Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
When Kole reappeared fifteen minutes later, shock was still barreling through me.
The warrior’s hair was damp, as though freshly washed, and he was wearing clean trousers and a loose top. In his hands were a pillow, another large blanket, and his sword.
He set his sword against the rocky wall, close to where he could reach it, and the firelight flickered on the steel near its handle.
“I wish I could commission a portrait of your face right now.” His expression was smooth, but a hint of delight rolled through his tone.
My mouth opened, then closed, then opened. “You can mistphase?”
“What gave it away?” He dropped his pillow next to mine, then lay down on the makeshift bed I’d made for us. A cloud of his fragrance wafted around him, and I had the asinine urge to deeply inhale.
I lay down too, but I propped myself up on one elbow so I could peer down at him. Thoughts shifted through my mind rapid fire. “Is that why you don’t travel with any luggage? Because you just return . . . where? Home? Your barracks? You can change clothes or get what you need whenever you need to?”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t lost on me that he didn’t clarify if he’d returned to the Imperial Warrior’s barracks or his personal home, but his admission did explain how he’d appeared in different clothes at the salopas the previous night, especially since he’d arrived at the inn empty-handed.
And he’d obviously mistphased to wherever he’d gone just now to change, bathe, and gather a few things for the night.
My mind turned faster. “And the carpet, earlier today, when you were gone so long . . . did you mistphase somewhere to buy it?”
“Also, yes. I had to go to Jaggedston to find one. Took a bloody long time too since I had to go to three shops before I found the size we needed.”
My pulse ticked steadily upward. “You went to three shops?”
“I did.”
“All so you could offer me a ride?”
His throat rolled in a swallow. “Perhaps.”
My insides curled, and I bit back a smile. I had no idea why the warrior would go to such lengths to help me, but I was thankful that he had. If not, at this moment, I would have been with Felix, Nym, and Jessip.
Trying to brush off how much his gesture meant to me, I asked, “But how do you mistphase that often? I thought mistphasing required a lot of magic?”
“It does, but I’m magical enough.”
“Truly? So is that how you’ve been traveling throughout the realm, by mistphasing?”
“You seem to be on a roll here.”
Even though it hit me that the stoic warrior had just made a joke, I couldn’t stop my curious questions from continuing. “But how do you patrol the Wood by mistphasing? How does that allow you to do your job?”
“I walk when needed, mistphase other times. I travel light and prefer it that way. My superiors know that and have given me free rein.”
“But if you can mistphase that easily, why are you here at all? Why not go back to your home to sleep in a comfortable bed tonight?”
“And leave you alone with larpanoons prowling the Wood?” His disapproving look told me exactly what he thought of that.
“I would be fine.”
He made a noise in his throat. “I’m not leaving you, Prim. Besides, my orders are to stay on patrol, which means I need to stay here, day and night.”
I lowered myself, no longer propped up on my elbow, and began to play with a lock of my hair.
If Kole could truly mistphase as easily as he claimed, it also explained how dillemsills had been dispatched so quickly in Inisville.
Kole had likely mistphased back to his headquarters to tell his superiors about the creature that was lurking around the small village and then had mistphased back to the Wood to find it.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Council had likely sent out the dillemsills to warn the local fae.
Stars, moons, and all the galaxies.
I undid my braid and threaded my fingers through my hair, combing through the thick locks. My long hair splayed out around me, and I stared up at the rocky ceiling as shadows danced across it in the firelight.
I mulled through it all, and another fact hit me.
Angling my head, I eyed him again and was startled to find that he’d been watching me.
He quickly looked away, and I licked my lips, not wanting to say what I was about to, but it was selfish of me to monopolize his time.
Perhaps, despite my reassurances to him that my magic would keep me safe, he felt obligated to stay and protect me.
And as much as that fact made my heart soar, I needed to let him know it wasn’t necessary.
The truth was, despite how much I was coming to enjoy this quiet, serious warrior, he didn’t owe me anything.
“You know,” I said hesitantly. “I could have just bought your carpet from you this morning. I could even buy it from you right now. There’s no need for you to travel with me and have me impede your work, especially if this isn’t how you normally travel.
You could sell it to me. You don’t need to keep accompanying me. ”
His silence filled the enclosure, only the crackling fire making any sound.
A moment passed.
And then another.
“Is that what you would prefer?” he finally asked quietly.
No. The thought came to me unbidden but immediate. It was the truth. I didn’t prefer to travel alone, and I was enjoying his company, even if he was still mostly an enigma to me.
For whatever reason, I liked Kole, or what I’d seen of him at least. I liked his subtle humor, his stoic and hard-to-read demeanor, and his behavior that could be interpreted as grumpy by some, but I had learned it was simply his guarded nature.
And I’d seen enough to know that he felt a need to protect those around him.
He was brave. Strong. Kind too, even if six males had died at his hand today.
So while I didn’t know him well, I did know that I admired what I’d seen so far, and I welcomed his company and wanted to get to know him further.
“That’s not what I meant,” I said the words sheepishly, not wanting to dwell on the fact that my stomach was flipping again. “I just don’t want to be a nuisance to you.”
“You’re not.” His reply was immediate. Firm.
I bit back a smile, and another moment of silence filled the space. My heart thumped to the beat of every quiet second.
Since it didn’t seem like Kole was going to speak again, I changed the subject and said in a teasing tone, “I’m still reeling that you mistphased home to take a bath. Is that why you always smell so good? Because you can bathe regularly?”
