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Even though he told me we weren't about to drown, I still closed my eyes and tensed as we moved into the water. When it didn’t feel like we were floating…or sinking, I opened my eyes, staring around in amazement as we drove on dry land right through the lake, like we’d become Moses parting the Red Sea.
"How is this happening?" I gasped.
Ares’s smile grew, and I lost my breath for a second at how beautiful it was. I found myself thinking of other ways I could keep that grin on his face forever.
"Don't look at me like that," he growled. My eyes widened as I quickly glanced back towards the window, watching as a school of colorful fish swam by in the crystal clear waves next to the car.
"How am I looking at you?"
"Like you want to eat me."
My cheeks reddened, and I turned away from him, pretending to watch our surroundings. It seemed to take forever to get to the waterfall, but then, there we were, stopping right before it.
"What happens now?" I asked.
"A little more magic."
Armand pressed a button on his dash, and to my amazement, the waterfall began to part like a curtain, until there was a tunnel stretched out before us beyond the water.
"This is crazy," I whispered, my face glued to the window as I watched us pass through the waterfall and into the suffocating darkness ahead. The waterfall closed behind us, and the world went perfectly dark, none of the sun that should've been peeking through the water filtering into wherever we’d driven into.
"Ares," I called out, panicked, because I literally couldn't see my hand in front of my face.
"It's all right, pretty girl… It just takes a couple of minutes because the magic is making sure that no one followed us."
I tried to sit there patiently, but my mind was full of questions. I pinched myself.
"Why did you do that?" he asked.
"How did you see that?"
"I'm a vampire…darkness is kind of my thing."
"Right…” I drawled. I took a deep breath, feeling silly. "I did that because I'm not quite sure if I'm dreaming or not. Maybe I'm still back at the Fae Queen's right now, and my mind’s cracked, and I just invented all of this."
Suddenly a soft kiss brushed against my lips, and I jumped.
I could feel Ares’s grin…even though I couldn't see it. "Still feel like you're dreaming?”
I didn't even know what to say.
Before I could embarrass myself any more, a wall opened in front of us, revealing a bright, sunny sky and a forest. We drove forward, and I glanced back to see the opening closing behind us. I peered around curiously, noting that we were surrounded on all sides by soaring mountains with evergreen pines and brightly colored leaves.
"Just a few more minutes and you'll see it," said Ares, a longing in his voice.
"When was the last time you've been back?" I asked.
He bit down on his lip, not looking at me. "Several years," he finally murmured.
"Years?"
"I had some…duties I had to attend to…and then I met you." There was a heaviness in his voice, and I sensed that there was much, much more to the story.
I opened my mouth to press him further, and he finally glanced over at me. "I'll tell you more later, Rune. I promise. Just not right now."
I nodded, I usually couldn't read the room right, but it was very clear he needed a moment right now.
We drove through the forest for a few more minutes, and there in front of me…was a storybook come to life.
