There’s no self-pity in them.
Just facts.
“I um…” My throat tightens unexpectedly. “I actually lost both my parents when I was young too.” I whisper. The words feel foreign, as if I’m borrowing someone else’s story. It’s not something I talk about. I learned a long time ago it’s easier not to be the girl who lost everything. He stops walking and turns to face me.
“Apologies are meaningless. We both know that. But you’re a fighter, Elodie. You just haven’t realised it yet.” I’m about to respond when I hear the rustling of leaves to my right. Before I can even ask what’s going on, Rowan’s hand clamps over my mouth. His other arm hooks around my waist, pulling me against him as he hits the nearest tree.
“Don’t move,” he breathes against my ear. My heart slams so violently I’m sure he can hear it. I feel the coldness of his armour against my skin, his steady and controlled breathing. His hand remains over my mouth, not painful, just firm. Then I spot something in the distance. At first glance, it looks like a normal deer.
But its antlers are wrong.
They are too wide and intricate, coated in what looks like moss. Its fur is completely white all over, with silver eyes. It moves slowly, sniffing the air before moving along through the trees. Once it disappears, Rowan’s hand drops from my mouth, his hand loosening at my waist.
“What was that?” I whisper.
“Mirehart. They’re extremely territorial, wildly unpredictable and completely unkillable.”
“Oh,” I whisper, feeling a sudden rush of fear wash over me. “Back home, where I’m from, we have deer. They look similar except, I suppose, they see us as the threat rather than the other way around…” We continue walking, Rowan staying closer to me than before.
“What’s it like, your realm?” he asks me. I’m not even sure what to say. I open my mouth, then close it again. How do you even explain something so normal it never needed explaining?
“It’s…” I hesitate. “Loud.” He turns to look at me, a confused expression on his face. “There is always sound, even at night. Not wind or animals, but human-made sound. Cars, music, doors, voices.”
“Cars?”
“They’re like…” I search for the least ridiculous explanation. “Giant metal boxes on wheels, and we drive them around… like a horse but made of metal?” I shake my head, realising how stupid I sound. He laughs at me and I turn my head at the sound. “What?” I ask.
“I know what a car is, Elodie. We used to travel to other realms, I have seen more than you know.” He says with a smirk. “I just wanted to see you try to explain what one is,” he laughs again.
“That’s…” I start to say, but end up just joining in with his laughter. “You’re mean.” I add. Rowan comes to a stop, pointing toward a break in the trees.
“We’re here. This used to be where you would always find Widowsbloom, whatever the season. It’d be here.” The ground is barren. Nothing living or even dead, just empty soil. I scan my surroundings, hoping to find something that may point to a solution.
I uncork a small glass vial from my satchel and press it into the soil, twisting slightly before sealing it tight.
“I was hoping to find something of meaning here. This was probably a waste of time, sorry.” Looking at Rowan, I shake my head in defeat, clasping the soil sample tightly before placing it into my pocket.
“It wasn’t a waste of time,” he says, looking at me now. “Not to me.” His eyes soften slightly as I pout my lips in a small smile.
“Thank you for letting me get out. Even if this soil tells me nothing, I think I needed the fresh air.” I admit, moving to stand back at his side.
“You are not my prisoner, Elodie. You never were.” My brows knit together, trying to work out what he means by that when my eyes catch on a clearing at the edge of the forest. An archway formed by the trees themselves, I walk towards it, curiosity driving me forward. A branch catches on my arm, a sharp sting that causes me to suck in a sharp breath.
“Crap.” My hand instantly rubs the site of the pain before I notice blood streaking down my elbow. Before I can even decide what to do, Rowan tears a strip of fabric and wraps it around the cut.
“You are extremely accident prone, it’s concerning,” he mumbles, tying a knot in the linen.
“I know, it’s actually—” I instantly lose my train of thought, my eyes locking onto the ground below. The exact spot where my blood dripped into the soil. Blood that is now glowing blue.
“Rowan… is that normal?”
He pauses for a long moment, his stance shifting slightly as he stares down at my blood coating the soil.
“It’s just residual rune light,” he says, looking back at me. “Happens sometimes. Don’t worry.”
“Oh, okay.” I pull at the fabric now covering the wound before looking up to meet his eyes. His gaze locks onto mine, piercing and full of so many unspoken words. “Thank you for that.”
“Don’t thank me, just be more careful instead.” He says, his eyes never leaving mine. The forest is too quiet. The world blurring around us. I break away from his stare, stepping backward just one step. “Where were you trying to get to before a branch attacked you?”