“You think I smell good?”
You did not just say that out loud, Primelle. But considering the subtle flare of male satisfaction that tingled in his aura, I apparently had.
Warmth bloomed over my cheeks, and I said in a rush, “I just meant, it must be nice to know how to mistphase so you can go home and do that kind of stuff, or whatever.”
He angled his head to look me in the eye, and I could have sworn that his satisfaction grew, but his face remained impassive. “I could teach you to mistphase . . . if you wanted.”
“Teach me to mistphase?” My eyes widened. “But I’m wholly siltenite. I’m not Solis or of mixed blood as you. I can’t mistphase.”
“You could. Any fairy with strong enough magic can mistphase. It’s simply not done on other continents because other fae don’t know they could learn, and those that do, are too prideful to take instruction from a Solis tutor.”
My jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Quite. Mistphasing is only related to the strength of one’s magic. That’s it.”
I pushed to sitting, amazement barreling through me. “How? How is that possible? Why don’t other fae know that? Tell me everything.”
His lips twitched. “Most don’t know because the Solis fae don’t tell them.
But there’s also a lack of tutors who understand the complexities of mistphasing between each fae species.
I doubt there are many, if any, Silten tutors that can teach mistphasing.
But some Solis tutors have learned the differences, because mistphasing is different for each of our realm’s fae, and since I’m of mixed heritage, I was given instruction from an early age in order to determine how I would mistphase.
My tutor taught me both Silten and Solis mistphasing, since she didn’t know how my magic would manifest, so I learned both.
Turns out, I mistphase like a Silten fairy. ”
I leaned forward, and my hair cascaded around me. “You know both ways?”
His attention drifted to where my hair had fallen over my breasts. His eyes turned slightly hooded. “I do.”
“And you’re offering to teach me?”
“I am.”
“Do you think I could actually learn?”
“If you have magic from three kingdoms, you’re definitely strong enough, so yes, I think you can.”
I jumped to my feet. “Can I learn now?”
He chuckled lightly, then stood in a blurred move, his speed once again taking me by surprise. “I don’t see why not.”
I sucked in a breath. “How do you move that fast?”
He shrugged. “It’s my warrior affinity.”
He shared that so casually, so easily, that my breath caught. It also explained how he could fight as he did. His Solis magic literally gave him that capability.
I tried to mask my joy at how readily he’d shared that detail. To cover it up, I said in a teasing tone, “Ah, so this was the other magic you were alluding to, and do you have more than one Solis affinity?”
I cocked my head curiously, because like Silten fae who typically only had the magic of the kingdom they were born into, most Solis only had one affinity. But as also occurred on our continent, I’d heard that some Solis possessed more than one affinity.
Instead of answering, Kole held out his hand. “Enough talking. If you want to learn to mistphase, we best start now. Take my hand, and I’ll transport us outside.”
I grasped his hand. It was hard, calloused, and completely swallowed mine. The feel of him threatened to command all of my attention, so I forced myself to keep my focus on what he’d said. “Wait . . . you can mistphase me with you?”
“Yes, I have enough magic to carry us both.” He pulled me closer, and since he towered over me, I had to tilt my chin back to meet his eye.
His irises sparkled. My heart galloped, and not just at the thought of mistphasing. Once again, I was struck by the sheer beauty of this male.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Will it hurt?”
“No, but it can be rather jarring.”
I chuffed, but the fact that I could learn how to mistphase had a moment of regret hitting me that my aunt and uncle weren’t here to witness it.
They’d always been so proud of my immense magic and abilities. I had no doubt that Uncle Timith would have been cheering for me and encouraging me to give it everything I had.
My frown grew. Timith would likely never see me mistphase, not unless I found the Stone.
“I promise you’ll be fine.” When I didn’t reply, Kole’s eyebrows drew together. “Prim, what’s wrong?”
Startled, I smoothed whatever expression I wore. “Nothing. Sorry. I was just thinking of my uncle. He would have loved to see me learn how to mistphase.”
“There’s no reason you can’t show him one day.”
“You’re right. I shall learn how to mistphase, save him with the Stone, and then I’ll show him how I can disappear in a blink.”
“So optimistic.” Kole’s tone was gentle, almost tender. He cleared his throat. “You know, I could mistphase us to wherever that seekerill is leading you if you’d like?”
Hope surged through me, but then I paused.
I didn’t know for certain that the seekerill was leading me to Silventine Wood.
It was just a hunch. And I also didn’t know what mistphasing would do to my uncle’s device.
For all I knew, transporting the seekerill like that could disrupt its anchor on the Wishing Stone, and I couldn’t take that chance.
“Actually, as tempting as that offer is, I better leave the seekerill here. I don’t know what mistphasing will do to it.” I took the device out of my pocket and carefully stowed it near my bag. “There, now I’m ready.”
“I’m going to pull you close to me since this is your first mistphase. Okay?” A rough edge filled his tone.
I nodded, and Kole pulled me into his arms, his scent flooding me.
His large frame closed around mine, his chest hard and rigid with steel-like muscle. Strong arms encircled my waist, and Stars Above, my body instantly responded.
A wave of arousal crashed over me, and the warrior sharply inhaled. Just as fast, a flare of magic zapped his wrist.
He gritted his teeth, then rasped, “Close your eyes.”
I did as he instructed, and in a rush of magic, the ground dropped out from beneath me.