Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
After twenty minutes of flying and searching for an area to rest, we spotted a rocky alcove in the distance.
It looked to be only a short flight through the Wood, and it appeared promising enough that we agreed to veer the carpet off the road.
Leaves brushed against us during the short journey through the Wood, and above, the clouds cleared enough for stars to appear.
When we reached the alcove, the trees parted to reveal a plethora of stone. Jagged boulders rose from the soil, and tangy scents of crisilite filled the air, the low-lying shrub growing in abundance around the rocks.
“This looks like it may work.” I hopped off the carpet, Kole doing the same.
We treaded through the area, and as Kole had suspected, we weren’t the first fae here. Footsteps littered the gravelly terrain. Thankfully, they were all siltenite tracks, not larpanoons.
“Prim, look at this.” Kole’s deep voice came to me from around a large rock, the sound of his timbre causing a shiver to dance down my spine.
I joined him, and he gestured to an outcropping of mismatched boulders that created a small opening between the rocks.
It wasn’t a cave, since several large boulders sat atop one another to make the enclosure, but inside the piled rocks was an area big enough to sleep in and stand fully.
Even better, the hole to enter it was small enough that it would be a tight squeeze, especially for Kole.
However, that small opening was exactly what we needed.
Even a larpanoon, with all of its deadly magic and flesh-shredding ability, wouldn’t be able to enter it.
I grinned. “This is perfect!” I clapped in delight, and a twitch lifted Kole’s lips.
He quickly began to gather my supplies. Most of my boxes wouldn’t fit directly into the enclosure with us, but we found another area where we could wedge them in between the rocks.
Following that, we each lifted several smaller boulders to safely cover everything inside.
Even if scavengers prowled this area while we slept, my supplies and his carpet would remain unharmed.
“A ward would still be prudent,” I said to no one in particular, then wove my hands through the air, whispering a spell my aunt had taught me seasons ago, until a shimmering veil of magic fell over everything.
Now, even if thieves sought to steal our items during the night, they wouldn’t be able to get past my ward.
Well, not without a lot of cursing and counterspells, that was.
I figured by that point, they would be making enough of a racket that either Kole or I would wake up, and we could fight them off.
“If only I’d thought to do that back at the inn,” I added, realizing I was talking to myself, but not bothering to stop.
“What’s that?” Kole stood near the enclosure’s entrance. He was stuffing a few bedrolls and supplies through the opening.
I waved toward my warded boxes. “I was just wishing that I’d put a ward around my carpet last night, but I hadn’t considered it because the shed belonged to the inn, and I didn’t want to lock other fae out.”
Kole shrugged. “It turned out all right, didn’t it? Even if your carpet was stolen.” He took his sword off and threw it through the opening, then he began to wedge himself between the boulders, grunting a few times as he did so.
I crossed my arms to watch and muffled a laugh.
He arched an eyebrow at me. He was mostly through, but his broad shoulders remained on the outside, which he was trying to force through the narrow opening. “Is something funny?”
I immediately flattened my expression and coughed. “No, not at all. I shall endeavor to watch you with a straight face.”
He snorted lightly and resumed his struggles.
A few more grunts and two curses later, and Kole was finally inside.
“Let’s hope you don’t need to leave frequently to relieve yourself,” I called sweetly.
His soft chuff came from inside.
In the distance, a howl rose, but it didn’t send the hairs on the back of my neck rising. It was a wolverine from the sounds of it, a deadly predator in its own right, but not something a fully grown siltenite needed to fear.
I peered inside the opening. It was dark since the moonlight didn’t fully penetrate the rocky shelter, but Kole was able to comfortably stand and the ground looked even.
I hastily shimmied my way through the rocks, not having nearly as hard of a time as Kole, but the boulders still rubbed against my clothing.
Once inside, I stood beside the warrior, and his scent billowed around me. Cedar, pine, and the sea. My insides tightened, and once again, my body responded to him, as if on its own accord.
To distract myself, I hastily activated my elemental fire until I had a ball of light burning in my palm. I flamed my fire higher until it shone brightly and illuminated everything in the enclosure. Gray rocks greeted us on all sides, but the interior was surprisingly cozy.
Kole eyed the fire hovering above my palm and said in a dry tone, “I thought you said you only possessed magic from one kingdom?”
I blushed. I knew he’d caught me in my fib last night when I’d burned the creature. Shrugging sheepishly, I replied, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to lie about my magic.”
“I wouldn’t have told anyone, if that’s why you kept it from me,” he said quietly.
I eyed him, and something about his comment rang true. “No, I imagine you wouldn’t have.”
He gestured to what he’d stuffed into the enclosure. “Should we unpack?” he asked.
Thankfully, Kole had already gathered kindling and firewood. I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll get a firepit going.”
While Kole pulled out food for an evening meal, I created a small pit near the rocky wall, then placed the kindling and larger bits of wood in its center. Once complete, I dipped my flame into it.
The kindling immediately caught fire, and it wasn’t long until it burned naturally. Leaning back, I admired my work. I could have used my magic to keep the fire burning all night, but that would have been exceedingly tiresome, so once the wood burned my flame on its own, I released my magic.
“Nice trick.” Kole’s deep voice filled the space and vibrated right through me.
I beamed. “A fire element certainly comes in handy when one’s camping.”
A sound emitted from him that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.
“Was that another laugh I detected?” I teased.
“No. You’re hearing things.”
I snorted.
Kole handed me a plate filled with cheese, a few fresh plums, and thick bread covered with honey and butter.
“Oh, honey bread. My favorite!” I sat on the pebbly ground, and Kole sat across the fire from me.
Firelight flickered over his face, dipping his features into shadows.
Once again, awareness of him hummed through me.
