Aenor lay flat on her back, her blue hair spread out behind her. She narrowed her eyes, staring at my wing. “That looks bad.”
It definitely bothered her. She wasn’t even focusing on her own injuries, which were considerable.
She stood and dusted herself off, wincing. The witches had ripped through her clothes and into her flesh. Already, I could see the effects of the iron in her system, making her look nauseated. As soon as I found the key, I needed to get her to safety to heal her.
As I stared at her bloodied clothes, anger cracked through my body. “Perhaps before I leave here I will ignite it all. The witches’ dying shrieks would delight me.”
I hadn’t actually realized that I’d said it out loud until she shot me a sharp look, her blue eyes piercing in the gloom of the forest. “You have disturbing hobbies.”
I surveyed the clearing around me, finding that the hill and the rock formations were nearly as I remembered them. A circle of standing stones jutted into the dark forest air. The trees were almost entirely different. Gone were the ancient yews, replaced now by rowan and hawthorn trees.
One tree had been there since the dawn of time—an enchanted oak where I spent many a night when I wanted to get away from the castle. As soon as I found the key, I’d take care of Aenor in there. She gripped her side now, watching to see what I’d do next.
I stood in the center of the stones. Long ago, a yew had grown right where I stood, and it was near the yew that I’d buried the key. The tree had long since decayed, but if the key still existed, I’d be able to feel it in the earth. I knelt on the mossy ground, shoving my fingers into the soil. Then, to my immense relief, I felt the key’s ancient magic snaking up my arm.
As my chest unclenched, I plucked it from the soil. It didn’t look like a normal key, rather like a glowing white stone. I clutched it in my palm, letting the earthy magic whisper around me, a vortex of power. When I glanced up through the branches, I saw the magic shields shimmer away. Now, I could fly directly into the castle if I needed to.
I turned back to Aenor.
“We have what we need,” I said. “But we need to heal each other before we can move on.”
She was gazing over the tree branches at the castle, her arms folded. Was she considering how to get there without me?
She wouldn’t tell me in a million years. I only knew that I had to watch out for her, keep her close to me. Which, as it turned out, was exactly my instinct anyway. She turned, peering in the other direction.
“They’re coming.” Her body tensed. “More witches.”
I grabbed her by the elbow, which she immediately yanked out of my grasp.
“Just tell me where we’re going,” she said. “You don’t have to guide me.”
Gods, she was infuriating. “We’re going to a tree.”
“A tree.” She sounded unimpressed.
And that was exactly why I hadn’t said it out loud, given that it sounded idiotic.
“Just follow me.” I crossed to the enchanted oak that stood just outside the ring of stones. The faintest glimmer of magic shimmered around it.
“Just to clarify,” said Aenor, “there are killer witches coming for us, and we’re going to a tree.”
I didn’t respond this time. Instead, I glanced up at the towering oak, its boughs stretching under the cloudy sky. It was at this point I realized I’d actually missed this place. After I’d been banished, I became so depraved that I could hardly form the thoughts to make sense of it. But I’d liked it here once. Perhaps I didn’t want it to burn.
I pressed my hand against the bark. Magic sizzled along my arm, and the spirit of the tree whispered to me.
The true king has returned…
The words brought a faint smile to my lips.
In the bark, a hole began to open, widening to a hollow large enough to fit through. The edges of the opening pressed against my wings as I entered.
Stepping inside, I motioned to Aenor to join me. The enchanted tree opened up into a small, round cottage. Candles flickered in silver sconces, and tiny stars hung in the dark air above us, casting light over a single circular room. A bed curved into the wall, and a table was set with ancient fairy wine, bread, and fruit. A fire burned in a stony hearth, and wildflowers grew from the walls.
This had all been here since the dawn of history, but the wine would still taste sweet, the bread still fresh. This was my true home on earth. How had I forgotten it?
I turned to see Aenor stepping in behind me, her eyes wide. I felt absurdly pleased that I had managed to impress her with this. She belonged here, with me.
“What is this place?” she asked.
“My old home, the one away from the castle. The witches won’t find us in here, so we can heal our injuries,” I said. “This was once my little getaway from the palace.”
“Where you brought your women when they weren’t allowed inside the palace? Those considered not sophisticated enough for the court, but good enough to bang?”
I frowned. “Yes, actually, but I wasn’t going to go on about my conquests because it seemed uncouth.”
She sat on the bed, gripping her injured side. “Since when did you care about being couth?”
I grabbed the wine off the small table and poured some into a glass. I handed it to Aenor, then filled my little flask with fairy wine.
Aenor took a sip, but her eyes were on the door as she thought of her next step.
“Okay, let’s get this over with,” she said.
Close as I was to achieving my destiny, I didn’t want to leave here. I felt at ease in here in a way that I hadn’t felt in centuries. How different things would have been if I’d never left.
“Stand up,” I said.
She drained her glass in one long gulp, like she was steeling herself for something terrible. Then she rose. “Are you going to do that thing with your hand on my chest again?”
“It’s the best way to heal you.”
It was, in fact, the best way for mates to heal each other. Mates, in the fae world, were so few and far between that most people didn’t know much about them.
I put my hand on her chest, the heel of my palm between her breasts. I let my magic pulse through my arm, into her body. Standing this close to her was a dizzying experience, like my senses were heightened. Her skin glistened gold, and her eyes shone like sunlight on the waves.
“It’s working,” she said quietly. “I can feel the iron leaving my system.”
Her cheeks were growing pinker now, her healthy color returning. Warmth spread in my chest. Even if she didn’t want it all, I would return her magic to her. She might need it when I was gone. My gaze dipped to her lips, full and slightly parted as she looked at me. She did desire me, didn’t she?
Maybe I would seduce her, just once. I could tell that she wanted me by the way her heart raced when we were closer, and her cheeks flushed a little. As I healed her, she held my gaze steadily.
I could lay her down beneath me and bring her such intense pleasure that she’d forget that she hated me. I’d kiss and lick her between her thighs until she couldn’t remember her name.
It was the wrong thing to do, of course. I should leave her alone.
But since when did I take the high road?
My fevered thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the tree groaning around me. I pulled my hand away from Aenor and felt the air going cold.