He’s walking this way with Elore, and I can’t help but notice how her hand is draped in the crook of his arm and howshe’s smiling over at him as he says something. A tinge of color blots his cheeks, making my brows lift in surprise.
My stoic guard isblushing. I never thought I’d see the day.
Digby and Elore. I never thought I’d see that either, but my quiet guard and Slade’s mother both have a calming presence. I think they’ve been able to find comfort in each other.
It’s nice that they’re spending time together. Digby wouldn’t be the sort of man who would get frustrated at Elore’s muteness, since he’s a man of few words himself. And clearly, based on his blush and Elore’s sparkling eyes, they’re communicating just fine.
I steal a look over at Slade, but he doesn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
“Hi, Dig,” I call, alerting them of our presence.
Digby’s attention pulls to me. “Lady Auren,” he greets, looking a bit shy.
I can’t help but smile.
“Dig, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to call me Lady?”
The stubborn man shrugs, and Elore smiles and shoots me a wink.
Slade goes over to his mother and presses a kiss to her cheek. “Are you alright?” he asks.
She nods with a smile and pats him on the shoulder before shooing us away.
He snorts. “Okay, we’re going.”
“Have a good night you two,” I say as we keep walking, leaving them to go the other way.
We walk in silence for a few moments, my ribbons trailing on the street behind me. Night descends, and the first peeks of stars begin to glitter. The faces of the goddesses high above, looking down with their twinkling eyes.
“Everyone has settled in so well,” I murmur.
Slade’s thumb strokes over my hand. “They have—everyone except for…”
“Ryatt.”
He nods, and a troubled look comes over his face.
Ever since Ryatt had to come to terms with the fact that Brennur was dead, that there were no other fae with the ability to create fairy rings in another realm, he’s been…struggling.
He tries to hide it, but I can see how uncomfortable he is, and I know Slade notices more than I do. Mostly, Ryatt has just kept to himself, inside the house he’s sharing with Lu and Digby.
“He’ll adjust,” I say, though it’s more with hope than certainty.
Slade gives me a soft smile. “Only time will tell.”
“Only time will tell.”
Time tells a lot of secrets, passing off the words day by day.
“So?” I venture. “What did you want to show me?”
Instead of Slade taking us further up to our house that the Vulmin built for us, he veers us off the road and toward the field. There’s a path here that I made, where the black-streaked gold will take us all the way to the flowing creek.
It’s another one of my favorite spots, but instead of watching the sunset, the creek is best for the stars.
After a few minutes, we reach the water. Trees and rocks nestle against it, creating a private little nook. Slade helps me down, my hand clasped in his, and I stop in my tracks just as we come to the spot we often come to sit. There are dozens of blue bulb lights strung up in the trees, and even more of them flickering upon the rocks that surround our patch of grass.
I look over at him in surprise. “What’s all this?”
