She stopped just outside the circle, eyes flicking to mine. “What if I don’t know how?”
“I will guide you.” I walked her into the heart of the spiral. The air shifted around us and the plant life leaned in. I stepped behind her, letting my chest press against her back, my hands resting lightly at her waist. “All you have to do is open. Let the forest in. Letmein.”
A shiver of anticipation coursed through her.
“Breathe with me.” I whispered. My mouth moved close to her ear. I inhaled deeply, and after a moment, she matched me—breath for breath, her body rising and falling in time with mine.
The forest around us stilled, as if holding its own breath. Even the birds fell silent, watching our lesson unfold.
“The energy that flows through you now is the same that runs through every tree, every plant, every root and stem and leaf.” I explained softly. “It wasn’t meant for human bodies. It’s too wild, too potent. That’s why it’s finding ways out.”
My hands moved down her arms. She trembled.
“Feel the energy gathering inside you,” I said. “Like water behind a dam. Don’t let it burst through. Find the gates, open them slowly.”
As she focused, the vine pushed through her palm again and continued to grow, joined now by small shoots emerging from between her fingers. But she didn’t panic.
“Now,” I told her, “let it go. You are not separate from nature, Samantha. Let the plant return to it.”
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the vines eased away from her skin. They slipped free, drifting downward, folding into the moss and earth—not to vanish, but to plant themselves. Their edges blended with the forest floor, taking root like they had always belonged there.
Sam gasped, and her fingers brushed over the place where the vines had left her. “Idid that.”
”You did.” I couldn’t keep the pride from my tone. “That’s the first step.”
She turned in my arms, her face flushed with accomplishment and something far more—something that made the bond between us pulse with heat.
“Now, what?” Her eyes held mine.
“The next step requires...closer connection,” I said carefully. “The forest energy responds to life force—to the things that make us most alive.”
She rewarded me with a slow smile, and my ancient heart quickened its pace. “Show me.”
It wasn’t a request.
I barely had time to guide her to the moss before she pulled me down with her, hands clenched in my hair, her breath unsteady. Her lips found mine, searching, demanding, like she was trying to anchor herself to something solid—to me. I felt the forest energy surge between us, following the shape of our desire like water finding the path of least resistance. It flowed from her into me, completing a circuit of power that made both of us gasp.
When I pulled back, her eyes were wide, her lips parted in surprise.
“That’s the energy.” I peeled off her clothes, never letting her eyes leave mine. “That’s what you must master.”
I skimmed my fingertips down Samantha’s neck, watching her skin respond with a flush of palest green that rose in the wake of my caress. The forest around us seemed to lean closer, drawn by the energy flowing between us.
“Every living thing responds to touch,” I murmured against her ear. “Plants bend toward the sun. Trees shiver when wind caresses their leaves.”
Her breathing quickened as my palms slid down her shoulders, following the graceful lines of her arms before traveling back up to trace her collarbones. Beneath my hands, her skin began to shimmer with a faint green luminescence—the forest energy rising to meet me.
“This is part of your learning,” I whispered as my fingers played across her ribs, each touch deliberate, measured. “Understanding how energy follows intention.”
Sam arched beneath me, her eyes half-closed, lips parted. A small vine sprouted from her shoulder, curling toward my wrist like a desperate, seeking thing. I bent to kiss it, and it retreated beneath her skin with a shudder that traveled through her entire body.
“Faelan,” she gasped, her hands clutching at the moss beneath us.
I ran my palm along the curve of her hip, feeling the ancient energy respond to my call. It gathered inside her, causing patches of her flesh to glow from within. The same energy that threatened to overwhelm her was now fueling her desire, turning what was dangerous into something sacred.
“Feel it,” I commanded softly, letting my hand trace circles on her inner thigh. “Don’t fight it. Direct it.”
She moaned, arching slightly as if the forest itself was pulling her upward. Tiny flowers—wild violets and wood anemones—sprouted in her hair, blooming instantly before she exhaled, and their petals drifted around her like fallen leaves.
