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Three
Rosalie
The full moon lit the glittering pool on fire with starlight. Cautiously, I stepped forward and dipped my toe into the cool water.The water tickled my skin, and I swirled my foot around, holding my nightgown up with both hands. The cloud that enshrouded my mind inside had dissolved, leaving my thoughts clear.
What to do?
Would it be so bad to marry him?
Demious wasn’t unattractive and he was wealthy. If I gained his trust, he may let me leave or have the farm taken care of in Calvin’s absence. He certainly had the coin and power to help my firehawks. It was too soon to see if Lord Demious was a kind man or the devious magistrate from the stories I’d heard. I’d need more information to know if he would help me, and if not, well, I’d have to find a way to escape, and quickly.
“You should not be out here.”
Startled by the deep voice, I spun around, my foot slipping on the edge. I felt myself fall, but never hit the water.
“Why are you here?” Baine held my arm in a tight grip.
Shocked by his presence, I found it hard to speak. He yanked me forward and I placed both feet back on the ground. His eyes bore into me, and his stone face glared with annoyance.
“I needed some air.”
Satisfied with my answer, he released me. “I suggest you return before someone sees you. Prospects are not allowed to wander at night.”
I lowered my head, but only to stop from staring at him. “Just for a few moments, please?”
Baine growled and it sounded like a purr in my ear.
“Is that a no?” When I peeked up at him his lavender gaze sent my heart into a spiral.
“You humans are more stubborn than dwarves.”
When he didn’t drag me away, I took that as a yes. It was hard to think with Baine so close and untouchable, but I tried. Normally, I didn’t act so foolish around men, but this was no man. He was something else, and I was an extremely curious thing.
I sat on the edge of the pool and dipped my legs in, whirling my feet around in the cool water. A cool breeze flew around me, pricking my skin. The trickling of the waterfall in the corner of the pool relaxed my body and my mind drifted to my flock.
There were so few of the firehawks left, and now they were in the care of a forgetful old ranger while I sat here in some ridiculous competition for a man I didn’t even want.
Three years of service? That wasn’t even an option. The plague snakes would continue their slithering path of destruction and soon the entire North would be in danger of starvation. If I wanted to save my home, I had to convince Lord Demious to help me or escape, and I wasn’t sure which one would be the more difficult option.
Baine stood no more than twenty feet away, hands gripping the hilts of his swords. His jaw clenched so tightly I wondered if he was in pain. Using my long hair as a shield, I peeked over at the fae, admiring how the moonlight made the silver in his tattoo sparkle and how even with a scowl, he seemed like a dream.
When my guardian seemed more interested in the flowing wisteria across the arched lattice, I went back to my thoughts, thinking about my home and how I would get out of this disastrous situation.
Taking care of the farm alone had taken its toll on me and left me with nothing but the energy to dream, and my dreams ran wild with a life I couldn’t have. There was so much of the world I wanted to see. Saol had wild plains filled with shifting beasts, magical sands that shimmered with various reds and pinks, and forests thick with fairies and glittering stars. How could someone who burned brighter than the sun sit still on a farm . . . but I had a duty, one I wouldn’t ignore, but one day I would pass it on to someone else and get my grand adventure.
A screech tore through the sky, followed by another.
“Move,” Baine ordered, brandishing his matching short swords.
Though I heard his command, my gaze focused on the streak of red and orange flying at me, swirling in and out of the sky like colored lightning. A dance of fire that sang to my wild heart.
Ash raptors.
When I was a little girl, my father told me stories of the magnificent beasts that flew around high cliffs and left a trail of fire in their wake. The group of them streaked across the blue sky.
I clawed at the collar on my neck, desperate to free my flame. Even with the magical dampener plunging my power into darkness, a tiny warmth bloomed in my chest at the sight of the flames trailing behind the raptors.
Baine yanked me to my feet and shoved me behind him. “Get down.”
