“Here, I’ll take her now. It’s time to feed her,” said Tessa, lifting Saralyn from my arms.
Tessa settled beside Bezaliel and lowered the strap of her dress, shifting Saralyn to her breast. Dayn had come back from the woods with two hares which the group roasted and shared along with the last of the bread and cheese. I’d eaten very little of the latter, my thoughts too full of something else. Someone else.
“I hope Shearah has one of her stews cooking when we arrive tomorrow,” Dayn said.
“All you have to do is flirt with her and she’ll make whatever you want,” teased Leifkyn.
Dayn grinned while he unrolled his bedroll. “Don’t be jealous. I’ll share with you.”
“You’ll share Shearah?” Leifkyn sat on a tree stump he’d dragged over to the campfire. “That’s generous of you.”
“The stew, you oaf.” Dayn shoved Leifkyn off the stump with a boot to his chest. “Don’t even fucking think about touching Shearah.”
Leifkyn laughed. “I thought you said it wasn’t serious?”
“Just keep your hands to yourself. Or I’ll cut them off.”
Bezaliel laughed along with Leifkyn. Redvyr smiled but his attention was still on me. After a brief inner debate, I decided to do what I wanted and not worry about what the others might think. Standing, I lifted my fur bedroll and stepped past Tessa and Bezaliel. Then I spread out my fur directly next to Redvyr and slid inside it, scooting closer to him with my back to his front. Without hesitating, he curled his hand and arm around my waist and pulled me tight against him.
Silence fell around the campfire, Leifkyn and Dayn smiling at each other. But no one said a word. Sighing in contentment, I closed my eyes and drifted instantly to sleep, comforted by the weight of Redvyr’s arm at my waist and his body at my back. For the first time since my brother died, I felt safe.
“I wonderif Tylok’s wife is cooking something good today,” said Dayn as we followed the path downhill toward a small valley and clearing in the woods below.
We were winding through hillier countryside and woodlands toward Ghasta Vale.
“You are constantly thinking about your stomach,” complained Leifkyn.
“I wouldn’t mind some of Farla’s meat pies myself,” added Bezaliel.
“Mmm, me too.” Tessa walked behind her husband with Saralyn strapped to her back.
This trek downhill with knotty roots growing across the trail was much safer on foot than on wolfback.
“Who is Tylok?” I asked, walking directly behind Redvyr.
“He’s a shadow fae who lives in that valley with his wife and children.”
“Why doesn’t he live in Gadlizel?” I asked, knowing all shadow fae lived in their great city high in the Solgavia Mountains.
“Tylok is a bit of a renegade,” Redvyr answered. “He was one of their priest warriors, but he fell for a wood fae female in the Borderlands. His king commanded him to give her up or be exiled.” Redvyr looked over his shoulder, catching my gaze. “He chose exile.”
“That’s so sad.”
“It’s rather romantic, if you ask me,” said Tessa. “Of course, I’m a light fae who fell for a beast fae, so I can understand.”
“I didn’t threaten to exile Bezaliel when he brought you home,” growled Redvyr.
“You couldn’t,” said Bezaliel. “She was my mate.”
There were a few grunts of agreement amongst the group as the land began to level. In the valley below, there was no cabin anywhere that I could see among the sparse trees. There was a giant, black oak tree at the center of the valley, its trunk as thick as twelve beast fae standing side by side.
“Bezaliel,” I asked, “how did you know Tessa was your mate?”
Leifkyn and Dayn chuckled then swallowed their laughter when Redvyr shot them a glare. Tessa blushed as she stepped beside me on the flatter ground. “I’ll tell you later.”
I remembered that Redvyr had avoided this topic once before when I asked, but my curiosity about Tylok got the better of me as we walked across the small clearing.
“Where do they live?”
