Everything was so bright and lively, and it was nothing for me to flow across the land at a velocity strange, yet comforting. Breandan took a sharp turn and I was pleased to see I was gaining, gliding across the ground at his side. A chuckle caught my ear. I had made him laugh, and a silly tide of happiness blazed through me. I grinned, and laughed, and sped up to leave him trailing behind. The floor yielded to every pound of my foot. Not a single branch snagged my hair or cut my skin because I didn't let it. I zipped and dodged, jumped and spun a trail in the undergrowth. I didn't know where I was running to, but it felt good to be in motion.
The air was heavy with a piquant scent that fizzed on my tongue. The silhouette of trees taller than any I'd seen rose high in the sky, and a few stars already winked down at me. I'm not a botanist, so all I can say is that there were plants. A big orgy of red, blues and purples scattered everywhere. The breeze was crisp and made everything sway in orderly chaos. The buzzing of insect and restless whining of beast punctured the dawn in harmonic beat.
I knew the moment Breandan's hand reached for mine. My skin tingled and like a magnet seeking its opposite, my hand moved to meet his. A light tug slowed me to a stop. I plucked a leaf from my hair and brushed a lick of dirt off my cheek. I could have continued this grooming session for a while since I felt twigs and thorns caught in my clothes and hair, but I was distracted.
Breandan stood still and let me roam my eyes over him. His profile was sharper somehow, and I pushed the hair out of my eyes to drink the strong column of throat that flowed into solid chest. His ears held my attention for a long while, couldn't say why, before my gaze slid over the straightness of his nose, and the strong planes of his cheek and forehead.
"Let's keep moving," he said. I stood still and he had to either tug me again or let go of my hand. He let go and sighed dramatically. "Stop being difficult. If you're not back at Temple soon, they'll be suspicious of you and it won't be safe there anymore."
He walked off and took no more than five steps before I felt an insistent tug, a niggling urge pushing me toward him. I suspected it had something to do with that painful heat I'd felt when he'd touched me skin to skin for the first time. He had a lot of explaining to do. Gritting my teeth, I started after him and reached out the same moment as he did to clasp hands. We trod a path of crunching leaves and snapping twigs. The breeze was sweetly fragrant and smelled of green things. It was quiet now apart from the sound of small furry things going about their business in the understory.
"Speak then," I said. "Don't go all shy on me."
"I'm a fairy."
I blinked and froze. The wind stirred fallen leaves and wrapped his words around me. A few words truly can take your breath away, or make you doubt your own mind. I walked on, not seeing, hearing or feeling.
I managed a sharp noise. "You must think I'm stupid or something. You want me to believe that you are one of the rarest species on the planet?"
He bit back a smile. "You believed I was a demon easily enough."
"Well, we are in demon territory. You hid from Clerics and only demons do that."
"You ran from Clerics."
He had me there. "Uh, we're not talking about me," I said hotly. "I'm not the smartest girl, but I'm not stupid either. I'll be just as impressed if you tell me you're a shifter or witch."
"What about me don't you believe?" he asked after a small pause.
I was on a sarcasm-high now. "Yeah, sure. I believe you. Lucky Rae see's two fairies, the one kind of demon that is nearly extinct. And she sees them within minutes of each other. Even though the odds of that are-"
"What did the other look like?"
"Uh, green skin and all this long fiery hair."
He made a clucking noise meant to sound cross, but he smiled radiantly, silver eyes faraway. "I told her to hide her true form."
The direction of my thoughts became hideously plain, and icy horror froze the blood in my veins.
"I'm guessing you know her?" I tried to keep the question casual but my voice sounded shrill.
"The fairy you saw is called Maeve. She's my little sister."
I stared at him, my lips becoming numb. "Sister," I whispered. "How can you know that? Aren't all of your females green with red hair?"
"Do all human females have light hair, eyes and skin? No, all fairies are unique, though, there are typical things like our pointed ears and sharp teeth." He must have figured I was having a simple moment. I didn't back chat like I usually would. "Don't worry," his voice was gentle. "Maeve is a force of good. She's been looking for you too, and she wouldn't hurt you. She's young and stealth is not her gift. She has skills with a blade not even Conall can match." There was a deep affection in his voice as he spoke of her.
I felt dirty for not saying something sooner and opened my mouth to speak. Those curls of fear sprung up in my belly, and lashed at my insides to silence me. I locked my jaw. No words seemed adequate enough to explain what had happened. Before I had been sad about what had happened to the fairy, even guilty. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't spooked the Clerics. They might have let her go. If I told him what happened, how I'd disturbed them and gotten his sister killed, what would he do to me?
Oh gods, I felt queasy. The stress was eating away at me, and I was wound up tight right down to my baby toes.
Then the outline of something big prowled past, ghosting through the trees. I forgot about Breandan, I forgot I'd seen his sister take a bullet to the chest, and forgot I was lost in demon territory as my entire body locked down. Blood rushed in my ears as the shadow trod a path parallel to where we stood. Breandan was calm and unmoved so I toughed it out, and stayed put.
It emerged from behind a tree a few paces away to cross our path. Black and freckled with flaxen rosettes, the big cat's emerald eyes with slitted black pupils, swept over us. The powerful build and handsome face were too brawny to be anything but male. Slinking to a stop, his ears pricked up and he looked me right in the eye. A wave of consciousness flashed across my skin, and for a beat I couldn't breathe.
He padded over, thick claws glinting and pressed into my legs. A soft growl rumbled in his throat and his whole body vibrated. I tensed then flexed my hand and let it drift down. As he pushed his wet nose into my palm the growl became a satisfied purr. The cat was warm and smelt musky. My fingers rubbed up the coarse hair behind his ears then smoothed it down. He nipped at my finger and I yelped. He twitched at the sound, and the long whiskers on his upper lip whistled as they cut through the air. Nudging the back of my knee he made a contented noise, tinged with almost an apology for startling me. His eyes lingered on mine, blinked at me then he sniffed the air and gathered his front and back paws together. Ears flat against his head, he paced forward and slinked lower.
I gasped, spotting a sable colored deer grazing within my line of sight, half hidden by a few dogwood trees. The cat's muscles bunched tightly before he sprung forward and bounded away. I didn't watch what happened to the deer after that.
Breandan watched me, head cocked thoughtfully.
I marveled at the short ebony hairs stuck on my fingertips. Evidence my encounter had been real. I trembled.
"Did that mean something to you?" I asked quietly.