Page 45 of Charmed

“They will make it to The Haven now,” said Darium, when he had finished. “You don’t have to worry for your parents anymore.”

“There is a graveyard right outside the castle walls,” explained Rhys. “My brothers and I will help you bury your parents.”

“Thank you,” said Gregor. “I am only sorry I stayed away so long. Are they still here?” he asked Persimmon.

Persimmon looked around the room and slowly shook her head. “Nay, I’m sorry. They’ve moved on,” she told him. “But they were glad you came.”

“I am so thankful,” said Gregor. “I will do anything at all to show all of you how much I appreciate everything each of you has done for my parents. They meant the world to me.”

“Anything?” asked Stone.

“Yes.”

“Then help us sneak back into Macada Castle to capture two thieves from my homeland and to recover my king’s jewels that were stolen.”

“Stone, nay. You can’t ask him to do that,” said Medea. “It’s not right. If King Sethor finds out he even came here now, he’ll most likely order the man killed.”

“I’ll do it,” said Gregor without a second thought. “I will gladly risk my life to help all of you. But, please, tell me something that I need to know. Who was it that killed my parents?”

“The same two men we are hunting down,” answered Aithrod, walking into the room with Fang at his side. “The thieves of Taelgonoth.”

“I will kill them with my bare hands if need be, but they will pay for taking the lives of innocent people.” Gregor’s fists clenched and he gritted his teeth. “They will not get away with this.”

“Nay, they won’t, I promise you that,” Stone told him. “I will see to it personally. They will pay for their evil acts, and I will make sure justice is served.”

Later that day, Persimmon rode atop a horse along with Stone as they made their way through the village of Kasculbough, and along the beach of the Masked Sea with Fang leading the way. The sun shone down upon them, warming her body and making her feel safe and secure. Puffy white clouds floated lazily in the bright blue sky above them. Crystalline waves drifted up to the shore, rippling the bronze field of smooth sand before them.

“It surely is beautiful in Mura. We very seldom have a bright sunny day in Taelgonoth,” Stone told her.

“Really? Why not?”

He shrugged. “It is a much darker place than here. Sometimes, it is so bleak that it is hard to remember if it is day or night. And because of the lack of sun, not much grows. What we do have is mostly tangles of weeds or gnarled trees.”

“Oh, my, that sounds awful. No wonder there is no magic there. I don’t think a fae or elf or even a witch would live in a land without sun and flora. It is what we thrive on.”

“It might not be as colorful or as beautiful as this land, but still it is my home and I miss it.”

“Do you have family you left behind?” she asked him, wanting to know more about this intriguing man.

“No. Not anymore,” he told her sadly. “Most of my family was killed off by a plague that swept through the land. The rest of them were killed in war. The same thing happened to Aithrod with his family.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she told him, feeling his own sadness and emptiness in her heart. “So you have kingdoms fighting over there as well as they do here?”

“I am sure every land has greedy men who want to rule and will do anything to gain power. It is no different than anywhere else.”

“Thank you for asking me to go for a ride, Stone, but it wasn’t necessary,” she told him, enjoying the closeness of their bodies pressed together as they traveled slowly along the beach.

“It’s the least I could do to try to make it up to you that I didn’t believe you when you said you saw ghosts. I’m sorry. I’m not used to all this magic and odd happenings.”

“It’s all right. Seeing spirits isn’t a common thing.”

“I heard that Darium had some experiences with the dead as well, but he wouldn’t elaborate on it.”

“Stone, can we stop and walk? I’d like to talk,” she said, not wanting to have to keep looking over her shoulder to speak to him.

“Of course, we can.” He stopped and dismounted and then aided her, slowly lowering her to the ground. The touch of his hands around her waist felt intoxicating. She couldn’t stop from thinking about the kisses they’d shared. She wanted more than anything to experience that again.

As if he could read her mind, he leaned over and kissed her passionately on the mouth. Her arms closed around him and she returned the kiss. With their lips pressed together, Persimmon felt as if she hadn’t a care in the world. All that mattered was that she found the man she wanted to love. Meeting Stone seemed to fill an empty void in her heart. She liked being around him. He was special.