His breath tickles the shell of my ear as he chuckles lightly, holding up my entire weight. My body trembles, and I cling onto him tighter, hooking my knees around his waist to secure myself in place.
“You can let go now, Ivy. It’s over. We’re safe.”
Safe?
“Wh-what happened? Why did the world move so fast?”
He's still sniggering down my ear when he pushes me against a hard surface, and the sensation of cool stone brings me back to earth.
“Because, princess…I rippled us away before that bumpkin could realise we were inside his cart. Look…”
I peer over his shoulder, finding the ‘bumpkin’ in question. He picks up a chewed apple core, pinching the stalk between his fingers as he investigates its mysterious origins, and a nervous giggle escapes me.
Of course. Now it all makes sense.
I just travelled atFaespeed. At least I have a name for it now.
Rippled.Tegwynrippledus away to safety, and it was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life.
He studies me carefully beneath his hood. “Do you feel all right?”
I’m still laughing when I meet his gleaming eyes. “That was amazing! Can we do that again?”
His mouth parts, and I can’t help myself now. It’s like I’m drunk on his magic.
“You don’t feel sick at all?” he continues, brows knitted in confusion. “I took a huge risk just now. I wasn’t entirely sure how you’d fare.”
I continue to chortle, my mind heady from his lightning speed, and I’m neither here nor there. I think I left my head back at the cart. Now I’m away with thefaeries… Literally.
Tegwyn still holds me, and it appears he’s afraid to let me go. We’re tucked away safely inside a back alley where no one can see us, and it’s like we’re the only two souls left in the world.
Somehow, I see the world in brand new colours, and everything is so much brighter than it was before.
What has come over me?
Tegwyn tucks a gloved finger beneath my chin to investigate my eyes, and I’m still tittering like a crazy fool.
“Oh… It appears thereweresome side effects after all. Your pupils are enormous.”
“As are yours. I can see myself inside them.”
And I can, too.
I spy two little versions of myself inside the black holes of his yellow eyes, and they suck me in, consuming every little part of me.
He huffs and steps away, taking his glorious body heat with him. Then he grips my upper arm and drags me further into the alleyway, leaving the hustle and bustle of the thoroughfare behind us.
I can barely walk on my own feet, and I’m still giddy from moving at his Fae speed. “Where are we going?”
He exhales, creating a cloud of vapour. “To find a place for the night. There’s an inn this way where they don’t ask questions. It should suffice.”
We soon arrive at a crooked, two-storey shack that appears to have been built into the masonry of the wall.
A scrawny black cat watches us on the front step, but unlike the pony or the doe, it doesn’t gravitate to Tegwyn.
It hisses when he steps too close, but the faerie rips off his scarf, hissing right back in the same language. Alarmed, the stray scampers off once it spies his fangs, and I look after it sadly. “Poor cat.”
Tegwyn tsks, “It had it coming. Now come. Let’s get you inside.”
