Chapter 18 Ivy #2
When he stops to investigate a tree, running his hand up and down the bark, I roll my eyes. It seems innocent enough a gesture, but I know he’s up to something nefarious.
And then when he withdraws a heavy axe from his belt, it only confirms my suspicions. “What are you doing?”
He sniggers, running a finger along the axe’s sharp edge. “You’ll see.”
I raise a brow. “See what?”
A maddened gleam invades his eyes, and then he swings his axe, making me jump.
He ploughs the tool into the trunk, sending a spray of pine needles across the forest floor, and I can’t take my eyes off him.
His arms are so strong, and I’m simply mesmerised by his sheer strength.
There’s power behind every blow of that axe, and I have to catch my breath, reaching up to wipe the sweat from my brow, as I watch him.
“Why are you cutting that tree?”
Tegwyn stops, panting for air. “Why? Did you want to say a few words first?”
I purse my lips, ignoring the jibe. “No. I was just wondering what this has to do with the market?”
He smirks, exposing his fangs. “You just wait.”
With a final swing, the tree topples forward, landing across the road to form an obstacle, and I knew it—something nefarious.
I shake my head. “I get it. You’re going to steal a carriage from an unsuspecting civilian. The tree’s merely a diversion. Classic.”
His chest is still heaving, mist pouring from his lips as he uses his scarf to dab his face. “Jumping to conclusions yet again. Classic...”
My eyes roll for the umpteenth time. “Now what?”
“We wait.”
I throw my palm over my face.
I’m about to take part in a road heist. Mama and Papa would be so proud.
Yet I should see what he has in store first before I judge too harshly. He seemed rather wounded when I accused him of thievery. Maybe I should apologise.
But before I get my chance, he positions himself behind a tree, motioning at me to do the same. Reluctantly, I follow his example, taking up my place behind another tree.
An hour passes. Then two hours.
Snow melts around us, creating a beautiful, dripping melody of sweet notes throughout the forest. Tegwyn has his eyes closed, and it almost looks as if he’s meditating.
He's in his own little world, and I wonder if the pealing notes of the forest are just as enchanting for him as they are for me.
The faerie tenses, and I jerk my head towards the road, heart slamming against my ribs.
His eyes open, and then his voice takes on a sombre tone. “They’re coming.”
It takes me a while to hear them, but shouts soon echo up the road, chasing the heat away from my veins.
A horse whinnies, and then they round the bend, a band of seven men hauling carts filled with goods.
Their merry banter reverberates through the thick, mossy trees, a strange, alien sound after spending so many weeks in the perilous wilds.
It’s odd to hear human voices again after so long, and I have this disembodied sensation, like I’m floating above the trees, observing my own kind from a different perspective.
Is that how we sound to the Fae?
So…listless?
They lack cadence. Their voices bear no melodic lilt or resonance, and maybe I sound just as lifeless.
Tegwyn whispers beside me, counting down the moments before they stop by the felled tree, and there’s a voice with cadence.
His voice seems to vibrate through the earth, and when he speaks, his words suck you in, like he’s reciting you a lullaby.
The party comes to a complete halt, and all I can do is hold my breath.
Satisfied that his nefarious plan has finally come to fruition, Tegwyn glances my way, a smirk besmirching his face.
I shake my head in disappointment. He should be ashamed.
A man shouts at the back of the group. “Oi! Why’ve yer stopped?”
I can’t bear to listen. Those poor men are about to be robbed before my very eyes.
And I am just as despicable for allowing it to happen. So, I cover my ears, waiting for it to all be over.
“There’s a bloody big log on the road!”
“How're we supposed to get to the market now?”
“We’re going to have to move it. Come on, lads!”
They all get off their carts, and soon an argument breaks out.
“No, you get there!”
“Don’t lift it yet!”
“Ow, me toe!”
I startle when someone taps my shoulder, and that’s when I gaze into the otherworldly eyes of Tegwyn, momentarily surprised by their brightness.
A vibrant ring glistens like real gold around his pupils, and maybe this was a mistake. He may be able to cover his horns and face, but those amber eyes could never pass for human.
We shouldn’t do this; I don’t want him to get caught.
“It’s time,” he says.
I close my eyes, exhaling deeply through my nose. “No. We should rethink this. Those men. They will see what you are right—”
The faerie leans closer, and now our faces are inches apart. I forget how to breathe.
Those eyes simply arrest me in place.
“Just trust me, Ivy. We won’t get caught.”
It must be something inside those gilded eyes, because my fingers curl around his gloved hand as he guides me to my feet, leading me to the road.
The men don’t even so much as glance our way. Is he using some kind of cloaking spell to shield us? I don’t sense any magic.
Tegwyn approaches a pony near the back of the party, and I’ve never seen a sweeter creature.
With big, shining eyes of obsidian and a dappled grey coat like pebble-stone, all I want to do is pet her.
“Why, hello there,” Tegwyn croons, reaching his claws towards the frightened pony.
She pulls at her fastenings, trying to get away from the ominous faerie with the glowing eyes, and I round on him.
“Stop, you’re scaring her!”
He takes me entirely by surprise, whispering sweet nothings into the frightened animal’s ear. “It’s okay. I mean no harm. That’s a good girl…”
He brushes his knuckles down the pony’s cheek, very conscious of his sharp claws, and the pony finally shuts her eyes, relaxing at his touch.
My throat closes up at the pure, wholesome sight, and he truly is captivating with the way he calmed that frightened animal.
He had the same effect on the deer in the woods. Are animals drawn to him somehow?
Tegwyn has a true gift.
Finally, he glances over his shoulder, waving me forward. “Come. She’s at ease.”
I look back at the men. They’re still debating how to move the log.
Quickly, I join his side, offering the pony a little pat. I don’t know what Fae magic he cast over her, but she undeniably trusts us now.
Tegwyn unfastens the canvas on the back of the cart with quick, deft fingers, tossing it aside once he’s finished. “Get under.”
There are heaps and heaps of apples, and I look his way curiously.
I genuinely thought he was going to steal the cart and the pony, but I was wrong.
I jumped to conclusions, and guilt for doing so floods my veins. “I thought you were really going to steal it. I’m so sorry, Teg—”
“Never mind that now. Inside, quickly,” he hisses, peering over his shoulder.
I follow his gaze. The men have finally figured out how to lift the log, and we’ve run out of time. So, I duck under the canvas, wincing when the apples poke into my ribs.
Tegwyn climbs in after me, re-fastening the strings of the canvas.
“Not the most comfortable,” I note.
He turns my way, eyes gleaming as bright as torches in the dim light. “You’re supposed to hide under the apples.”
My brows furrow. “Under?”
“Yes. The guards check every cart upon entry. If we hide, all they’ll see is apples.”
And so, he buries himself beneath the apples to demonstrate, leaving only his eyes exposed. They blink at me for a few moments, and I cover my mouth, resisting the urge to laugh. But then he rolls a few apples over his face and finally disappears—a true master of stealth.
I follow his example, and now apples poke me all over the place. Heavens, do they smell wonderful.
My stomach rumbles, and I just remembered that I skipped breakfast.
Tegwyn’s head pops up again, and I spy that juicy red apple inside his mouth. He holds out another for me. I gaze at the offering, mouth dripping in hunger. I’ve never seen one so round…
He waves the apple under my nose, and I snatch it from his grip, giving in to temptation at last. “You really are a bad influence on me.”
He chuckles, vanishing under the pile again, and just as I bite into the forbidden fruit, savouring its sweet juices, the cart rolls forward.
We’re moving.
I just hope our gamble pays off.