I took a bite of cheese, then bit into a juicy plum. The butter and honey on the thick bread were divine. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I began eating.
Kole’s jaw worked as he chewed. “Are you harboring any other magic you haven’t shared?”
A feeling of warmth drifted through me that he’d initiated a conversation again. On top of that, he’d asked his question casually, so I easily could have answered him cheekily and not been serious if I’d chosen to.
We both knew why that was, the unspoken reason hovering between us, because while sharing one’s magic was considered trivial by some, it was a sacred rite to many others.
I’d always felt I landed somewhere in the middle. While I didn’t share what I could do with most, I’d also confided that I possessed magic from three kingdoms to Ree and a few others. But nobody knew about my hidden magic, apart from my aunt and uncle.
And right now, I knew Kole’s question was the same. He left it open for me to answer, but his meaning was clear. You don’t have to share if you don’t want to.
“I have sight sensory magic too.” The words flowed out of me, and in that moment, I knew what it meant. I trusted Kole completely. For whatever reason, I did, and I wasn’t going to analyze it. “I possess magic from Mistvale, Faewood, and Ironcrest.”
His strong jaw worked more. “Magic from three kingdoms? That’s impressive.”
My heartbeat ticked up. “And you? What kingdoms do you hold magic from?”
His silence filled the enclosure, and I could feel it, his need to protect his secrets, to keep himself safely guarded. But then he shifted from where he sat, the pebbles skittering lightly beneath him.
“I have an air element, as you probably noticed in Whiteolf when I slowed your fall.” His words were low. Hesitant. As if this sharing thing was new to him. “It’s the only Silten Kingdom that I have magic from, but I have other talents, although not of this continent.”
“Oh?” I cocked my head and took another big bite of the sweet and buttery bread. Beyond that one word, I didn’t push. Something told me that Kole didn’t reveal to many what he’d just shared, so as he’d done for me, I wasn’t going to force or push him if he didn’t want to offer more.
He bit into his plum, eating almost half of it. He stretched out more, his long, muscular legs filling the space around him, and I didn’t think he was going to elaborate, but then he stated, “I’m part Solis fae. I have affinities that most on this continent don’t possess.”
My eyebrows shot up. While having a mixed origin wasn’t unheard of, it wasn’t common either.
Most fae in our realm kept to their continents.
Some moved, of course, as Gwenery’s Nolus grandmother had all of those centuries ago.
But in general, it was a frowned-upon practice.
Pride kept our realm’s fae among their own kind, each fae race believing they were superior to all others and not seeing the point of moving to a “lesser” area.
“Does that have anything to do with you growing up in various areas of the realm?” I asked.
“It does.” He paused, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to divulge more, but then he said, “My mother’s Silten fae, but my father’s Solis. I spent a good portion of my childhood on the Solis continent among my father’s family.”
“Is that where you were born?”
“It is.”
A smile bloomed across my face, my spirits soaring to ridiculous levels. It was silly, but I felt honored. Privileged to have learned this information. “That’s why your eyes are so blue. They’re Solis eyes.”
His focus dropped to my mouth, to where I was still grinning, but he immediately averted his gaze. “That’s right.”
I cocked my head, happy energy still strumming through me. “But your hair’s dark.”
He shrugged. “A trait I inherited from my Silten mother.”
I arched an eyebrow, my tone turning teasing. “But no wings?” All Solis had wings. It was a trait that set them apart from other fae.
He smirked. “No. No wings.” He took the last bite of his plum and discarded the pit in the fire.
I finished my bread, cheese, and the rest of my fruit. Once he and I had cleaned the dishes and stowed them away, I began to roll out the bedding and couldn’t help but study Kole more as I did so.
Hair as black as night covered his head, yet eyes as blue as sapphire gems graced his face. His skin tone was a shade darker than mine, but I figured that could be due to the sun versus an inherent trait.
Overall, his coloring wasn’t unusual on the Silten continent, but it would have been on the Solis continent, considering they all had pale skin, white or silvery hair, and crystalline blue eyes.
Yet Kole’s eye color was so vivid. So breathtaking. No Silten fae had eyes like that. That trait of his was pure Solis.
I pulled my lone pillow from my sack, placed it on the bedding, and finished with the arrangement I’d made.
It still struck me that Kole hadn’t divulged what his exact magic was yet, but I knew since he was part Solis, it could literally be anything.
Unlike Silten fae, the land didn’t breed the Solis magic.
It was usually inherited, and sometimes, completely new magic appeared in Solis families that had never occurred before.
But until Kole chose to share what his affinities were, I wasn’t going to push.
Shrugging my thoughts off, I smiled pleasantly. “There, that should do it.” I looked up to see Kole watching me.
He stood frozen, his energy rising beneath his Shield. “We’ll be sleeping side by side?”
It was only after he pointed it out that I realized I’d placed bedding for both of us right next to each other. “Oh, um, no, I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s all right,” he said gruffly. “It’s safest to stay close. Just because we’re in this enclosure doesn’t mean nothing from outside can get in.”
I pictured the thing from last night. It was similar in size to us, and unlike a larpanoon, it had arms and hands. It could definitely find a way to wedge itself through the enclosure’s opening. A shudder racked me.
Kole dusted the sand off his clothes, and it suddenly hit me that his attire was the only apparel he had along.
“I can loan you something if you want to change,” I offered.
His expression didn’t budge, but his words were full of amusement when he replied, “Do you really think that anything you own could fit me?”
I scrunched my nose up. “Well, you do make a good point, but I’m sure that I could find someth—”
“No need to. I’ll grab a few things.”
I barely had time to process what he’d said when he disappeared.
My jaw dropped. One second, the warrior was standing before me, and the next, only a rustle of wind was left in his place.
The warrior had vanished before my very eyes, which meant he was definitely Solis fae.