I want to argue with him that we need to hurry back, but the goosebumps still on my arms keep me quiet.
We continue on the path to the cave but now in silence, keeping an ear out for anything that goes bump in the night. When the dirt turns completely to rock, the level path rises and I know we’ve made it to the mountain’s slope. Lachlan halts us and peers down at the map and then up towards the North Star, twinkling straight ahead.
“The opening should be right here,” he whispers, holding the torch near the stone.
I ease off my mount and walk to his side to check out the map.
“Should we split up?” I ask, gnawing on my bottom lip.
“Are ye mad?” He asks gaping at me. Moonlight casts his face half in light and half in shadow.
“No, but that would be?—”
“If ye say the word ‘quickest’ one more time.”
“Alright, alright.” Feeling the fair folk somewhere close by, I squat down and hold a hand out. “Could you help us?”
Lachlan turns in the direction I’m speaking and the light of his torch reflects off several pairs of tiny eyes.
“Haud yer wheesht,” he whispers.
Two blinks from the eyes that are closest.
A small flicker of blue flame winks into existence in front of me, followed by three more beyond it, lighting our way.
“Wisps,” Lachlan says in awe.
We follow them through a cluster of juniper trees. Just on the other side of their branches, the wisps stop at a dark gash in the stone.
He raises his torch up higher, illuminating the stone in front of us so we can see that it’s actually a door carved into the mountain, cracked open. On either side of it, carved into the stone, are the upward arrow-shaped runes for Tyr.
“Thank you, friends,” I whisper to the fair folk.
The eyes blink slowly before they vanish again.
I turn to Lachlan and his mouth parts.
“What?” I hiss, worried there’s a monster behind me.
“You’re so—so extraordinary.Like a fairy princess,” he breathes, his gaze lingers on my lips.
My heart stalls in my chest before rapidly galloping. A blush crawls its way up my neck and floods my cheeks. I’m thankful for the poor light, so he can’t see just how much his words have affected me. How his everything affects me all the time.
Even with so much going on, I just…
I launch myself into his arms. The torch clatters against the stone but keeps on burning.
“What is it?” he asks, wrapping an arm low around my back to hold me to him while reaching for the sword at his side.
“I—need to feel you sometimes. To know that this is all real.”
He squeezes me tighter to his chest. “Any time ye need this, ye let me know. I’ll do anything ye need, Key.” But his words have heat pooling low in my belly.
“Anything?” I ask from beneath lowered lashes.
“Whatever you’ll allow me.”
Such dangerous words from such a beautiful mouth.
