His stag eyes are locked on mine, so unlike the ones belonging to the fae I kissed this morning. Only his antlers look the same, yet much larger. I’ve never seen a stag so large or so majestic, so undeniably beautiful. His coat is a russet gold, hooves a glimmering onyx.
With a deep breath, I release the bar of coral, a searing pain shooting through my palm as the jagged shards release from my flesh. Keeping my other hand outstretched toward him, I take one trembling step, then another, each move almost unbearable.
Aspen remains in place watching me warily, but as I move closer, his breathing begins to even, and his lips close over his teeth.
“That’s it. I’m here now.” Finally, he’s close enough to touch. I let my hand fall on the side of his stag face.
“You gave me your name.” It’s Aspen’s voice, but it sounds distant, weak, as if coming from far away.
“Yes.”
“You left me.”
I shake my head. “No, Aspen. You were deceived by Cobalt.”
“Cobalt,” he echoes softly.
“He took me and locked me in the coral caves so I couldn’t come to you, so we couldn’t perform the ritual. He’s the one who took Amelie too. It’s she everyone saw riding away on the puca. She’s under his control.”
“You didn’t leave?”
“No.”
Silence falls between us. Then Aspen says, “It hurt when you left.” His words remind me of those of a child. There’s no wit, no banter, none of his sharp personality. I wonder if that’s part of being in his unseelie form.
“I’m sorry it hurt.”
“I don’t like feeling like that.” His tone carries a hint of anger. “I don’t like to feel at all.”
“I don’t like feeling like that either,” I say. “It hurt to be trapped in a cage, unable to tell you the truth. But I had to persevere. I had to come find you, even if it hurt.”
“You humans have no choice but to feel. I don’t have to.”
“You mean, if you remain in this form?”
“Yes. I could stay unseelie. I could forget your face. Forget what it means to hurt or love or rage.”
I bring my forehead to the side of his face, nestling into his soft coat. “Is that what you want? To forget me?”
A shudder runs through him. Then another. “No.”
I stumble back as the stag pulls away, his massive shape shifting and undulating. Another shudder seizes him, and suddenly the stag is gone, replaced by a familiar figure crouching in the dirt. He wears nothing but trousers and a linen shirt, open at the neck. I kneel next to him, take his face in my hands. “Aspen.”
He slowly meets my eyes. “Evie.”
I bring his lips to mine, reveling in their softness, the feel of them already so familiar to me.
He pulls away. “You’re crying.”
I realize he’s right. Sobs tear through me while tears stream over my face. “Of course I am. I thought I was going to lose you to the stag forever. I thought you would forget me and destroy my village.”
“Why would I destroy your village?”
“Isn’t that where you were going? To exact revenge upon me and my people?”
He shakes his head. “I…I don’t remember. The rage consumed me.”
“But you’re free of it now?”
