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I rose to my feet. The room stirred as I walked out, my mind spinning in a million different directions. Casimir followed silently.
Neither of us spoke as we made our way out of the fortress and beyond the outer wall. I let my fae half guide me, drawing on the peacefulness of the surrounding nature.
The sun was creeping towards the horizon, the sky awash with brilliant oranges, pinks and purples. The air was heavy with the scent of wildflowers, and the grass beneath my feet was soft and damp.
We eventually reached a stream that sparkled like diamonds in the fading light of day. Mesmerized, I got lost in the light and soothing sound of water running over rock and missed the fact we weren't alone.
"Henderson, look who it is," Vera's trill voice stabbed and killed my short-lived moment of peace.
At least she was providing a distraction.
Casimir got in my personal space before I could turn enough to see her. “You don’t have to be social right now.”
I patted his chest affectionately, adoring him for trying to be my shield. “I know," I assured, "but retreating is always taken as a sign of weakness among the Dianics. It's nothing I can't handle."
Plastering a smile on my face, I stepped around my mate to greet the gorgeous witch. “Hello, Ver–”
I stutter-stepped when my eyes fell upon her companion.
“Nash?” I'd never imagined coming face to face with this male again.
"Nash?" both Vera and Casimir asked in confusion.
He awarded me with the tiniest lift of one side of his mouth. He glanced at Casimir then back to me, his dark eyebrows rising in silent inquiry.
While both my mate and the annoying witch were looking at Nash, I gave him a subtle shake of my head. I didn't think he'd give me away. I had saved his life, after all.
The male bowed. His movements were sure and his demeanor calm. He was a far cry from how he looked when we'd met.
Gaunt. Disheveled. Nash's mating bond had been sucking out the very marrow of his soul as his deceased mate crossed over into the underworld.
I'd acted on instinct, too young to truly think it through.
"Henderson. Explain."
Vera's order whipped across the stream. She wasn't compelling him, but as a higher-ranking witch in his coven, she could demand it.
Nash–or Henderson, it seemed–swiveled his head to look at his superior.
The sides of his long white-blonde hair were pulled back and secured neatly, the unusual color a stark contrast to his eyebrows. His dark leathers and a burgundy tunic were accented with various clips and pouches.
My heart warmed. He looked healthy and, dare I hoped, whole?
"My surname in Earth Realm was Nash," he explained. "My full name there was Milton Henderson Nash. I loathed Milton and the name Henderson felt too formal in my younger years, so I went by Nash. When I met Raven," he lifted a palm in my direction, "that's the name I told her. By the time I’d made it to Eastbourne, I’d decided I needed a change. Going by Henderson was a good start."
"And how did the two of you meet?" Casimir asked suspiciously.
Henderson's sad smile brought the memory close to the surface. I maintained a neutral expression, waiting to see what he would tell them.
"I met her on my journey to Eastbourne. I'd recently crossed into the Otherland. My mate had just died. I was ... well, you can imagine."
Casimir looked stricken. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," Henderson accepted gracefully. "It's nothing I'd wish upon anyone."
Vera opened her mouth but her companion kept talking.
"I was in such pain. I remember resting under a tree near the Borderlands and not far from my destination, contemplating what would become of me. I didn't want to go on."
