“I have to go,” she said hastily. Cyn rose up on her toes and placed a quick kiss to his lips, ignoring the shocked look and the hurt in his eyes. She didn’t hesitate as she flashed from his realm and back to her own.
She reappeared in a small meadow of the fae realm. The peace of nature enveloped her and the quiet began to settle her emotions, if only just a little. Cyn sunk to the ground, her knees pressing into the cool grass that surrounded her, almost as though the land itself was attempting to comfort her.
She didn’t know what to do. For so long Cyn had kept her emotions under tight control. She had had no choice. She was a fae warrior. She didn’t have the luxury of being an emotional mess. She had to be able to think clearly, and Thalion impaired that ability greatly.
“Do I even want to know why one of my warriors is face down in the grass like a hungry cow?” Peri’s voice came from behind her. She should have known that the high fae would come. Peri was mentally linked to all of her warriors. If she wanted to know where Cyn was, all she had to do is seek out that link in her mind. Strong emotions seemed to magnify the link, and Cyn’s pain probably burned like a beacon to Peri as soon as the younger fae entered the realm.
“You have always had a way with words, Perizada,” Cyn said as she sat back on her heels. The warrior wiped away the tears that streaked her face and waited for Peri to walk around her so that she could face her leader.
“I’m an awesome wordsmith, what can I say?” Peri quipped dryly. “Now, tell me who I need to kill for making you cry.”
“I think it would be more effective for you to just put me down,” Cyn told her as her chin fell forward, almost touching her chest.
“Wait, did you just say you want me to put you down? Like a freaking dog? I would put down one of the mangy wolves but not one of my own.”
Cyn chuckled. Peri was one of the few people who could make a tense situation a little more bearable. Jennifer, mate to Decebel, was able to do it as well, and Cyn was sure that neither of them understood just how much their friends valued that ability.
“I am no wolf,” she told Peri. “I am just me and I’m lost,” she admitted.
Peri sat down across from her, crossing her legs and leaning forward as her elbows rested on her knees. “Alright, now you’re scaring me. In all the centuries we’ve known each other, I can count on one hand how many times you’ve shared your emotions. What the hell is going on? Did that prince of yours hurt you?” Peri’s voice rose and her eyes glowed, as if they were about to unleash deadly laser beams upon the surrounding countryside. “I would be more than happy to turn him into a handbag. He wouldn’t be a very good rug because of the lack of fur and whatnot. But with his smooth, unblemished skin, he would make a lovely purse.”
Cyn’s eyes widened as she looked at her longtime friend. “Sometimes I wonder if your genius is really just a form of madness.”
Peri reached across the space between them and patted Cyn’s leg. “Don’t be jealous. One day you will have a mate, and he will drive you to madness too. Then we can be mad and devious together.”
Cyn’s face fell at the mention of a mate. She wanted a mate, of course, but not just any male. She wanted Thalion.
“All joking aside.” The high fae grew serious. “Tell me.”
Cyn once again prepared herself to be laid bare before another. She didn’t know what had gotten into her lately. But she suddenly had the need for someone to hear her, for someone to tell her that her fears were justified.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have a wolf for a mate,” she admitted. That was just the tip of the iceberg of fears that was closing in on her.
Peri nodded. “That is a valid fear to have. Nobody wants to share a bed with a furry, flea-infested, possessive, growly, overbearing male. It’s not something to look forward to in the evenings after a long day.”
“So you’re running from your mate as well?” Cyn asked, pursing her lips and frowning.
“Only so he’ll have to chase me,” Peri responded flippantly. “But why are you running fromyourmate? We both know that you’re running from Thalion. Does this mean that you do indeed believe him to be your mate?”
“Before the Great Luna began pairing up fae and wolves, I would have said yes, definitely. From the moment I met him, my heart and soul claimed him. Certainly it was not a mate bond, such as the werewolves experience, but something inside of me screamed that he was meant for me. Seeing him for the first time was like seeing a newborn babe take its first breath. It was overwhelming and beautiful and almost painful at the same time.But now, circumstances have changed.”
“If you have felt that he was yours for all that time, why have you denied him?” Peri asked.
“Because we are from different races. An elf and a fae have never joined, not to mention the fact that he’s the bloody prince of his race.” Cyn paused, rubbing her hand across her forehead. “Mother of us all, Peri, he’s been my world for so long. Yes, a world that I only claimed from a distance,” she said before Peri could say something. “But he’s always been there. I still remember the first moment I ever saw him. I can still feel the breath that had been knocked from my lungs as our eyes met.”
Peri leaned back, placing her hands on the ground behind her to support her body. She stretched her legs out in front of her and crossed one over the other. “Seeing as how I am avoiding my fur ball, by all means, tell me about how you met. This is one story that you’ve never shared with me.”
Cyn smiled as her eyes lost their focus, staring beyond Peri’s form as if she was watching her own words unfold like a movie. “It was a dark and stormy night,” she began.
Peri snorted. “Isn’t that always how it begins?”
“Maybe,” Cyn answered. “But for me, it truly was a dark and stormy night … until I saw him.”
Chapter 2
“Memories haunt me. Loneliness caresses me like a lover. Anguish assaults me, and I have no strength left to fight back. She took all of it with her. I am empty now, simply going through the motions of life.”
~ Thalion, Prince of the Elves
