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“Tell me,” she begged. “I’ve never done it because I wanted to, because I was in love with someone. It was always because the fae made me. Was it as magical as they say it is?”
Sadness hit me in the chest. She’d never had sex because she wanted to. I reached over and hugged her.
“It was perfect,” I whispered.
She clapped her hands. “I’m so happy for you two. You’re gonna live happily ever after, I just know it.”
I tore off another piece of bread. I wanted to believe we’d get that one day. Even with the cards stacked against us, I prayed it would happen.
Finding the spindle, giving it to Deidamia and killing her sounded easy on paper. Everything made sense. But everyone knew it wouldn’t be that easy.
If killing Deidamia was easy, someone would have already done it.
The distant caw of her crow slithered down my spine. If she was watching us, she'd see our attempt at the portal. I prayed the crow wasn't as bad as we all thought. Him finding that storybook wasn't coincidence, was it?
Fern and I finished our bread and found Kellan and Ernest in the middle of a clearing. Kellan stood with his fingers interlaced against the back of his head. His shoulders were relaxed, and he looked good, considering the circumstances. Ernest faced away from us, his robe blowing in the wind. His head was turned upward toward the cloudy sky.
Kellan glanced over at me. I noticed the hint of disappointment on his face even when he smiled.
I sat down next to Fern and rested my chin against my knees.
“You have to pull at the atmosphere,” Kellan said with a sigh. “It’s difficult to grasp it, but it swirls like a snake around you. Close your eyes and grasp it.”
Ernest didn’t seem as perplexed by that as I did.
He inhaled deeply and waited.
The patience it would take to pull something like this off was far beyond my capabilities.
“You have to believe that it’s in your grasp. That it’s your right to travel through realms.”
Ernest continued to stand still with his eyes closed. Minutes turned into an hour before he sighed deeply.
“I need to take a break,” he whispered. “I need some water.”
Kellan nodded. “Do you want to grab some water with me?” he asked.
I stood, leaving Fern with Ernest in the field and joined him. His silence was hard to read.
“What do you think?” I asked.
Kellan shrugged his big shoulders, his dark eyes scanning the tree line in the distance. “I don’t know. It’s hard to say when you’re not experiencing it. Ernest seems to be capable, but it’s not easy.”
Kellan stopped at the camp, grabbed a canteen and gestured toward the river for me to follow.
I fell into step with him, feeling his arm wrap around my waist and drag me closer. “I don’t want you to get upset if he can’t do it soon.”
I chuckled. “Have you seen me get upset yet, Kellan?”
“You’re right. You’re awfully chipper, considering our circumstances. Are you already so optimistic?”
“I guess. You are, too, once you get some, apparently.”
Kellan halted and stared at me.
I laughed. “Fern asked me how it was as soon as you left. Apparently, a good mood is few and far between for our anti-hero.”
Kellan grabbed at my hip. I maneuvered away from him and toward the small creek. His heavy footsteps grew closer to me, so I pushed harder while feeling like a child again.
