They chuckled together.
A dark moon was a result of the sorcerer’s vile magic that often bled into the hearts of moongoers, making them violent and wicked. But here in the Greywood, she felt none of those forces at work. Orelia was excited to dance in the shelter of the great willow with her new friend.
“The moon is out! Time to celebrate!” multiple voices called from outside.
Once they’d exited the ruins, Orelia looked around for Vade. She found him sitting on a stump in his leathers, the trio of pixies playing with a couple leafy vines they’d woven into his hair.
A wide smile spread across her face. He was participating. Sort of.
When the fae saw her, his jaw went slack.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” Evie asked.
Vade shot up to standing, accidentally knocking the trio off his shoulders. “That’s a . . .new look.”
Orelia brushed her hair back over her bare shoulder. “I love it.” She twirled, letting the leafy skirt fan out around her. “What do you think?”
Vade looked her up and down, his throat bobbing. He opened his mouth to speak, but his words were cut off when music sounded. A group of tiny pixies sat on a high branch playing a lute, each in charge of one of the strings.
There was laughter, and mirth, and luminous plants all around the massive willow. The purple moon shone down on them whatlittle it could, and Orelia had never felt such peace on a night that had brought nothing but pain in her past.
“Let’s dance!” Evie pulled Orelia toward the Tree where the other pixies had begun spinning one another, some clapping and singing along with the tune.
Orelia lifted her arms and spun, relishing in the cool grass beneath her feet. She laughed and held the tiny hands of pixies as they formed a circle, skipping together and singing a song she didn’t know. When the circle broke apart, a male a few feet tall approached her and stuck out his hand.
“May I have this dance, fair lady?” His endearing, high-pitched voice had Orelia dropping into her most fanciful curtsy. “Why of course, my lord.”
The two laughed as he flapped his wings and spun her around the Tree, the breeze whipping around them.
“You look beautiful,” he said, flying eye level with her. The moss covering his body broke apart on his chest, showcasing a hard abdomen, before leaves wrapped around his waist and hips. His piercing green eyes trailed down her body, building her confidence.
“And you,” she said after he’d spun her in a circle, “look quite handsome tonight.”
He gave her the brightest smile she’d ever seen. “I do, don’t I?”
She let him lead her into a dance, his hand low on her back. She savored the touch, and they didn’t stop until sweat had bloomed on their skin. Orelia lifted her hair off her neck and fanned her face, grinning from ear to ear.
“I think I need a break,” she said to the male trying to get her to dance with him again. He let her go with a pout, and Orelia panted as she made her way over to Vade, who hadn’t left the stump he sat on.
He handed his waterskin to her as she approached.
The fire opals on her crown clinked against each other as she tilted her head back and downed a mouthful of crisp, cool water. “Just what I needed.”
“You looked like you were having fun out there.” Onyx eyes flicked over her shoulder, and there was a slight pinch of his lips. She thought he may have been jealous, but the idea was so preposterous she almost laughed.
“I was. You should come dance.”
He gave her a stern look. “I don’t dance.”
“Afraid you might have fun?” She set the waterskin down. “Come on. Dance with me.”
Vade stayed rooted to his seat. “No, thanks.”
She spread her arms out. “Can’t you feel it? The dark moon calling you to move? To delight in the pleasures of life?” She began swaying, letting her hands drift down her body. Her skin sparked with heat from her own touch. The simple joy of dancing had transformed into something erotic she could only blame on the moon.
The air hummed, making her needy, making her hot with desire. She looked at Vade through her dark lashes, swaying her hips, trailing her fingers over her bare skin.
The fae’s chest rapidly rose and fell as he watched her.
