“Liv…” Bastian says my name like he’s trying out the letters on his tongue. “It suits you,” he says with a quick glance over me.Was that a compliment?“Is it short for something?”
I give him a sly smile. “It’s possible. Is Bastian short for something?” I ask with an innocent tone to my question.
He smirks, picking up on what I’m doing. “It’s possible,” he parrots my response “Now, lead the way,Liv.”
I want to hate the way my name sounds from his lips. But I don’t. It’s almost like he’s caressing the words, they’re thick and warm like the sweet, stickiness from the honied bread rolls I devour from the market.
I tuck the blade back into my boot but keep my hand at the ready to reach for it as I turn to head off in the direction I came from, back towards the pool. I can feel him still standing by the tree. I stop when I’m a few feet ahead and look back at him. “Well, aren’t you coming?”
“Oh, yes, I was just taking in the view first,” he says with a wink before catching up to me in a few quick strides.
I roll my eyes and start walking again. “I bet that line works on all the women. Err, females?”
He glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “Did it work on you?”
I scoff. “Not in the slightest,” I say, staring straight ahead.
“For some reason, I don’t entirely believe you.” He turns his head to face me and I can see that he’s smirking at me. I can feel heat rising to the tips of my rounded ears and I’ve never been more grateful that I adjusted my hair to cover them.
“Is that all you do with your face? Smirk?” I snap at him. Guess we can throw being respectful entirely out the window at this point.
“Only when I find my company thoroughly amusing.”
“Well, I’m glad I could offer you some amusement on this entirely boring evening,” I say dryly.
“It actually was quite boring until you stumbled into the celebrations. So, I should truly thank you for livening up my evening.”
I miss a step at his words, but manage to keep my footing, pressing forward. “There’s absolutely no need to do that.”
“I saidshould, not that I would.” He gives me a feline smile and I’m beginning to question if this male is more animal than anything else. “Tell me more about yourself, Liv.”
I don’t really know what inspires me to answer him. Maybe I’m trying to make the time pass faster. Or maybe Iwantto tell him about myself. Let him get to know me. No that’s notit. It’s definitely the former. “I mean, there’s not much to tell. My parents passed when I was a baby. I live in a small village with my aunt and help out around the cottage. That’s basically my entire life summed up.” Which, thinking about it, is kind of sad. My whole life can be summed up as an orphan, living with her aunt in a small village. There’s nothing bold and exciting to aspire to. “In fact, the most interesting thing to happen in my two decades of life is falling through the portal,” I say with a frown. I’m not sure what made me voice the realization, but for some unknown reason, I feel comfortable enough with Bastian to say it.
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, you tumbling through that portal has been the most interesting part of the last two decades of my life as well.”
I stutter to a stop and look at him. Unsure if he’s mocking me or being genuine. He stops a few paces ahead when he realizes I’ve paused and looks at me with a questioning look.
“You can't be serious. I know I’ve not seen a lot of Faerie?—”
“Alinea,” he interrupts.
“What?”
“Faerie. The realm. It has a name. And it’s Alinea,” he says cooly.
“Oh… Well—as I was saying—I know I’ve not seen much ofAlinea, but it just seems like… I don’t know, like there’s always something happening. Something to do. Somewhere to go. You even have the dynamics of the court nearby. Surely all of that is at least a little entertaining, no?”
He watches me for a long moment, considering his words, before he answers, his expression hardening. “Life in the courts isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.” Then he turns and stomps off in the direction of the portal.
Did I say something wrong? Why did he suddenly shut down on me?
I quicken my pace to catch up with him and we walk in silence the rest of the way to the clearing, until we’re standing in front of the small pool of water.
“This is where you came though?” he asks, skepticism heavy in his tone.
We both stand staring at the pool. I look around the clearing once more, making sure this is in fact the same one I tumbled into.
I take one more glance around, trying to be certain, even though I already know. “I’m almost certain this is it.”
