“You are not!”
“What did I just walk into?” comes Dravik’s booming voice from the doorway. I turn my gaze toward him, my lips tipping into a bright smile when I notice a struggling baby antethorpe held in his strong arms. “Justwhatare you winning, Nyx?”
“Willow’s undying affection.” He casts a smug glance in Rhune’s direction. “Rhun’es upset that it’s not much of a competition.”
Rhune opens his mouth to rebut, but Dravik holds a hand up, silencing him. “Enough, both of you.” Kevin continues to struggle, and he sighs deeply, placing him on the floor. As soon as he touches the ground, Kevin races over to me, snuggling deep into my lap with a contented bleat.
So. Cute.
Dravik clears his throat, drawing my attention back to his grumpy expression. “Thereisno winning her affections, because I am taking her home at first light.”
Rhune’s expression crumbles, a high-pitched whine echoing in the base of his throat. “What? The storm can’t possibly be over yet.”
“It is dying as we speak.” Dravik’s thunderous expression leaves no room for discussion. “I just came from the surface. It’s calm enough to travel in right now, but I imagined your reactions if I tried to take her back now, and realized I don’t have the energy to deal with your petulant whining.”
Nyx bares his teeth at Dravik in a vicious smile. “I don’t whine—I sulk dramatically and make my bad mood everyone else’s problem until someone gives me my way.”
Dravik rolls his eyes. “My point still stands. You have until the sun flips to say your goodbyes—and then I am taking herhome.”
With that, Dravik storms from the room, his large orange wings twitching with irritation.
“He grows more unpleasant each time.” Nyx pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a deep sigh. “But unfortunately, the grumpy bastard is right.” He raises his head, his eyes swirling in a pained emotion as he gazes at me. “You want to go home, don’t you?”
I open my mouth to answer, but nothing comes out. Half of me desperately wants to get back to earth and my regular life. The other is pulling me in the opposite direction. It abhors the idea of me leaving this place—so much so, that I worry I’ll have to leave that piece of myself behind in order to go home.
“I don’t know what I want anymore.” I drop my gaze to my hands clenched tightly in my lap. “But… part of me misses my bed, my books, and the other comforts I had on earth. Plus, I’m a human. I can’t survive here forever. So… Yes. Yes, I want to go home.”
Nyx nods, a stone wall closing over his expression. “Then we will get you home. Won’t we, Rhune?”
He whines, dropping his head into my lap. “I don’t want you to go, Willow.”
“That’s not fair, Rhune.” Nyx places a comforting hand on his shoulder. “She told us what she wants. We have to let her go. It’s for her own good. For her happiness.”
Rhune pulls his head up, his eyes watery as he gazes into mine. “Going home will make you happy?”
My heart lurches violently as I whisper, “Yes.”
It’s one simple word, but it feels sowrong.As soon as I say it, I want to take it back, but it’s too late for that.I’m going home.
Rhune nods slowly, his mouth pressing into a thin line. “I have come to realize in this short time we’ve been together that your happiness means more to me than mine ever could. No matter how much I want to keep you, I… I will let you go.”
“Thank you, Rhune,” I say, cupping his cheek. He leans into my touch for a moment before his eyes flash with pain, and he pulls back, putting a few feet of space between us.
“We should celebrate your happiness,” Rhune says, his voice choked. “I will grab the welwig sap from Dravik’s room, and we’ll have a toast to the good memories we’ve made.”
Tears well in my eyes as I look at the expression on sweet Rhune’s face. He’s trying so hard to be brave, to show me he’s okay with me leaving. The worst part is that wehavemade some wonderful memories. If celebrating them will bring a smile back to Rhune’s face, then I want to do it.
“Okay.” I smile through the pain in my chest. “Let’s toast.”
Rhune leaves the room and returns with three “cups” and a crystalline canister full of a blue-colored substance. There’s a loudpopas Rhune pulls the stopper out, and he begins filling each of the cups with a generous amount of the drink. Despite the name, the viscosity is closer to blood than sap, and as it flows, the liquid shimmers as if someone dumped a ton of baker’s glitter into the vat.
I have to use both my hands to grip the massive demon-sized cup Rhune passes to me, and I’m surprised at the warmth emanating from the stone. Bringing it close to my face, I inhale deeply through my nose, but it doesn’t appear to have a scent—at least, not one detectable by my human nose.
I slide my tongue out to sample it.Hmm. No taste, either.“Is it like alcohol?”
“It’s an intoxicant. It heightens emotions, dulls inhibitions, and generally gives you a good feeling,” Nyx explains.
“So just like alcohol.” Now, I’m feeling brave enough to go in for a sip. There’s no real flavor, but the liquid flows across my tongue like warm honey, soothing my throat on the way down and warming my insides. Within moments, I feel a buzz that’s akin to taking two tequila shots in a row, and decide it’s best to pace myself.
