Chapter 18 Ivy
Ivy
Five days later, I wake to a pair of glowing eyes hovering in the corner of the cave, startling me for the briefest moment.
But when I rub my eyes, letting my vision adjust, I finally make out the horned silhouette of Tegwyn watching me sleep.
Yeah. That’s not unnerving at all. I roll my eyes, curling up under the blankets.
I’m so used to him by now that I can just tune him out. If he wants to watch me sleep, then so be it.
His lilting tone carries across the cave. “When you’re done snoozing, Ivy, you can make a start on getting ready. We leave in thirty minutes.”
I turn my head, finding his gleaming eyes in the corner again. “That depends on the time.”
A smirk stretches his lips. “Way too early, I’m afraid.”
With a huff, I roll onto my back, staring at the stalactites, and my eyes shut closed.
“We have a long day ahead of us, princess. So, the quicker, the better.”
“But it’s cold,” I remark. I’m really not a morning person.
It seems I’m wearing his patience thin because I’m pretty sure his left eye twitches. “Well, tough shit. You want rations for winter, then you get out of bed.”
I toss the blankets aside, swinging my legs over the bed. “Fine, I’m up. No need to bite my head off.”
He makes no attempt to leave. He just waits in the corner, and I angle my head. “Do you mind? I need to dress.”
The faerie regards me strangely at first. When he cottons on, he hides his eyes, moving towards the exit. “Of course. I’ll be outside.”
I blow a frustrated sigh.
Honestly.
Once he’s out of sight, I remove my nightdress, shivering when a cool breeze wafts against my bare shoulders. It’s like living on a glacier.
I slip on a simple cotton dress, tying up the bodice with shaking fingers.
He coughs for attention outside. “You may want to reposition your lamp. It’s casting your shadow across the wall.”
I turn towards the wall in question, and there I spy my lengthened shadow dancing across the ancient stone.
My exposed breasts bounce, and I cover my chest. “Tegwyn! Go! Now!”
There’s no missing the smirk in his tone as he meanders down the tunnel, a laugh reverberating in his chest. “With pleasure.”
I can still hear him laughing when he’s halfway down the mountain, and I finish tying my bodice, cursing under my breath.
That peeping Tom. Wait till I get my hands on him.
Once I’m dressed, I march out of the cave, finding him waiting at the foot of the mountain.
He’s covered in flecks of snow, gazing up at a darkened sky as he welcomes the flurries onto his face, and the sight takes my breath away.
It’s so peaceful and quiet, there’s barely a sound to be heard for miles—not even the fluttering of a bird’s wings up in the whitened branches.
My eyes fall back on the faerie. If he thinks he’s getting off that easy…
Tegwyn glances my way, a wry smile tugging his lips. “You took your time.”
I grit my teeth. “Are you really going to play dumb with me?”
He tilts his horned head. “Sorry, you’ve lost me, princess.”
My cheeks flush bright red. “You watched me undress!”
He blinks at me, nonplussed. Then he guffaws, vanishing down the slope.
Shaking my head, I stomp after him, but as soon as I lose my footing, he’s there, holding his arm out. It’s his olive branch, so to speak, and with a sigh, I take his arm, letting him lead me the rest of the way down the slope.
Horrid one moment, and then chivalrous the next. It’s hard to keep up with him.
At least the night is beautiful. The snow reflects the full belly of the moon, brightening up the shadows of the forest. Rocks and twigs glitter with hoarfrost as Tegwyn guides me with ease, helping me around difficult patches of ice.
I have to be slowing him down, yet he continues at my languorous pace, and I can’t help but soak up his delicious warmth and his rich, earthy scent of pine and woodsmoke. Maybe today won’t be so bad after all.
Five hours later, we finally reach our destination—a long, winding stretch of road that bisects the sprawling forest.
A sunken road sign made from blue slate reads: “Twenty mi to Est.”
It’s the first sign of human life I have seen in weeks, and the sight takes my breath away.
How something as trivial as a road sign can leave me speechless, I’ll never know, but I’ve become so accustomed to the wild, treacherous lands of the north these last several weeks that I forgot how simple the human world could be.
The forest is much tamer on the other side of the road. Thick blankets of moss no longer cling to the branches or trees. The canopy reveals patches of grey sky, and even the birds seem to chirp louder.
Ferns have shrunk in size, and tree roots no longer twist up from the ground to trip you on your feet. The mist has cleared, too, and now I can see further than ten feet ahead of me.
The faerie wilds truly are primitive. It’s an ancient world untouched by humans—untouched by time.
