“Thank you for getting her here, Luca,” Endymion’s quiet voice whispered. “She’s been through a lot.”
Pawing at the ground, Luca moved his head up and down.
“Me?” Endymion asked with incredulity. “She’s safe with me, I promise.”
Luca let out a huff, and I couldn’t help but echo the sentiment.
“What are we going to do with him?” I asked, coming up to Luca’s side and running a hand along his thick, soft body.
Endymion’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Well, we can’t valen him…can we?”
His mouth twitching in amusement, he said, “While a horse is no problem, especially a beauty like him, I can’t valen.”
“Yes, you can. You valenned us to the beach.”
“No, sorry, you misunderstand. Normally I can valen, but I’ve spent too much time in the human realm as of late, so I don’t currently have access to my powers.”
“But I thought only elemental magic was affected.”
“That’s only true because we limit the amount of time spent in your lands. I pushed it too far, and it’ll be a day or two until I can access it again.”
“That long?” I blurted out, surprised.
His mouth quirked. “Yes, that long.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“No, I’m not,” he said, sobering. “But there’s nothing for it now, and it was a conscious decision.”
“Conscious decision?”
“I risked it, hoping I’d find you before the others, to make sure you were safe.”
“Oh,” I said, unsure how to respond, and I redirected the conversation back to the matter at hand. “So, how are we going to get to the Summer Court then?”
“The good old-fashioned way,” he said with a smirk as he patted Luca on the side.
The idea of sharing a saddle made my mouth dry. I tried to swallow, grasping for any thought or logic that would assuage my newfound fear of touch.
He tilted his head a fraction. Eyes alight with concern, he said, “What’s wrong?”
Damn the fae and their enhanced senses. I didn’t answer, unsure of how to explain it. Not really understanding it myself.
“Nyleeria?”
There was no way around it. We’d be too slow if we walked, and I wasn’t about to risk having something else attack us, especially with Endymion being powerless.
“It’s fine.”
He narrowed his eyes, knowing it wasn’t true, but didn’t press.
“Shall we, then?”
Carefully, I stepped onto his interlaced fingers, accepting the hand up. He placed the rucksack on his back, and had humor not abandoned me, I would have laughed unabashed at the soft fabric clashing with the ruggedness of his holstered sword—like a predator adorned with a diadem of delicate flowers.
The lingering image was replaced by the swift, elegant movement of Endymion’s crafted body swinging onto Luca.
