“Alright, alright, Little Dove, slow down. We haven’t tried to gallop yet. Let’s ease into it.” He pushes his thighs against Mage and urges him forward with a soft motion of the reins.
My whole body jerks. With Rivern’s left arm now firmly placed around my waist, I meld further into his body for stability.
“A little warning,” I shriek.
The prince gives another of his mirthful chuckles, and we are gliding through the lush grass, a smile crossing my lips.
We are close to the freedom of flight but not quite there yet.
Twelve turns of the suns. That’s how long it will take us to get to Terra.
My whole body aches from my time squished against Rivern’s powerful body and the unyielding creature underneath us.
At our punishing speed, we barely have time to talk. I end up falling asleep as the adrenaline leaves my body, and Rivern lets me drift off in his arms. Apparently, fae do not require sleep like humans do. A shift of the moon is enough to regenerate Rivern’s energy for multiple turns.
Each new message from Solen brings similar news about my beast’s progression into the forest. He still has not changed into his wolf form, and he is simply strolling through the brush to reach us. We now know for certain he is giving us a head start.
When I wake from my latest nap, I find myself no longer atop a large stead but lying upon a soft bed of leaves. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sit up, feeling muscles tense I never knew existed. “Goddess.” I complain to the trees surrounding me.
“Here.” Rivern hands over his flask and something yellow-orange in colour and round in shape.
I don’t hesitate, greedily sucking down fresh spring water. “Where did you find these?” I hold up the flask and some type of fuzzy fruit I’ve never seen before.
Rivern bites into his fruit, juice running down his chin. The temptation to go to him and lick it off his skin is too real as fluttering begins within my belly. “I asked the Goddess to guide us. She led me here.” He shrugs like the answer should be obvious, the unwavering connection to his Goddess a solid beacon for his kind.
The humans’ connection is a lie. She was never ours. A stolen God.
“Thank you,” I whisper to the Goddess who gifted me with her song and this bounty.
Taking a bite of the round fruit, I cannot help the sound that exits my lips on a moan. “Mmmmmm.” Juicy, sweet, mouth-watering; everything fruit used to taste like in my turns as a child.
Rivern raises his eyebrows, eyes sparkling, his blonde hair dancing in the breeze to frame his exquisite face. “We call them peaches. They grow throughout the forest in small patches.”
All I can do is shift my head up and down, enjoying this new delicacy too much.
“I also found some more of our little friends.” Puzzlement crosses my face, and he points up. Silken wisp hives litter the tree we rest under. The suns light the small treasures in a glowing symphony.
To think that I could’ve missed this beauty if I stayed within the temple my whole life.
I find it funny now, the unease and apprehension I had about leaving the temple. I put myself in my own exile. The thought of leaving the temple even last rotation was something I could not fathom. Once I ended up in the temple sanctuary as a child, that was it for me. I was a ward of the Goddess, given a priestess’s name but too damaged to complete the trials expected of the Goddess’s chosen.
I lean back on the lush earth, peach forgotten and close my eyes.I left.
I’ve done it!
My life is finally my own.
Well, not quite.
Here I am, chosen not by my own kind but by the fae Goddess. I sang to her, and she listened.
She put her confidence in me when no one else ever expected anything from me. The Goddess entrusts me with the most precious gift anyone can give another: faith.
Rivern is quiet across from me as I take it all in.The Goddess has gifted me her magic without expectation.
An awareness comes to me.It’s the perfect time.
Rising on my elbows, I open my eyes and gaze at the fae male before me. “Let us sing.”
