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“Baine.” Enola eyed me as she returned with a bunch of cotton. “This wound. You know what it is and what it means?”
My instincts told me what I didn’t want to believe.
“If the crone tried to eat her, her magic is at high levels. They won’t devour anything mundane.” Enola swabbed the wound before wrapping the cotton around Rosalie’s arm. “We’ve known each other a long time.”
“We have.” Lord Demious introduced me to Enola when she was a young maid. Now the skin around her eyes crinkled when she smiled, she walked a tad slower, and her dark hair had streaks of gray. Yet, her gaze held a vibrance and vitality that rivaled the elven queens.
“Who is she? Why was she near the crone?”
There was no worry of Enola running off and gossiping. Those trivial things were beneath the woman. “She is one of Lord Demious’ bride prospects.”
Enola scoffed. “I had heard of that ridiculous competition. The man is getting more eccentric in his old age. He thought to have the crone test their blood, didn’t he?”
“He’s determined to have the most powerful bride. He believes Farrow’s Gate won’t survive unless his lineage is secured with another powerful mage.”
“If the man wasn’t so loyal to his subjects, I’d bop him on the head for his stupidity.”
I smiled. Enola may have been the only human alive who could do that and live.
She stood. “I need to go get more yarrow. Let the nettle sit for a few minutes before you make the girl drink it.”
Enola grabbed a wicker basket off the table and left.
After today’s events, there was no questioning that Rosalie hid her true potential. Even Lord Demious would question the attack unless he didn’t find out. In all my years of service, I had never betrayed the magistrate. I’d been loyal, both as the head of his guard and as his friend. If I told Lord Demious the crone attempted to drink Rosalie’s blood, it would seal his decision to marry her.
Could I lie for her?
Would I?
Marrying Lord Demious would resolve her debt and her farm would be her own again, but that also meant I would spend the rest of my life watching the two of them together, and that bothered me. There was also the matter of her firehawks. After Lord Demious’ odd display in the maze, I questioned whether he would care about her request. Lately, he seemed more on edge than usual. What would Rosalie do if she did marry the lord and he refused to save her flock?
Needing to clear my thoughts, I went to make the tea. Taking the iron kettle off the stone oven, I poured the steaming liquid into the mug with the nettle leaves.
Why did this female make me question my allegiance? Why was I even here? If it had been any other prospect, I would have handed her over to another guard and ran into the tower, swords drawn, eager to fight by Lord Demious’ side.
What are you doing to me, human?
A silent question that would go unanswered.
Soft breaths left her lips as she slept. The more time I spent in her company, the more intrigued I became. Most women would be honored for a chance to become a lady, but not Rosalie. She wanted her farm and nothing else.
If only my own family had been as loyal to me.
Taking a spoon, I stirred the tea.
Once I had been like Rosalie, protecting those I loved no matter the cost. That dedication had me exiled from my own home. There were rules in Saol, some unspoken, some known to all. I had broken the most important rule among my people: no prisoners of war. Being a young fae, I knew that rule, believed in it, until the day my people tried to slaughter a coven of human children we had once cared for. These children were from a nearby village, one I had visited often to exchange goods. Sweet, innocent little ones who only wanted to play with the little ball I always brought and tell me jokes.
Then the fae went to war with those humans, and the whole village was to be destroyed, including the children. I couldn’t allow such slaughter, and I did what my people forbade. Under the cover of night, using my swiftness ability, I took every single child I could find and brought them to safety.
And how did the humans repay me for that kindness? By capturing me like a wild beast when I was sleeping, exhausted from saving their kin. If Lord Demious hadn’t happened to come across the human encampment during his travels and rescue me, I’d be dead.
Balling my fists, I looked at the human sleeping on the bed. She was nothing like those humans. She reminded me of my younger self, stubborn, foolish, and protective of things that were dear to her.
“Rosalie,” I said softly as I sat in the chair next to the bed.
When she didn’t respond, I moved to the bed and slid her over, positioning myself behind her body. Carefully, I held the tea in one hand and used my other arm to lift Rosalie into my lap until her back rested against my chest. “You must drink this.”
Again, she continued to sleep. Using one hand, I tilted her head back and opened her mouth with a finger. I blew on the mug a few times before bringing it to her lips and very slowly poured the drink into her mouth. She stirred, drinking the liquid, though her eyes remained closed. When she finished the tea, she turned into me, nuzzling against my shirt.
I placed the empty mug on the windowsill by the bed and wrapped both arms around the sleeping human. I gazed out at the large windows facing Moonlake. The waterfall plunged into the serene pool, misting the area and the large pink lotus flowers that decorated the shores.
Rosalie warmed within my grasp, her temperature returning to normal. I sighed in relief, knowing her innate magic would help the healing process.
The door to the cottage opened and I tensed, realizing in this position I couldn’t reach my swords. Enola stepped in carrying a basket of tiny yellow flowers. Her gaze flitted to Rosalie then to me.
I froze. I knew how this looked, but it wasn’t my intention to become a bed for this human.
Enola’s eyes sparkled, though she made no comment and brought the basket to her workbench. She didn’t need to speak. I’d known her long enough to understand her thoughts, which mirrored my own.
Why was I still holding Rosalie, and why couldn’t I bring myself to pull away?
