AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He started to contact her telepathically, when he felt her rapping against his mind. Again, the woman was powerful.
He allowed the communication. Hello, Willow.
Malik, we need to fix this. I need you to stop coming after me. I have important duties that your presence interferes with, and I can’t allow this to go on.
He was surprised, which reminded him that he really knew very little about this woman. But what duties was she referring to? He knew she was focused on something, but on what? And why did she live such a secretive life?
Still holding her gaze, he responded, I feel the same way.
He dropped down to the top step and put a hand on Evan’s shoulder. “I have something I have to take care of right now. Let me know how the investigation goes. I’m hoping like hell we’ll learn something, but I’m not holding my breath.”
Evan looked up at him, then gained his feet. “I’ll look after things here.” He pressed the heels of his palms to wet eyes.
That’s what he loved about the Guardsmen, whether they were his Vampire Guard or Troll Brigade. They were good, honest men, with great hearts, and he experienced a camaraderie with them that equaled nothing else in his life.
“Call me if you need me.”
He shifted to levitated flight and sped slowly along the cobbled street in Willow’s direction. He wasn’t surprised that before he reached her, she turned and moved up the path, though not running this time so that he’d be able to follow her.
He thought he understood. If he paused at the edge of the village to talk to her, it would look as though he was speaking to himself. Few in Ashleaf Realm would have the power to see through Willow’s fae-charm glow.
~ ~ ~
Willow felt Malik behind her, moving at a steady clip. She wanted to be well away from the village before she engaged in conversation with him. It also gave her time to deal with the oppressive weight that the deaths of the elven family had created in her heart.
She pathed, I’ll be heading back to my gate. We can speak there without being observed.
Thought as much, and yes, it’s a good idea.
She didn’t try to converse more. What she needed to say, needed to show him, wouldn’t be served well through a mere exchange of words. And Malik still needed some time to recover from what he’d witnessed. She did as well, because the vision kept rolling through her mind of seeing him inside the elven home.
Covering the thirty miles fairly slowly gave her much needed distance from Birchingwood, both emotionally and physically. By the time she held open the wrought iron gate that led onto her land, she could sense that like her, Malik’s grief had lessened.
“I can feel the protective charm,” Malik said as she closed the tall gate behind him.
“I was taught by the best and you know her well. Alexandra the Bad.”
“I do.”
Most realm-folk wouldn’t be able to cross this boundary, either on foot by opening the gate or by flying above it. She had powerful charms in place that should have kept even Axton off her lands, which was another sign that a fae of exceptional ability was helping him.
She glanced at Malik. “And you are one of the few who can overcome the charm.”
At that, he smiled, and her breath caught all over again. For a moment Willow felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. She wanted to say something, but her mind got all tangled up in being so close to Malik at long last.
Until this moment, she’d looked at him either at a distance or through the veil of the vines. Now here he was, flesh and blood, a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead, but offering no other sign that flying for thirty miles had cost him much energy.
But it was his deep brown eyes cut with so much sadness that held her captive. She could feel all that he’d experienced in the elven cobbler’s house. “Malik, I’m so sorry.”
He looked confused for a moment. “For running from me?”
She shook her head. “For what happened in Birchingwood.”
He nodded slowly. “It will take some time before I’ll be able to let those images go. We’ve had too many deaths.” She felt his thoughts fall inward and for that reason she remained silent.
Her heart thrummed heavily in response, his grief making her wish there was something she could do to help. But she was feeling too much for Malik on every possible level — her desire for him, her admiration, her compassion, her understanding of what he suffered as ruler of Ashleaf. “There were children in that house, weren’t there?”
“Yes, twin boys.” He turned away to settle his gaze on the dense forest surrounding the path. “But I intend for this murder to be the last in my realm.”
