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"Okay Aldo, go play,” Ares ordered sternly. Aldo nudged his hand once more for a pat and then he loped off into the forest, soon disappearing from sight.
"And he's okay?" I asked.
Ares laughed, lifting an eyebrow. "I would hate to find anything scarier than him in the woods."
That was true.
He took my hand, and I marveled at how it felt like we were a perfect fit. He pointed out some plants that were native to the area, and told me some funny stories about the townspeople. The walk seemed to fly by.
Soon we were at the entrance of the mine. There was a team of five guards standing outside, menacing weapons in their hands as they kept an eye on anyone that would threaten the town's livelihood. As soon as they saw us though, they all had huge smiles on their faces, and they called out their greetings.
"Everything going okay today?" Ares asked.
One of the shorter men, his thighs the size of both my legs together, marched forward. "Right as rain. Evidently they found a new pocket of stones…and there are some diamonds in there," he commented, raising his eyebrows up and down like a cartoon villain.
Ares clapped. "That's great news," he said, before patting the guy on the shoulder as we passed through. I soon forgot all about the armed guards though, when I saw what lay in front of us.
It was like an underground city inside. Nothing like I would expect from mines I’d seen on television or read about in books. There were lights set up everywhere, transforming the place from a dingy, depressing place to work, to one that was bright and cheerful. Up ahead were tunnels, but it seemed like most of their work was still taking place in this main area. Men and women were chipping away at the rocks, and there was rap music playing. There was a camp stove and kitchen set up in the middle, and three people were hard at work cutting up food. A man walked towards them, wiping his brow, and one of the women handed him a sandwich.
I watched in amazement as one of the women just a few yards away from me tipped out a particularly large green emerald that was almost the size of my palm. She tossed it into a bucket that already had its fair share of stones.
"This place is fantastic," I whispered as people called out greetings to Ares as we walked by. A lot of them stared at me curiously, but none of them looked hostile. And they all seemed so genuine. I glanced up at Ares, watching him wave to another man. It took someone special to create a community like this. The fact that I’d only felt kindness from everyone I’d met so far, was really saying something.
Ares was kind of…incredible.
We walked over to where a man and a woman were working side by side. "Think Rune can try her hand?" he asked, and the woman smiled as she wiped sweat from her forehead. There were fans going all over the mine, but I imagined the work could get strenuous.
"If you could take over for ten minutes, that would give me a chance to grab something to eat. It's ‘roast beef sandwich day’. I've been dreaming about it," she said eagerly, handing me a small pickaxe, and something that resembled a screwdriver. I grabbed the tools and smiled at her as she hustled straight towards the food station. Ares patiently showed me how to work the rock, while the other man watched us, amused.
I found I liked the work actually. It was almost soothing to do something so methodically, with not a lot of thought involved. Ten minutes passed quickly, and I'd almost unearthed my first emerald. I could see bits and pieces of it, but it wasn't free from the stone wall.
"Oh you've made my job so much easier,” the woman praised me and handed the man a sandwich, before taking the tools back. I was kind of sad about stopping, but Ares assured me I could come back whenever I wanted to.
We talked to a few more people, and he checked out the new area where they’d found some diamonds, and then we were setting off back to town.
When we made it to the house, I was thinking that Ares was indeed a dangerous man.
And not because he was a vampire with freakish superpowers to go with that.
But because everything about him called to me.
And I couldn't help but wonder if that was a terrible idea.
CHAPTER 12
RUNE
I’d been in Galeru for over a week, and every day I found myself eager to wake up and face the day. Time with Ares passed quickly, and there was so much to see and do in this place. We had dinner at Connor’s, and his family was incredible. And today was the start of the festival. I'd heard all sorts of things about it, everyone in the town seemed excited. Especially since it kicked off with Connor's daughter's wedding.
Marcia was in the kitchen, as she had been every day, and she already had eggs benedict and a large fruit smoothie set out.
"You need your energy today, my dear. There's a lot of festivities planned. The whole town will be participating."
I'd offered to help with the wedding setup, but I was still tiring more easily than normal, which may have been related more to my lack of memories I was guessing now, and less with the torture the Fae Queen had put me through. Ares wanted me to sleep in, and just come when the wedding started.
Marcia and I chatted back and forth as I ate my delicious breakfast. She'd already given me eggs benedict three times since being here, and I was half wondering if I'd actually died and gone to heaven.
"Ares had a dress sent for you to wear to the wedding party. Everyone will be in casual clothes after that, but the wedding is a dress-to-impress event.”
