While Hiero was distracted, I took a moment to admire his muscular shoulders, strong arms, and capable hands. His hands were possibly my favorite feature. Thick digits with trimmed nails and hairy knuckles. The sort of hands that had known hard labor and could make an elegant cocktail as easily as repair a broken pipe. Hands that built things and fixed things and were surprisingly nimble despite their size.
I recalled our lovemaking a few nights ago, the way he’d caressed my body and made me feel so precious and adored. He’d said that he wanted to take care of me, and I suspected he meant more than just sex. Wasn’t that all that I’d ever wanted, someone to love and cherish, someone who would guide and protect me and help me make the right decisions?
I’d thought I’d had it with Cedrych, but I was wrong. Who’s to say I wouldn’t be wrong again?
“Did you make out okay?” Hiero asked me, startling me from my reverie.
“Yes, the customers were very generous.”
“You going to buy some more food with that coin?”
I smirked. He was such a Daddy. “Are you implying that I need to ingest something other than Mind Eraser?”
“I assume you fae don’t live on sunshine and moonbeams alone. Besides, it’d be a shame to erase such a beautiful mind.” He winked at me and went back to his work, oblivious to the fact that I had melted into a puddle on the floor.
My parents had never given much thought to my needs. Usually only after crash landing from a cloud of euphoria would they take stock in their surroundings and remember they had a child who must be fed and watered. Then they might work a couple odd jobs to buy more ether and, if I was lucky, enough food to last the duration of their next high. It was feast or famine in our household, and I’d learned to hoard (or steal) what I’d need to make it through the lean times. Isupposed that was why his concern for my well-being affected me so.
“When we finish up here, I’ll walk you home,” Hiero said, clearly mistaking my lingering gaze for something else.
“I don’t mind walking alone.”
“Not on my watch.”
Twenty minutes later, we’d said goodbye to Frito, locked up the bar, and were strolling along the cobblestone street back to my motel. The fog lay heavy in the air and clung to my cheeks and eyelashes. The days were warming up but the nights were still cool with enough of a chill to give me goosebumps.
“You’re cold,” Hiero said, glancing around as if a jacket might materialize from thin air.
“I’m fine. Feels good after being in the bar. Are all the streets here made of cobblestone?”
“Yes, to prevent erosion. Aberthol laid many of the stones himself, with the help of the other monks, of course. That was before my time. The monks valued manual labor and prayer in equal measure.”
“What happened to them all?”
“Most of the clergy fled with the other humans during the war. Aberthol stayed, but he passed away many years ago. Heart failure.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, for the loss must have affected him deeply.
“He was like a father to me, but I’ve had time to grieve.”
I turned my attention back to the cobblestone path laid out before us with such care. “That must have required a lot of patience to place every bit of stone just so,” I remarked.
“It did, but that’s what you do when building a foundation. The road was meant to last many, many years, and it has. It’s worth spending time on the things you love.” He caught my eye and smiled, but it was dangerous to read too much into his words. “If you’re thinking about staying, I know some people in town who could rent you a place for a good price.”
“Thanks. I might take you up on that.”
I was still deciding my next moves, content for now to see how my future might pan out here in the mountains. I didn’t need much. Being without a guild or a stable family meant that I never knew which way the wind might blow me. Perhaps that was why I’d latched onto Cedrych with such ferocity. In a lot of ways, he’d brought order and stability to my life, even if the sum of my existence was to please him.
Still, some part of me was looking for another person to act as the unmovable center to my chaotic orbit, someone deserving of my love and devotion. It had taken me too long to realize Cedrych wasn’t it, but that didn’t mean I didn’t crave it. Perhaps that made me weak, the fact that I didn’t want to be alone, but I had been so lonely throughout my childhood, shunned by my peers and largely ignored by my parents. Until I met Monica, I hadn’t even known what true friendship was.
“I do want a place to belong,” I said to Hiero.
“Belonging is important,” he agreed, and it sounded like it came from experience. “You could belong here, Skylar.”
To you?I wondered, but I didn’t say it, only nodded in response to the sincerity shining in his eyes. We were quiet after that, but the silence was comfortable. Hiero had a peaceful aura about him. Monica, a true empath, could see auras. She’d once told me that Cedrych had a murky, pea-green aura, which indicated a restless, dissatisfied spirit. I figured she’d just told me that because she didn’t like him. I wondered about Hiero’s aura. What would Monica say if she met him? Would she like him? I hoped so.
Our arms were close enough to brush against each other as we walked. I really wanted to hold his hand, but I didn’t want to send mixed messages. I liked hima lot, but I was a flaming hot mess right now, and I didn’t want to toy with his heart. I suspected it was good and true.
“I wish I’d met you before,” I said with more than a little longing when we finally reached my door.
