“Greens mostly. Grasses, legumes, alfalfa, clover, and hay in the winter if I can't get fresh grass. Some other fruits and vegetables are fine, but I can’t eat too many processed foods. I have a sensitive stomach.”
“And may I ask you a personal question?” I said and he nodded for me to continue. “I noticed you wear a lot of leather.”
He smiled. “I don’t eat meat or dairy, but I have a cousin who works in leather. It’s made from the hides of the animals my shifter kin have hunted and killed. It’s best to use all parts.”
“And do you know anything about your birth parents?” I asked.
“I was a foundling when I was left on the monastery doorsteps by a woman with long, dark hair. That was allAberthol was able to tell me. Most of the humans have since perished or fled, so I wouldn’t even know where to look.”
Both of us had been abandoned. Hiero’s was a physical abandonment while mine was an emotional one, always wanting more from parents who were unable or unwilling to give it. But Hiero had found his people, his tribe, while I was still searching.
“Your teeth are rather sharp,” he said. “Do you eat meat?”
“We can drink blood for nutrition if we must, but it has some negative side effects. Most fae prefer flower nectar, fruits, and honey.” The result of a blood binge was a days-long lethargy that could easily slide into depression.
“You are like the vampyre in that way,” he said.
“And the elvish, though it’s considered an act of desperation. Only the poorest among us will resort to it.”
I’d drank my fair share of rat blood alongside Monica when times were lean. I recalled the two of us sharing a bare mattress on the floor with our bellies bloated, our lips smeared with blood, and dead carcasses all around us. It hadn’t been pretty but we’d survived. It made me cherish the simple pleasure of a picnic even more.
I didn’t want to sour our date with my morbid thoughts, so I picked up a jar of pickled prickly pear and offered some to Hiero. He was amenable to my suggestion, which I appreciated. I liked a man who was open to new experiences. Finally, with our taste buds singing and our appetites sated, welaid ourselves out on the blanket to watch the steady patter of rain outside our dry little nest.
“Tell me your dreams, Hierophant Wolfsbane,” I said, for I suspected a man like him must have some.
“I’d like to have a family one day,” he said, sounding wistful. “A loving partner who wants to build a life with me, a few little ones running around the yard.”
A simple dream, but also so profound.
“You haven’t found them already?” I said with disbelief. “I’m surprised no one has scooped you up.”
“None of the men I’ve dated seem to want to stick around.”
He sounded so hurt when he said it. My heart twisted at the yearning in his voice. Clearly, those men were fools. “Have you had a boy before?”
“I’ve tried a few times to keep a boy, but they always end up getting bored up here in the mountains and acting out. Or maybe it’s just me that’s tiresome. I like routine and order. I can be set in my ways. Some partners find that stifling.”
I’d seen him dig in his heels and be stern, especially when it came to my safety or that of his kin, but I didn’t find it stifling.
“I can’t imagine you being all that tough. You seem rather soft to me,” I teased.
Smiling, he said, “I can be persuaded with sweet talk, but I do believe in rules and discipline.”
Rules sounded like a comfort to me, and discipline… that was an area I’d yet to explore.
“What about someone from one of the shifter clans?” I asked.
“I’ve dated a few, but there’s a special connection that shifters share with their own kind. When they shift together, it’s a level of intimacy I can’t offer.”
I rolled onto my side so I could take hold of his hand. “You’ll find him. Someone who appreciates your compassion and loyalty, who thrives under your steady hand and wants to help raise your children. I know that person is out there.”
Hiero nodded, his eyes a little misty. “I hope so. My nights up in these mountains sure do get lonely sometimes. Whenever I hear the cry of a lone wolf, I know exactly how they feel.” He sighed and rubbed his face. “How about you, Skylar Larkspur of the fae? What do you want from this life?”
I tried to imagine my future, but it was all so fragmented and chaotic at the moment. In my formative years, I’d been too focused on keeping my wings off the chopping block to really contemplate anything else. Even as Cedrych’s kept boy, I was constantly worried my luck wouldn’t last. I’d lived in the moment, never really planning for my future, never investing in myself. I supposed I was like my parents in that way.
“The one thing I know for certain is that I don’t want what I had before, to be bought with gifts or money.” I risked a glance at him, wondering if he’d be put off by my past, but he only nodded for me to continue. “But I like being here with you, listening to your hopes and dreams. You seem to have it all figured out.”
“Not even close,” he said with a good-natured grin. “But I like being here with you too.” He squeezed my hand, then brought my fingers to his lips where they lingered. Our eyes caught, and I wasn’t sure who moved first, but like a flame to dry tinder I was suddenly in his lap with my mouth on his, tasting the sweetness of the pear and the spice from the saffron stick we’d shared. His hand was on my back and his fingers brushed against my wings ever so gently.
