“Surely.” He took a drink, golden liquid glistening on his lips. “You may call me Aston. What has brought you to the Moors? Are you a guest of the bride?”
“I’m afraid not. My companions and I are searching for the Druid. I believe he is called Leoake?”
Aston’s pointed nose curled ever so slightly. “Ah.That one.”
They didn’t seem to like Leoake around here. Maybe he was an unpleasant fellow.
Regardless, she stepped closer to Aston, excited to at last have some lead. “Do you know where I may find him?”
He nodded and motioned for her to get close, leaning in conspiringly while looking out at the crowd. “The Druid is a wily one who enjoys hiding in plain sight,” Aston whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her cheek. “Look close and keep your eyes peeled lest you miss him, clever mortal.”
Pulling back, he popped a berry into his mouth and flashed his teeth in another grin at her frown. He was toying with her. She watched him take another drink of wine, and he offered her his cup.
Dyna shook her head. “I shouldn’t.”
“It won’t harm you.” Aston shrugged, wearing a mischievous grin. “It’s no more than wine to the Folk, but for others, it makes them drunk with desires they wish to deny. You merely seek that which you secretly want, and wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing to behold?”
His insistence only made her wary.
The golden liquid shimmered alluringly, but the thought of drinking the wine made her stomach pitch. She didn’t want to acknowledge the nagging voice that had wormed its way in the center of her chest. The one suggesting that perhaps her feelings had been forged by the bond, and none of it was ever real. If she drank the wine, what would she go after?
Dyna lifted her chin. “Right now, I only desire to find Leoake.”
“Suit yourself. Though, I wonder what a mortal could want from that old Druid.”
“I must find him,” Dyna grumbled. She searched of the dark corners of the forest for any inconspicuous lurkers who may fit the look of an old man with a scraggly beard littered with moss and sticks, and perhaps a worn robe. It was a poor imagination, for all the fae she’d seen were beautiful and extravagant. “I have questions I must ask him.”
“A bit of advice—be careful what you wish for. The truth isn’t always the answer you seek.”
“Be that as it may, it’s the truth I need.”
Aston’s smile widened, and he looked out to the crowd as the jaunty music ended. A fae woman made entirely of gold came through the throng carrying a golden harp. Ram horns protruded above her pointed ears, a long mane trailing on the ground behind her like a gleaming veil. Her sleek dress slipped around her dainty form like liquid gold. All eyes were on her, a hush falling over the revel. She sat with the musicians and brought the harp on her lap. Her gilded eyes fell closed and her long fingers plucked the strings. A gentle melody wove through the trees. Her haunting voice harmonized in a spell-inducing lilt, filling Dyna’s head.
Listen to me, my dearest
From the ashes came two seeds
The one of life and never endings
The other of death and foul deeds
Eat the right fruit and be made anew
Eat the rotten core for all to undo
Listen to me, my dearest
Snip the tie, and two will bleed
Seek truths within the carvings
For lies hide within those freed
Seek me in the land of glittering gold
Lose me in the shadows mighty hold
Listen to me, my dearest
