“Are there any other creatures I should know about?” she demands.
“Several.”
Her shoulders tense.
I let the silence stretch just long enough to make her suspicious before I add teasingly, “Believe me, my beautiful mate, most of them would be far more frightened of your wrath than you are of them.”
She snorts softly despite herself.
Victory.
She turns back to me again, her brow furrowed. “Have you ever seen someone get taken by a Kelpie?” she asks a bit hesitantly. “Is that why you were so concerned?”
I was worried because she is more important to me than anything. After losing my parents, my greatest fear became losing the people I love. But I don’t know how to tell her that without making her uncomfortable.
She knows my parents were killed by Trolls, but I didn’t explain what fully happened because the memory is something I do not linger on… not if I can help it.
“Well?” she asks, pulling my attention back to her.
“I’ve not seen someone hurt by a Kelpie,” I admit. “But I learned early in life never to let down my guard, even if I suspect something is relatively safe.”
“What do you mean?”
“I told you that my parents were killed by Trolls, but I didn’t tell you how it happened.” I clench my jaw as the echoes of remembered pain move through me. “My mother and several others were captured while traveling through the woods along the border of the Troll territories.”
I swallow against the knot in my throat. “We declared war on their people, and I rode with my father into battle, to help free them… to get her back. Naively, I thought we would rescue her. That it would be a victory story we'd tell for years, but when we got there, they had already killed her.”
I close my eyes briefly against the sadness. “Our people eventually defeated the Trolls, but at great cost. I lost my father in battle.”
“Oh, Auren, I’m so sorry.” She gently squeezes my arm, around her waist. “I can’t imagine how terrible that must have been.”
Unable to speak, I nod. After a moment, I find my voice again. “When I lost them, it made me realize that I should never take things for granted. Anything can happen in the blink of an eye, and your entire world can change in an instant.”
“That’s why you were worried about me drowning,” she murmurs, and I nod.
She looks at me, concern etched in her features. “I understand why you were worried, but… you cannot live your life in fear, Auren.” She shakes her head. “I’ve seen what it’s done to my father—the fear of losing me and Aldric. Trust me: you don’t want to live that way.”
“I understand what you are saying.” I sigh heavily. “I know that life is too short and too uncertain to hold it at arm's length.So I try to enjoy each day as it comes, but to also be mindful of the world around me.”
I meet her gaze evenly. “I won’t allow fear to dictate my actions, but I will always do what I can to protect those I love. And I try to honor my parents—to live in such a way that they would be proud of the man I’ve become. At least… I hope they would be.”
Gently, she squeezes my hand again. “That starving family at the gates the first day of our travels,” she begins quietly. “You didn't hesitate. You didn't look around to see if anyone was watching. You just… gave.” Vivienne pauses. “I believe your parents would have been proud of you, Auren.”
“Thank you.” Tears sting my eyes, but I hold them back. “That means more than you know.”
She hesitates a beat before adding, “Thank you for watching over me. It… makes me feel safe when you’re around.”
Pride swells my chest even as I blink at her, shocked by her words.
“But don’t let it go to your head,” she says primly. “I’m not some helpless maiden who needs her big, strong Elf husband to do everything for her.”
I arch a brow. “You think I’m big and strong?”
A pink blush spreads across her face even as she gives me a haughty look. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I think it was, my darling wife.” A smile quirks my lips as I flex one arm to show off my biceps, and wink.
She stops short of rolling her eyes. “You’re incorrigible,” she huffs, and I bark out a laugh.
