“Yes, Father. Thank you.”
Without another word, Vaelith turns and starts back the way he’d come. The movement is probably slow for him, but I have to cling to his thumb to keep from sliding over his palm.
The further we get from the heavy smog of whatever I just ran through, the less furry he becomes. Roots and vines wind their way up and around him, covering the fur until he’s back to what I remember. The mask dissolves back into his beautiful face and I’m the center of his entire focus.
“You should have let me use my vines,” he teases.
Despite the nightmare I just went through, I laugh at the ridiculous joke.
“I kind of wish you had, too,” I admit. “That was terrifying.”
His smile slips and he stops walking. I’m lifted until I’m level with his face.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
I look down at myself. At the mud, sludge and blood caking my feet, staining my dress. I can’t imagine what my face and hair must look like, but it doesn’t seem to be bothering him.
“My dress is ruined,” I murmur.
His brows furrow. “I will get you as many more as you want, but that isn’t my concern.”
“I’m alright,” I promise him. “I do have several questions about the things I saw.”
Vaelith grunts and resumes walking.
“The border between our kingdom and the others is a thin one. The one between Paludaris and Tarnveil is nearly identical until you realize you’re no longer in our realm. Nothing beyondour borders will make sense to you until you become more familiar with them.”
After everything I just saw, I’m not entirely certain I want to see the other places, but I am curious.
“What’s out there?” I ask, turning my head to squint out into the spanning darkness stretching wide into the horizon.
“All manner of creatures. Some good. Some evil.” With his free hand, he gestures to a faint glow of lights in the distance. “Fae. Vampires.” He motions a little over. “Werewolves. Incubi. Chthonia is a home for monsters and things that have no business in the human world.”
“I don’t know how I’ll get used to all this,” I confess. “I was raised to believe none of this existed.”
We arrive in what I assume is our border and Vaelith shrinks to a manageable size. He’s still a dominating tower looming over me, but I’m no longer sitting in his palm.
“Do you still wish to visit your death, little one?” he asks.
“I think I need to,” I confess. “I want to know how it happened. See it,” I stress when he opens his mouth.
He inclines his head. “As you wish, my queen.”
I take his hand. I capture it between both of mine and I can feel the surprise coming off him, but he doesn’t protest. And I don’t tell him it’s not only because I like holding his hand, but because I’m terrified I’ll lose him again and end up somewhere even scarier.
“I’d like to see my parents,” I say, breaking the calm silence between us. “To visit occasionally. Is that possible?”
He’s quiet for several steps, eyes locked on the distance. “The longer you continue to move in and out of their lives, the harder it will be for them to move on. They will perpetually mourn you, but, yes, you can visit.”
“They don’t have to know I’m there, do they? Can I just look in on them from time to time?”
His head cocks down towards me. “If that is your wish, I will see to it.”
We continue onward, and I have a momentary thought that makes my chuckle.
“I hope the bathroom is closer than wherever we’re going.”
Vaelith peers down at me with a mischievous grin. “I wanted our bed away from anyone who might hear you scream. The noises you make when I torture you into bliss are mine only.” Heat fills my cheeks ... and my panties, but he continues, “Your delicate, human body is unstable and greedy, and no matter how I hurt you, you always want more.”
