AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I blinked. “Are you even listening?”
She looked around before answering, a fearful expression on her face. “I heard you, but this place… There’s magic everywhere, isn’t there?”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but yes.” I nodded. “The lights were created with magic, diffusing the sun’s light even when it doesn’t shine. Many of the buildings have been constructed with rudimentary magic, though not the magic of the high fae.” I pointed to a hollowed-out tree. “Pixies live there.”
Talia’s lips curled into a cautious smile. “It looks like a tall cake laced with glowing icing.”
The windows and balconies stacked closely on top of one another. She was right; I’d never considered that before.
“The brownies keep more humble abodes,” I continued, pointing out mounds of dirt shaped into single- or double-roomed domes that clustered here and there around the base of the largest trees. “The dryads sleep in the branches of the trees they tend.” The dryads lived in the biggest trees, whose trunks were wider than two carriages lined up end to end.
I’d never taken the time to compare fae villages with mortal ones. Mortals lived in dead houses of stone or lumber, while the fae dwelled in living homes, formed with trees or fresh earth or even rushing water for the alojas. Only the high fae constructed homes with stone or wood.
Talia’s fear dissolved into wonder as we walked the horses through town, talking of things I hadn’t taken the time to notice in centuries. Her awe infected me as we dismounted and led our horses through the narrower streets that wound between large oaks and chestnuts and enormous cedars toward the center of Moredo. Seeing all of this for the first time would be a bit overwhelming, and I found myself as entranced with her face as she took it all in as she was with the magic of the fae.
The town had a central open area, round instead of square, surrounding a natural spring that had been magicked to bubble up like twin dragons rising from the depths. Booths had been set up around it. I saw an industrious brownie selling vegetables and an artistic aloja, in her woman form, selling watercolors. Music drifted through the open space as a pair of wood nymphs drew bows across human-made cellos. The deep tones resonated through my blood, easing some of my tension. Human instruments were a wonder among fae, even though they used dead wood. The community seemed to welcome the dead wood because of the way it brought new life to the forest through music. An impromptu dance floor took up one section of the greenspace, and all manner of creatures danced under the starlight and suspended orbs.
One dryad selling tiny plants in little pots tossed me a pointed glare. Even after purchasing several of his seedlings, he seemed disinclined to finally cast off that judgmental eye.
Without glancing over my shoulder, I said, “They're following us.”
“Who?” Talia asked, whipping her head around. “The Wild Hunt?”
“Don’t speak that name here,” I said under my breath. “And no. I meant the trees.”
Talia looked behind us again.
“They are dryads. They have a particular hatred for my kind.” I held up a hand. “Bear claws have done significant damage to their beloved trees. Many times. They have a right to watch me closely.”
The more I could make her see of my darkness, the more I was protecting her, though each admission stung. “I have a tendency to fly into a rage during the day. Whatever is closest usually gets destroyed.”
Talia nodded quickly, not meeting my eyes. This was working, and it felt like swords thrust into my side. We left the horses to drink from the stream that fed the fountain. The fae gave us a wide berth, which suited me just fine. Every time I sensed a stare, I returned their gaze with hard eyes.
“They are so rude,” Talia said, her voice loud enough to be heard by an aloja with a rather nasty expression on her face.
Her kind-hearted comment made me smile, and I covered my reaction with a quick cough. “Fae look at only one thing, and that is power. Here, where there are no high fae to make these lesser fae feel their own weakness, they pour out judgment on those they see as weaker. In my cursed state, I am beneath them. And even in this form, I can only perform the most rudimentary of magics, compared to the power I was born to.”
The dimple between her brows deepened as her concern seemed to grow rather than diminish with these words. Seeing me as a bear hadn’t scared her off. Learning how much villagers hated me wasn’t working either.
“But why can’t you do more magic while you’re in this form?” There was a slight tremor in her voice that reminded me humans did fear magic.
A low grunt rattled in my throat. “My court draws our magic from sunlight. Since I am incapable of building up my magic while in my cursed form, I am left mostly powerless, even at night.”
“Oh.”
She stepped a little closer, the warmth of her shoulder a reminder that I needed to show her something that would push her away rather than draw her in.
“Tell me about your cur—about becoming a—well, tell me how it all happened, if you would.” She fumbled over her words.
Stars, she was a curious one. “Talia, I brought you here to show you…to help you see that I am…not to be trusted.”
She stopped walking and planted her hands on her hips. “Well, you failed. Because all I see is a man hated for what he is. And if it’s true you have no choice in the matter, then they are the despicable ones for casting you off simply for lack of power.”
The music reached a crescendo, and the vibrations of those strings lifted my spirits and fanned the flames in my blood. Talia turned to look at the dancers. Among them, two pairs of young fae danced, the women’s long, caramel-colored hair swishing back and forth as they moved. The lesser fae danced like fireflies, looping and twirling about with no precise steps.
“You want to listen?” I asked, following Talia’s gaze.
She smiled and shook her head slightly. “I want to dance.” She nodded at the two couples whirling in a fast-paced tango. Then, with a smile curling her lips, she said, “I require a dance.”