Tegwyn shrouds his face with his hood and scarf, taking up a position behind a tall spruce. I slump on a tree stump overgrown with toadstools, grateful for the chance to rest. I even take off my right boot so I can remove a stubborn stone; it’s been annoying me for miles.
“And who gave you permission to sit?”
I meet his luminous eyes. They burn brighter beneath the dark of his cowl, and I can tell by the way they narrow that he’s smirking at me. Nothing new there.
“I did. I needed a rest.”
He sighs, blowing the scarf on his face. “If you insist, princess.”
I really wish he would stop calling me that.
I’m not a princess.
A breath loosens from my own lips, unconsciously mirroring him. “So, twenty miles? Will it really take us that long to reach the market?”
The faerie snorts. “No. We’ll be hitching a ride.”
I look up and down the barren road. “A ride from whom?”
Tegwyn ignores the question, unfurling his map on the ground before me.
He kneels, using rocks and twigs as paperweights.
There are marker points for each town and city, and it appears this Fae likes to get around.
He points his gloved finger on a small peninsula along the eastern coastline, and my heart flutters in my throat.
“This is where we’re heading—the Eastern Market. Or in other words, the lion’s mane…” He scoffs, “I don’t see it, do you? This shitty kingdom looks nothing like a lion.”
I barely hear his rambling as I stare at the peninsula, the one surrounded by a blue expanse.
Could it be?
After all these years, will I get to see the sea?
“You’re pulling a very strange facial expression right now. What’s on your mind?”
I meet his gaze, and whatever he must see in my eyes, it’s enough to catch him off guard.
My vision fogs, and before my eyes betray me, I reach up, wiping away a traitorous tear. “The…sea…”
“Yes. What about it?”
I inhale a shaky breath, wondering how I tell him that my dream of seeing the ocean is about to come true.
I’ve been dreaming of this day since I was a little girl.
Ever since I first opened the pages of a book, learning how big the world truly was outside of my tiny cottage.
It almost doesn’t seem real, and I wish my parents were here to experience this moment with me.
Tegwyn pulls off his scarf, and a small, knowing smile curves his lips. “You’ve never seen the ocean before… have you?”
I lower my gaze, giving him a subtle nod. For some reason, I feel vulnerable exposing myself to him like this. But I’m starting to think that I can trust him, and he has proven himself more than enough times.
There’s a good heart beating inside that chest of his.
I’ve spied small glimpses of his soul, and the more time I spend with him, the more I’m starting to believe that my mother may have been wrong about the Fae. Some Fae, at least.
I can’t believe it’s been a whole month since I last saw her. My dreams had to take a backseat for a while.
Life just became a game of survival, and hoping and praying that I would reunite with my parents again.
Since that awful night, I’ve forgotten how to dream, how to have hope. That sweet girl who used to love painting died the night those soldiers came. But just maybe I will get to reunite with her once again.
“My parents were going to take me to see the ocean for my birthday...”
My voice cracks, and I look away.
He doesn’t speak for a while. He just continues to stare at me with an ambiguous expression.
Sometimes, I don’t know what to expect when I gaze inside those glowing orbs, but right now, I’m afraid.
Will he be mocking or dismissive?
Will he laugh?
“Well…if that isn’t the sweetest thing I’ve heard.”
Surprised, I meet his eyes, and I can’t help it now. A laugh escapes me. “Sweet? I’m shocked you know that word.”
He chuckles, “Yeah, me too, but after hearing your sad little tale, I couldn’t help myself. Thanks, by the way. My reputation is surely in tatters.”
A louder laugh loosens from my lips, and the sound rings across the gloomy forest, brightening up the dull day.
Tegwyn watches me with those strange eyes again, and I’m pretty sure his pupils dilate.
Silence befalls us, and that’s when he casts his gaze to the ground.
I sense the downward shift of his emotions, tilting my head. “Tegwyn? What’s wrong?”
He heaves a sigh, unable to meet my eyes. “Unfortunately, I can’t make any promises. The market is heavily patrolled.”
My heart dips like a sinking ship, and the world becomes a colourless place once again. “Oh.”
“The king has his men stationed at every major port. So, we must be as quick as possible. There may be no time to see the ocean. I’m sorry.”
A stray tear slides down my cheek, and I brush it away.
“I just didn’t want you to get your hopes up.”
Another tear escapes, and I know he saw that one. His breath stutters, and he can’t even bring himself to look at me.
“It’s fine, I understand. If we get caught, there’s no telling what will happen.”
Tegwyn stows his map away, then stalks off down the road. I watch him curiously from my stump, wondering what he's up to.