It looks as if Ivy brought some of the winter chill from the human realm when she snuck through the gate, and it’s time we trek back to the mountain before anyone realises she’s here.
I shake her gently, whispering in her ear, “Ivy.”
She wakes with a soft sigh, smiling up at me lazily. Then she trembles, huddling beneath my cloak. “So cold.”
“I know, and that’s exactly why we need to leave. It’s snowing.”
The human merely yawns, and I get it. She’s tired, and she may struggle to walk for a few days, but we need to make haste.
“And what of it?”
I meet the blue-green slits of her eyes. “Itneversnows in the village.”
Her lids fly open. Then she rises, slipping free of my cock and allowing me to button up my pants.
She winces when I help her to her feet, and since I’m the reason why she’s in so much pain in the first place, I tuck my hands beneath her legs and carry her the rest of the way down the hill.
Most of the Fae have gone home, and now only the most dedicated of revelers remain. Several have passed out drunk on the cobblestones, and we pass one group, in particular, that resembles a naked heap of tangled limbs. The air reeks of decadence. A lot happened while we were safely tucked away at the top of the hill. Once upon a time, Ivy would have blushed at all the debauchery, but now she barely gives the faerie orgy a second glance as we head to the gate. I feel like I’m tainting her innocent soul, but I can’t help but feel a little proud of her; it must get tedious being the good girl all the time.
We find the alleyway, and the spriggan lets us through the gate without protest. A blast of white wind steals my breath the moment we re-enter the human realm, and it looks like we’ve walked right into the heart of a blizzard.
Snow swirls in thick sheets, and I’ve never felt a chill like it before. It sluices across my skin and soaks my hair, freezing me right down to the bone. It’s not natural, whatever it is.
Ivy latches on to me tightly, chattering her teeth like a baby squirrel. I must get her back to the mountain quickly.
But I’m struggling to see ten feet. There is no way we will make it back tonight.
“What… what should we do?” she asks, trembling.
Dread leaches from my veins when I spy her bloodless lips. If I don’t do something soon, she’ll freeze to death.
All she wears is that flimsy gossamer, and even the vines and flowers are receding faced with this merciless storm. Hoarfrost seizes the dress’s once lovely petals, and they wither and unfurl, succumbing to the elements.
Ivy will not meet the same fate.
We left her clothes back at Bannog’s shop, but we can’t return because the spriggan has resumed his ancient slumber.
The only way to go is forward.
I’m Fae. There’s a strong possibility that I will survive this storm. Magic sustains the very blood of my veins, but Ivy will die.
I tug her closer to my body, bundling her up under my cloak, and she nestles her nose into the crook of my neck, shivering miserably.
“T-Tegwyn,” she shudders, her breath warming my skin.
I hold her tighter, praying to Maghelena to show us a way through the storm. “I know. But I will get you out of this. I promise.” She nods, putting her entire trust in me.
I can’t let her down.
Through a gap in the storm, I spy the yawning mouth of a cave and send a silent thanks to the goddess. She heeded my prayers.
Ivy is barefoot, so it’s no wonder she’s slipping away. I scoop her up in my arms, keeping her buried beneath the cloak as I wade through thick carpets of snow.
Once we reach the cave, I settle her down onto the hard, uneven ground, unclipping my cloak so I can place it around her shoulders.
Then I step back outside, braving the tempest once again. “I’m going to collect some firewood. Stay here.”
She doesn’t reply, too numb from the cold. I need to act, and fast.
