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—somethingnefarious.
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 howwesound 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, andthere’sa 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?”
