24. Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Three
Iwoke to the sound of water. Not Morhaven’s swamp, but something softer, sweeter, a bizarre song pulling me awake.
Notes that my ears weren't accustomed to, the melody overlapping and folding back in itself.
It was so unlike the sounds of the First Forest back in the Seventh Realm.
This sounded like strings being strummed from the canopies above.
I looked up and squinted, attempting to find the source of the strange music but coming up blank.
Silver mist curled around a clearing, moonlight spilling over a waterfall polished like glass. Honeysuckle clung to the air, intoxicating, too perfect to be real.
Oh yes, I knew this place.
Aeos Sítheann.
But how had I gotten here…again? Tairngire said we needed to find the Obsidian Heart. We couldn’t leave Morhaven. He wasn’t here. But I snapped my gaze forward and—
Caelith was lounging in a chair that looked half-grown from the wild, one leg hanging lazily over one of the arms. His wine-colored eyes gleamed with humor and something more sinister shading his expression.
“Ah,” he said, smooth and theatrical, his fingers steepled in front of him. “The little mortal returns, knickered and worn out from shadows that don't belong to her."
He suddenly twirled a hand, painting wispy images in the air with magic.
“The wolves of ash, gnashing in service to the throne of a tyrant. The God of the First Forest, brandishing his famed twin blades as though eternity never dulled them. That little tidbit he shared with you…not mortal born. Delicious, isn’t it? ”
I held my breath. He spoke as if he’d been there, seen it all. But how? He was obviously An Chéadcumtha himself, that was the only explanation. Unless all Fae were capable of such things…and if so, I was glad they didn't intermingle with the Seventh Realm.
I pushed to my feet, heart racing, frustration sparking under my skin. “How do you know that?” My voice cracked.
His smile widened, indulgent, like a cat humoring prey. “Because the forest speaks, little one. The Realms whisper to each other, even when your gods pretend silence.” He tilted his head, feathers catching silver light. “And because nothing escapes the eyes of Aeos Sítheann, not even your hunter.”
Tairngire. He didn’t say the name, but it hung heavy between us.
The scent of jasmine and honeysuckle were saccharine in my throat. I furrowed my brow in confusion, I didn't have the book, so how had I gotten here?
Caelith was suddenly right in front of me, his eyes alight with mischief. “Tell me…what do you hope to find in the company of a god who pretends he has nothing left to lose?”
I narrowed my eyes. I knew that Tairngire pretended a great deal, he was good at it. But everyone had something to lose, even gods. “How do you know I’m the Seer? Did he tell you?”
He raised a brow. “You did, darling. The first time you wandered here. Uninvited, mind you. Such a naughty thing. You forget, my magic has a way of…loosening truths.” His voice lilted, savoring every word.
I would have remembered telling him, wouldn’t I?
He was lying, it came as easily to him as music to a fiddler. I attempted to hold my breath, knowing that each inhale would be filled with magic meant to make me docile.
“Threads tremble louder around you than most. Even a blind god would know what you are.” His gaze pressed over me like he had read my thoughts, scrutinizing every subtle shift I made. “The question isn’t how I know. The question is why you insist on hiding behind all your lies."
The air grew sweeter, suffocating. My pulse raced under the weight of his words.
“Honesty now, darling. Why pretend you don’t know desire? It burns in you, wild, unchecked. And yet fire is all you let anyone see.”
My throat was dry, but he didn’t let me answer anyway.
“Was it shame that colored your pretty face when you held that dagger and realized you had taken a mortal life?” His eyes shined, somehow both cruel and soft at once.
“Do you not wish it were different? To stand without trembling, weapon in hand? That someone would teach you to fight as much as to use your Sight?”
His words cut deep because he wasn’t wrong. But how did he know?
A bow formed in Caelith’s hands, drawn from nothing, white bone humming with power. He pressed it into mine without ceremony.
“You burn for lessons, Little Seer,” he murmured, using Tairngire’s ridiculous nickname for me. Most likely on purpose, just to taunt me. “And you will have them. Not just the burden the Fates locked around your neck. You will learn to fight, to hunt, to become.”
Before I could speak, the ground shivered. Smoke curled, tearing like fine silk.
And then he was gone.
The bow remained, heavy and real in my hand. Honeysuckle faded, replaced by something earthier. I looked up.
Sunlight poured gold through the canopy of the First Forest. I stood outside my cave. Shafts of light striped the ground. My body felt different…like it was suspended in mid-air.
Gone were my old leathers. I wore hide and bone, rough-woven straps across my shoulders. My legs were bare but for strips of fur and cloth. I looked half-born from the wild, dressed in its own skin. A case of arrows was slung at my back.
I scoffed. Of course he had to dress me as prey.
Wait…He? Who…?
And that was when I forgot I’d just been in Aeos Sítheann.
I looked down at the weapon in my hand, and a thrill ran up my spine. I sifted through my memories of scrolls, but none of them taught me how to wield a bow. It trembled in my grip as I tried to notch an arrow. The string snapped back against my arm, stinging. I hissed and shook my hand.
A familiar amused voice curled through the clearing. “What in the Seven bloody Realms are you doing, Little Seer—weapon in hand, looking like the forest wants to devour you?”
I spun on my heel.
Tairngire stood at the edge of the light, shadows clinging to him like they wanted to drag him back from whatever dark thicket he'd just emerged from.
My breath caught in my throat.
His chest was bare, runes glowing across hard striations of defined muscle. Perfect golden ringlets fell into his eyes as he leaned idly against a tree.
Though nothing in his gaze was lazy.
Goddess help me. He was truly magnificent. Mortal skin, but impossibly tall and imposing. None of his divinity was dimmed. My gaze lingered on his bare chest and I'm certain that my eyes blew wide.
