His warm breath sent goosebumps erupting down her arms.Gods, this man had the most irritating effect on her.Never had she known someone who could boil her frustration, then make her a puddle just by saying a few words in her ear. She chalked it up to not having been intimate with anyone in far too long.
The voices in the Tree faded when Evie led Orelia and Vade up to ruins of what might have once been a temple or shrine. Ivy wrapped around destroyed furniture, the place in disarray like whoever had been there had left in a hurry.
“What is this place?” Orelia asked, careful not to trip on the vines stretching across the stone floors.
Evie led them around a cracked pillar missing the top of its column. “It used to be a gathering hall for sorcerers who studied at the Seidr School. This was where they would celebrate finishing their classes, before they destroyed it.”
Seidr School.Now known as ‘Dahlia’s Temple.’ Her muscles tensed at the mention of dark magic-wielders. “Are we close to Dahlia’s Temple?”
Evie dropped onto a chair situated in front of an off-kilter desk with a broken mirror sitting on top. “We live on the outskirts of the Greywood, and the temple is in the middle. We don’t go there. It belongs to the nymphs now.”
At the end of The White War, in a battle that came to be known as The Final Night, the two strongest sorcerers went up against one another. Their blinding seidr light lit up the sky completely, ripping a hole in the sky. Legend said the Goddess of Desire—Dahlia—emerged from the heavens through the giant tear and gave her nymphs a place on the continent to live.
Orelia had always thought the idea too outlandish to believe.
The White War was ‘a battle of good versus evil’, the history texts said in terms too simple to describe the magnitude of devastation Nivinia and her people suffered. Sorcerers were to blame for the significant collateral damage in their infighting, and when they were done killing each other, their vile magic created the first dark moon—a night that occurred at the end of every month. A night that encouraged pain, sadistic rituals, and sexual deviancy.
Orelia never thought she’d feel safe so close to the Seidr School, but she’d been wrong about everything about the Greywood so far.
Evie poured out small pots of creams in various colors from a bag of woven leaves onto the table.
“What are you doing?” Orelia asked.
“We celebrate the dark moon by dancing around the Tree as a way to pay our respects to Mother Moon. We thank her for all she has given us. It’s a night for joy and love, so you must participate! Sit.”
Orelia set her pack down and took a seat on a wonky school chair, eagerly surveying the items on the table.
Vade walked around the ruins, inspecting every nook and cranny.
The trio of pixies she’d spotted earlier darted into the space, wings fluttering so fast they looked like streams of sunlight. They were half the size of Evie and giggled when they saw Vade.
“Can we fix him up?” one of them asked. “Oh, please, Evie! Please!”
“I get to dress him!” one of the others said as she batted her green eyelashes.
“Sure, sure,” Evie said with a flippant flick of her hand. “I’ve got her.” She winked at Orelia.
The pixies squealed and flew to Vade. One lifted a strand of his hair while the other two twirled around him. “He’s so handsome,” the smallest one said.
“I get to put the leaves in his hair!”
Vade swatted them away. “You’re not doing anything to me.”
Orelia chuckled watching them fawn all over him, knowing how irked he must be.
“Oh, yes we are! It’s a dark moon, so we have to get you prepared!” One of the females twirled herself into his hair, and Vade sneered so hard it made Orelia bust out laughing.
“Just play along. Just for tonight,” she said as she settled from her laughter.
Vade snorted his disapproval.
Evie dabbed a bit of the pink paint on Orelia’s cheeks, hovering in the air as she worked.
“Drop your pack and come with us!” the smallest pixie said as she futilely tugged on Vade’s sleeve.
“I’m not leaving her alone.” The deep tone of his voice came out more defensive than she expected.
“Oh, please. She’s safe with us,” Evie offered as she dabbed a bit of cream on Orelia’s nose, making it wrinkle at the tickling touch. “Plus, I’m going to dress her up, and you can’t be in here to see her while she changes.”
