“Death is part of life. Though it is difficult when it visits us, it is best to grieve then accept it. The gods know best.”
I smiled. Most people tell me they are sorry for my loss, that my brother died too young, and it should never have happened. But not this beast fae. He gave me the harder words I needed to hear. That he was taken from me for a divine purpose I couldn’t understand.
“You believe in the gods?” I asked with some surprise.
“Aye. I do.”
“Which ones?”
“Vix, of course,” he answered with assurance. “He is the mighty one, the forefather of all dark fae.”
“Who else?” I asked.
“Solzkin, the sun god, for he helps with our crops in summer. Gozriel, Vix’s watcher. An omen from Gozriel can warn us of danger. Then there’s Ivenzel, the goddess of the hearth.”
“Sorka mentioned her.”
“Yes. She keeps the home and children safe. We also revere Elska.”
“The Goddess of the Wood? But she’s a light fae goddess.”
“You do not own the gods,” he chastised.
I looked over my shoulder to find a mocking expression on his face.
“No. But I am surprised that you would worship her all the same.”
“We live off the land and the woods and the food it provides. Elska provides all of this for us.”
“Hmm.” I faced forward again, noting that Redvyr steered Wolf toward a copse of trees between us and Hellamir.
“Quiet now,” he rumbled, his hands at my waist tightening. “There could be wood fae from Hellamir up ahead.”
Our entire party was silent as we slipped through the evening shadows and entered the small woodland outside of Hellamir. We had rested along the way more than I thought necessary, but now I realized it was so that we might arrive when the shadows were heavy and we could move covertly.
There was no sound but the wind gusting through the bare trees, their limbs rattling together above us. Wolf seemed to move with purpose now, trotting through the trees, going deeper into the woods until a small cabin appeared ahead. It seemed well-made but abandoned, sticks and tree limbs piled across the thatched roof.
Wolf stopped outside and Redvyr dismounted. Without warning, he reached up and gripped me by the waist, hauling me down in front of him. I wobbled, having been on the hound’s back for hours, grabbing hold of Redvyr’s forearms for balance.
“You got your feet now?” Redvyr asked in a low voice, a teasing smile at the corner of his mouth.
“I’m fine.” I pushed out of his arms and turned to cinch the laces of my boots and close the slits of my skirt that had given me the freedom to ride Wolf.
The others had dismounted as well, and Leifkyn, the one who wore his hair in a long tail down his back, entered the cabin with his blade drawn. Bezaliel now cradled his daughter to his chest while Tessa tightened the lacings of her cloak at her throat, lifting the hood to cover her head.
“All clear,” said Leifkyn, exiting the cabin.
“Maybe I should go with them,” said Bezaliel, staring at his wife.
Redvyr grunted in that disagreeing way of his. “Unless you plan to cut off your horns and your tail, then that won’t be happening.”
Bezaliel looked at me. “What Jessamine said has me worried. Perhaps it isn’t safe.”
Tessa put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be fine. Plus, I have Jessamine with me this time. She has magick we can use if we need to.”
My stomach rolled over. I had never actually used my magick to defend myself. Not successfully, anyway. The dryad stag was the first time I’d actually tried.
That first time I’d shocked Redvyr had happened subconsciously. I didn’t remember doing it on purpose. Those instances aside, my magickwasstrong, and I was more confident now than when I’d left Morodon.