He was a sight to behold; I simply couldn’t deny that. No matter how infuriating it was. For once, I felt no anger, no defiance. Something else filled me instead.
Hot. Heavy.
Desire.
And judging by the rakish curve of his mouth, he'd seen it.
I fumbled and the arrow slipped with a clumsy snap. My wrist stung and I muttered a curse.
Behind me, his chuckle rumbled. “Gods above, Little Seer…I’ve seen children in Morhaven handle a bow with more grace.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. I turned, pointing the arrow toward him. “Then why don’t you teach me something instead of smirking like an arrogant bastard?”
His brow arched, humor sparking in his eyes. “Careful where you point that thing. You’ll take your own eye out before you take one of mine.”
I lowered it with a huff. “Oh, fuck you.”
“You wish,” he goaded me, pushing off the tree.
Ugh! The arrogance.
He closed the space slowly, rune-light spilling across his chest. “Be angry with me all you want. At least I know how to notch an arrow without strangling myself in the string.”
“Then prove it.” I shoved the weapon toward him, heat and defiance tangling in my chest. “Show me.”
His lips curved upward on the left side, maddening, but he didn’t take the bow. Instead, he stepped in behind me. His breath stirred my hair as his hands slid over mine, calloused fingers curling around my grip. The touch was not sensual, but my body didn’t know the difference.
“This isn’t about strength,” he murmured, his voice velvet. “It’s about control. Balance. The bow listens to your breath, not your temper.”
My pulse jumped, warmth sliding under my skin. My voice came out husky and unrecognizable. “And what if I can’t control it?”
His chest pressed lightly against my back, steady and unyielding. “Then as you wish, I’ll teach you.”
The arrow trembled in my grip, but not from anxiety, but rather his proximity.
His grip adjusted mine, firm, until the bow no longer felt like an awkward weight but an extension of my arm. Heat radiated through the thin hide on my shoulders. Every inch of him was pressed against my composure.
“Loosen here,” he murmured, thumb brushing my wrist. Nerves jumped across my skin. His tone stayed cool, focused. “If you hold too tight, the bow will fight you.”
“I don’t—” My voice faltered as his other hand slid over mine, guiding my fingers to the string. I swallowed hard. “I’m scared of letting go.”
His lips brushed my ear, breath feathering. My blood went cold. “First lesson, Little Seer,” He whispered as he pushed harder into my back, heartbeat syncing with mine. “True power isn’t in the holding. It’s in the release.”
Release. The word sent a chill through my core.
Focus, Aurenya. You need to focus. He wants you distracted. Don’t let him win.
I drew a breath and matched it to his, my body moving with his patient steadiness.
“Now,” he said softly. “Let it breathe with you as you let go.”
I released at the same time I exhaled.
The string snapped. The arrow flew crooked, thunking into bark. Not the center, not even close. But it landed.
I spun around to face him, triumphant. “There. I did it.”
His eyes were stricken with rays of the sun, was that a…smile?
“You did.” He gave me that flawless smirk, the one that typically boiled my blood. “But you leaned too much into your shoulder. Next time…trust your core.”
The way he said it—low and gravely, caused my stomach to flutter with what had to be one thousand butterflies.
Gods, it was just a lesson. That was all. And yet, with his hand still ghosting over mine, voice in my ear, it didn’t feel like just anything.
He looked at me in a way I'd never seen, his eyelids were hooded, he bent down and I leaned in—
The bow dissolved. Sunlight fractured into shards of shadow. Tairngire’s face wavered along with my vision. My stomach lurched as the clearing collapsed into nothingness.
I hit the grass with an oomph, all the air leaving my lungs in a gasp. Honeysuckle and jasmine clung to me, the cloying air of Aeos Sítheann pressing close against my skin once more.
Caelith was perched on the marble lip of the waterfall’s pool, lazily dropping dark berries into his mouth. Eyes glowing with wicked amusement, a glint that told me he’d been watching every faltering breath, every flicker of heat.
“My, my. What a riveting display.”
My blood boiled. “You—” I shoved upright. “You tricked me. You made me see that. Feel it. Think it was real.”
His smile widened, merciless, savoring my outrage. “Did I? Or did you want to believe it was, and I simply gave you the courtesy?”
“Courtesy?” I spat. “You had no right.”
“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong.” He clucked his tongue, tipping his head.
“Dreams, desires, visions—call them what you will. They’re mine to shape here.
And you walked into my realm with that book, no?
” His grin flashed, white teeth flashing.
“You’re furious because it was too close to the truth.
And that’s the only trick worth playing at. ”
I let out a noise akin to a growl, my rage flaring up. He basked in it, closing his eyes and taking a deep inhale.
“Such anger,” he murmured, shaking his head, studying me through narrowed eyes. “Do you know how radiant it makes you, darling? All that fire…and nowhere safe to put it.” He let out a low hum, smug satisfaction painting his features.
“Keep your riddles,” I snapped. “I didn’t ask for this.”
He laughed. “No. You never ask. But here you are, pulled to me.” His gaze honed in on me with a menacing glint lit like a match.
“Tell me, Seer, were you embarrassed when you realized your scrolls wouldn’t tell you how to hold that bow?
When his hands steadied yours? Does it sting, to be fierce and still so…
” He closed his eyes and took an overly dramatic breath. “Untaught?”
My blood roared, hot and choking. “That’s enough.”
He stood up and walked toward me, violet jacket spilling shadows across the grass. “Ah, but desire and shame—such fine twins they make. You'll learn that…one way or another.”
The world lurched, the sweet stench of jasmine dragging me down, his voice was the last thing I heard before I faded into nothingness. “Now, return to your forest god. And please, do tell him I said hello. It’s been so very long."