I sigh as he continues. So much for trying to respect his boundaries. Of course he wouldn’t want to talk about his lost love. I know that hurt all too well.
We reach the edge of the town. At the far end are the remnants of a road. Cobblestones dot the tall grasses, carving a path up and into the mountains.
“It’s paved.” I step out into the abandoned road. There are still carriage grooves in the rock. “Not many roads are paved like this in the Natural World.”
“The vampir were master craftsmen. Moreover, their full moon festivals would draw everyone from common born to the highest of nobility into their mountaintop citadel. This road takes you to the great bridge that leads to the heart of their lands.” He points in a western direction. “Most of the vampir’s lands are on a peninsula. It’s part of what made it so easy to drive them back when they turned feral.”
“The lykin forced them to abandon their homes?” I look back to the town.
“Just what was on this side of the bridge. It was necessary.” His tone is grave. “I wasn’t there, of course. This was thousands of years ago… But all the stories speak of them turning into monsters. Of their blood rotting from within and taking their minds and sense with it. A shame for creatures that used to create such beauty.”
“All the stories I’ve ever heard are of their more monstrous nature,” I say softly. “Never anything about them as craftsmen or artists.”
“Their decline happened around the time the Fade was erected; it makes sense that all humans would know of them is stories of their horrors. Fortunately, the western sea separates the vampir from the Natural World, just like it does the lykin. I doubt any crossed,” he says optimistically.
I merely nod. The sorrowful history of the vampir. A cursed people… Perhaps, once Aurora is saved, I could try and help them, somehow…
Evander points in the opposite direction of the vampir bridge. The road curves through the woods to the southeast. “That way will take you to the main road that leads from the territory of the elves. If you can make it this far with Aurora, you will be out of the lykin’s territory and it will become significantly more difficult for Conri to follow out of his lands. From here, it is a straight shot down into the land of the elves. Make it to thegate, and you both will be free. Conri wouldn’t dare to trespass on their territory uninvited.”
Free… The word sounds glorious to me and I haven’t even endured a speck as much as she has. Or even a fraction as much as Evander has.
I look to him. Take a step closer, and slip my hand into his. “And you will be with us,” I say in no uncertain terms. I’m not asking this time. I’m telling, if that’s what it takes. If Aurora and I escape on Evander’s watch, Conri will kill him this time. There will be no second chances. “I’m not leaving you behind to face his wrath. If you truly do not want to journey with us, then escape and go off on your own, after. Find a cute cottage in the land of the elves. You deserve freedom, too.”
His lips part lightly with shock. I hope also with appreciation. But sorrow wells in his eyes, nearly threatening to overflow. Evander cups my cheek and presses his forehead against mine.
“If only you knew how deeply undeserving I am of your kindness.”
“Quite the contrary.” I meet his eyes and hold his gaze. “You are worthy of all the goodness in the world; you are worthy of second chances at happiness, of paths forward you never expected.” I speak these words as much for myself as for him. “And I will prove it to you, Evander, however long it takes.”
CHAPTER 28
We debate stayingin the village that night, but I decide it’s best for us to start back. I still need to find at least one spirit along the way or I risk Conri’s suspicion about our venture into the woods. Then there’s the matter of making outposts for Aurora and myself. Given that it took Evander and me almost three days to cross the woods, I expect it to take Aurora and me at least four.
For that reason, I ask Evander to slow his pace. Riding on wolf-back is still faster than walking and it is worth saving the time because I am stopping frequently.
The trees are no longer a blur. I can track every ancient line of gnarled bark. The changing scents of the forest—wet earth as we near streams, rot of fallen trees, fresh leaves that fall like snow when the breezes catch the upper branches—are no longer muddled across my senses.
My lips arch into a smile as I sink my hands deeper into Evander’s fur, feeling it stretch between my fingers. I pat his shoulder and he takes the signal to stop. Dismounting, I cross to one of the larger trees. Despite its size, there’s nothing particularly impressive about it. I reach into my satchel and retrieve my sewing kit, select a strand of deep yellow thread, andtie a length around a jagged remnant of a long, broken branch. The strand of gold is barely visible when I walk away, but I feel it like a beacon, even within these enchanted woods.
I hold in my heart a spool of magic that unravels as Evander and I speed away from the tree. I imagine it whirring like Grandma’s yarn, twisting and tightening as she twirls it between her fingers, the wheel squeaking with its age, the movement instinct. My magic connects to the next yellow thread I tie around another tree branch a little farther down. That one connects to the next…and then the next, as the process repeats.
Despite my being adamant that Evander will come with us, I am not naive. I know all too well that it is possible something might happen that will prevent him from doing so. Though the mere thought makes my hands grip him tighter. Or he might be sincere in his wish to stay. If so, I would not dream of actually forcing him, even if I know in my heart it’d be for the best.
I am left to my thoughts for most of the day and find myself feeling all the more relaxed for it. I’m accustomed to having the limited company of Grandmother and spirits. Musings and magic. What more could a woman need?
It is late in the afternoon when a whisper of power tangles with my own. The sensation is like brushing up against the bendy boughs of a sapling and nearly breaks my focus. I sit straighter and stare off in the direction from whence it came. Evander feels the shift in my stance, slowing. He glances back over his shoulder, a silvery eye meeting mine. Then he stares where my head is turned.
“Please, if you don’t mind,” I say.
Evander bounds off in that direction. I tug on his fur gently, guiding him left and right, as the sensation ebbs and flows. At once, it stops, and I pull back, Evander skidding with a huff.
Whipping my head around, turning at the waist, I try to pick back up on the feeling. But I cannot seem to grasp it again. Idismount, stepping away from Evander, hoping that without his presence I might be able to have clearer senses.
“What is it?”
I didn’t even notice him changing back into his human form. “I thought I felt something.”
“‘Something?’” he repeats with an audible note of worry to his voice.
