They walked inland, following a worn-down path that the commoners used to travel between the city and the country lands.
Airess glanced over at Taryn as they walked along the dirt path. She studied the way his brunette curls fell effortlessly over his brow, the curve of his full lips, and the straight line of his nose. It was a face she had come to know well. A face she could recognize anywhere.
Everything about him was starting to make sense. She had begun to put the pieces together–the puzzle that made Taryn the male he was. His time at the Guild, she realized, was not what he truly wanted for himself.
There were still a few things about him that were lost to her. Primarilyhis childhood years. Airess had gathered he had a troubled past as anorphan, but she didn’t know much about the grandmother he kept mentioning. He had yet to open up to her about it, and she found herself wanting to know everything about him.
“Are we going to the home you grew up in?” Airess asked.
“Yes, the one I lived in before my grandmother died.”
There was a pause, until Taryn spoke up again. “I met my grandmother when I was eight. She isn’t my grandmother by blood, you see. She adopted me when I was an orphan. I lived with her in the home I’m about to show you.”
Her heart twisted for him and the pain he endured. Of course he was too stubborn to ever admit such a thing.
“I’m sorry, Taryn. I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure she was an amazing woman.”
Taryn chuckled, gazing at the moon as he was no doubt recalling a distant memory, “She was. She made my childhood–however short it was–worth living.”
“What was your favorite memory with her?”
“Oh, Gods,” Taryn smiled. “While she cooked, I’d sit on the floor and reteach her history and facts I learned in school. She would always listen to the lessons I wanted to teach. She took me shopping with her everywhere. I miss her smile, her boisterous laugh. I…I hope she’s doing okay, wherever she is now.”
Airess grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I believe the other side is much better than our world here. Whatever it is like, I believe she is happy and safe watching over you.”
“I still feel her spirit existing out there,” he said. “Energy cannot be destroyed. It just changes forms. I hope one day I will see her again.”
“I have every confidence we will meet again with our loved ones.”
Taryn stopped walking and turned to face her. “I’ve never told anyone about my grandmother before. No one has ever really offered their condolences. Even after all this time, it means everything to me. Thank you, truly.”
Airess looked up at him and smiled. “You can tell me anything.”
He towered over her, eyes boring into her soul. Airess’ smile melted into a frown as she noticed a smear of blood on his cheekbone from the duel. Rising to her toes, she wiped the blood away softly with the pad of her thumb. Their eyes met, their gazes upon each other intense, the moon and stars meeting again.
“I wish you’d stop getting hurt to defend me,” she whispered.
“What kind of ally would I be if I let you get hurt?” Taryn said lightly, a touch of sarcasm in his tone. “Besides, this cut is barely a scratch.”
Airess rolled her eyes. “Ascratch? Your cheek is sliced and bleeding.”
“You underestimate me if you think that is a problem.”
“I don’t want you to keep getting impaled by a blade for me. Enough blood has already been spilled.”
“Oh, Airess,” Taryn said, his eyes darkening, “I would gladly bleed out for you.”
Her breath hitched at the words, at the claim they implied. She tried to calm herself, slowing down her quickened heartbeat that Taryn no doubt could hear.
Airess swallowed and changed the subject. “What was that Fae male going on about back in town? He said I’m an Elve, so he had aclaimto me.”
“He was being an asshole, trying to use Fae customs that apply to mates so he could take advantage of you.”
Airess stilled. This was news to her. “Mates?”
“It doesn’t always apply to every Fae, but every now and then a Fae will find their Mate. It’s a bond between Fae. Usually a romantic bond, but there have been some exceptions in history before. That male back there was saying that since you’re not Fae, I can’t claim you as off limits. You’re half Elven and Human, and therefore that makes youavailablein the Fae’s eyes.
“You’ll need to get accustomed to how territorial the Fae can be. We are, after all, the animalistic cousin to the Elven species. Society is different here. Fae people will try and make advances on you, something you aren’t used to,” Taryn explained.
