Twinkling lights from small windows gave up the endless rows of huts and sod rooftops built into the trees.
“Treetop folk,” I said. “This was where I was born. They hunt birds and use affinities to summon medicinal properties from forest herbs. These Dokkalfar know how to survive and how to speak to the magic of this isle.”
“They are you.” Jonas took hold of my hand. “That’s what you mean. These people would see you as you.”
I swallowed thickly. “I wish you weren’t so perceptive at times, Nightmare.”
He kissed my palm, and kept pace with me when the pathways tilted to rocky roads along a peak.
The spray of a nearby waterfall dampened my cheeks, sweet night air filled each breath. The road to the Underfalls was steep and jagged, but Jonas was a skilled climber. Perhaps better than me. He never slipped on loose rocks, or grunted if we hit a challenging ledge.
Jonas moved like a shadow, a man who could be seen or unseen as he desired.
A narrow cavity split into the mountainside. We were forced to turn to the side to squeeze through until the fissure widened into a bulbous cavern.
“Gods.” Jonas took it in, lips parted.
The cavern had natural cracks and holes in the stone walls. On all sides streams of the falls spilled over the top of the cave. Some dripped inside, creating small pools, but most thrashed in violence over our heads, creating an illusion that we were encased in the waterfall.
With the sunset nearly finished, and the moon rising, the water shimmered like a thousand crystals. Blue and vibrant, there was a sort of magic in each drop.
“The Underfalls.” I spun around, letting the spray mist my cheeks. “Not many folk enjoy the trek here, so I would come here to read, or simply listen to the falls.”
“This is amazing, Fire.”
“This isn’t my favorite part.” I took his hand and led him deeper into the cavern until a giant oak split the rock. An arched opening in the trunk revealed its hollowness. I spun around, walking backward into the open tree trunk. “How are you at climbing trees?”
“A wonder.”
“Don’t know why I expected a different response.”
“Me neither. I would think you’d realize by now, I am wondrous at most things.”
I rolled my eyes and turned into the opening. The trunk was thick enough four men could stand shoulder to shoulder inside, and over the turns, I had fashioned small pegs into rungs along the sides. It made for an easier climb, but the damn air always left them slick with water.
At the top, Jonas leveraged out of the narrow opening, his broad shoulders proving trickier than my body. He scooted backward over the crooked floorboards. “What is this place?”
A few satin cushions filled one corner, some stacked books in another. There were quilts and furs, a few ropes that would lower makeshift shades or pop open a flap in the top, to let in the night sky.
“It’s mine.” A wash of nerves settled like stones in my belly. I’d never brought anyone here before. In truth, I wasn’t certain anyone at the palace knew of it.
“Yours?”
“When I ran after my parents died, I found this tree. Far enough elven guards would not come, but not so far I wouldn’t be able to forage or slip back to the market. There was an old couple—deep forest elves—who helped me lay the floor as a girl, and the rigging.” I tugged on one rope. “They said they didn’t care for me, but I found furs, knit gloves, and bread when frost seasons came.”
Jonas took in the space with a new sort of reverence. “This is where you lived?”
I hugged my middle and looked around the tree house. “Yes. Evenafter I was crowned, I came here when I missed my mother and father, or when I felt too frightening for the palace.”
“Why do folk fear you, Skadi?” He drew closer. “The king made you his, what is so fearsome about your affinity when you do not use it to harm your people? Your familial bonds do not allow it.”
The truth was too horrid, too wretched.
I ran my thumb over his knuckles. “I think most of my people believe since my affinity is different and powerful, it cannot be trusted. In turn,Icannot be trusted and must be held at a distance.”
Jonas shook his head. “They shouldn’t fear your strength.”
“Can you blame them? I can take anything, Jonas.” My palm rubbed against his chest. “In fact, I can feel the magic of the oath you took, as though my affinity is reaching for the power. It was why you entered this alliance, true?”
