Comfort is only found by those able to pay for it. To think there is a creature that would see Arden's light snuffed out forever makes my heart race. The gnawing inside my stomach lashes out with claws and fangs at the thought of her being consumed along with the rest of her realm.
"My people used to live here." Her soft voice rises over the breeze, as if reading my thoughts. "The Void has made them all seek shelter closer to Glimmerveil, but there was a time when this part of Meadowmist was teeming with life beyond the animals."
A pair of rabbits with sparkling silver eyes scamper in front of our path. Both pause, lifting onto their back feet to scent the air. In tandem, they hop over to Arden, who sinks down onto the grass to pet their small heads. Her graceful fingers splay through their snow-white fur as they push their pink noses into her palm.
"It's beautiful," I whisper. "The human world doesn't have anything like this. If you ever managed to visit, Queenie, you'd be dreadfully underwhelmed."
Arden's lips curl as the rabbits disappear into the tall grass.
"It is fortunate that I am bound to this land. I’d hate to be disappointed."
I raise a brow.
"You can't leave?"
"I have no wish to." Her pink wings whip gently at her back. "This is my home. These are my subjects. I will save them, and if I cannot, I will be with them until the Deadlands claim us all."
I scrub a hand down my face. The skin of my cheek that had cushioned her magic all night burns.
"Most rulers I've met aren't as noble. They'd rather their subject die than ever leave the safety of their castles."
Pink brows pull low.
"No magic, uninteresting terrain, and weak leaders. It's a miracle you humans are able to survive."
I nudge her shoulder, careful not to ruin her skin with my stained shirt.
"Life back home will be boring now that I know a world like this exists." My eyes trace the lovely planes of her face. "That someone like you exists."
Arden breathes through her nose. Shaking her head, pink curls snag on the worn fabric of my shirt.
"Are all humans as fond of flirting as you are?"
My smile stretches until my cheeks ache.
"So you do know I'm flirting with you. I was beginning to think I lost my touch." I shrug. "Or perhaps your kind was not familiar with such attention."
"My kind flirts, Finn."
Arden's wing brushes against me.
"Has Elwood flirted with you?"
Arden frowns.
"I suppose."
"If you have to guess, he clearly wasn't very skilled at it."
"I don't wish to talk of Elwood."
My nod is sharp.
"Me neither. I wish to flirt with you some more."
"Do you speak to all females in this way?" she asks.
I purse my lips, not knowing how much of the truth to give.
