’m not so innocent.” The dip in her voice came out sultry, enticing.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder and resumed twirling around the space, humming to herself.
“And I won’t let you ruin my night. I’ve spent every dark moon of my adulthood tending to the girls who suffered at the hands of violent men.
I spent the moons afraid, wondering if they would try to hurt me, too. ”
A muscle in Vade’s jaw ticked.
“This is the first time I’ve ever done anything that I wanted to do.
I wanted to let Evie dress me up. I wanted to wear beautiful clothes.
I wanted to dance. I wanted to enjoy feeling like a woman for once.
Not just a healer confined to some damp, moldy room, only useful because she has a job to do. ”
Vade rested an elbow leisurely on his bent knee, his face softening. “You have more value than just being a healer.”
She couldn’t tell if his sentiment was true or false. “That sounds strange coming from you.”
“I just mean you had friends back home. You had a lover. Clearly people liked something in you that wasn’t just about your ability to help others.”
“And I haven’t had a lover since.” The admission slipped right out in mumbled words. Not that Minro had the best offerings to choose from, but no one other than Tommen had shown interest.
“What about that boy you mentioned?” Vade asked, lips tightening, almost in a snarl.
Her eyes went distant, remembering a night she and Tommen had laid under the stars near her rose bushes, tangled up in one another under the cover of a warm blanket.
“I think maybe we were only meant to love each other at that point in time and no more.”Love was a blessing, but not all blessings were meant to last.
All this time around Vade and she still couldn’t decipher the looks on his face. He searched her eyes, but she didn’t know what it meant. He was so guarded, so hellsbent on not letting anyone close that she knew she’d never fully understand what went on in his head.
“Well, maybe the reason you haven’t had a lover since is because you don’t know how to flirt,” he said, smiling faintly.
His comment sent an unstoppable laugh flying out of her. “I do know how to flirt! The pixie I danced with the most was certainly interested.”
Vade ran a hand through his hair. “Ah, yes. Him.” The last word came out with a bite.
She wanted to taunt him, wanted to play.
To forget the past and enjoy the night. Orelia lost herself in a dance of her own creation.
She let herself bend and sway in fluid motions, head tipped to the ceiling, imagining being bathed in the dark moon’s lavender light.
She knew the beautiful dress made of the earth moved with her, accentuating her silhouette, bringing out the kind of femininity she had so often desired for herself.
The kind that wanted to indulge, not hide away hoping someone wouldn’t notice her.
She let the memories of the fireflies flitting through the willow and the pixies’ laughter bring a fullness to her heart. Her feet spun in the dirt, and she had never felt so connected to nature. Like this was how she should have been feeling all her life.
When she had finished her dance, Vade was staring at her, eyes burning in the glow of the single trulight.
“Don’t stop.” The deep timbre of his voice made her skin flash with heat.
When she lifted her arms to thread her fingers through her hair, his eyes went to her legs that had become more exposed with her movements.
Vade not so discreetly adjusted himself in his pants. The sight sent a wave of boldness through her, and Orelia swished her hips as she approached, offering him her hand. “Dance with me.”
“I told you, I don’t dance.”
“And I’m asking you to make an exception. Just this once.”
His eyes flicked to her extended hand, but he made no attempt to take it.
Before she could stop herself, Orelia sat down on his lap and straddled him.