Tangled Heart

by Zenina Masters

  She just wasn’t sure that he was for her.

  Chapter Four

  When Aster walked down to the lobby the following morning at dawn, Huron was waiting for her.

  “You look lovely this morning.”

  She gave him a dark look. “I see you have invited him to breakfast.” She referred to his inner inhabitant.

  Huron’s face darkened. “He has more experience with females than I do.”

  He extended his hand to her. Aster slid her fingers along his and curled them around his. He smiled.

  The dawn outside was just creeping over the horizon as they walked to the café and took their seats.

  Huron asked her, “How did you make your way in the human world?”

  Aster waited until she got her coffee, and then, she added milk and sugar before sipping. “Money. I asked the forests for old mines where I walked. I located gemstones and precious metals, I contacted friends in the fey, and they assisted me in exchanging the items for funds and a human identity. From there, I had a friend help me with a business plan, and I opened a plant nursery.”

  Huron smiled. “You stayed with what you knew.”

  “I stayed with what I could make successful. I became a legal fey citizen and opened my business.” She chuckled. “The plants are the same. They are excited to be worshiped where they are planted.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “Worshiped?”

  “A purchased tree is worshiped and attended for its first five years. That gives them enough energy to keep them growing into fine, strong beings.”

  He chuckled.

  She wrapped her fingers around the mug and took a deep breath. “How is my tree?”

  Huron looked at her, and he inclined his head. “She is fine. She does not speak, but her trunk is thick, her bark is rough, and she reaches high into the heavens.”

  Aster exhaled in relief. “That is good to know. I have missed her.”

  “Why have you not returned for a visitation?”

  The server came up, and she smiled. “What can I get for you?”

  “Eggs and bacon, over easy, white toast, and fruit salad.”

  Huron was surprised. “You eat meat?”

  “Over three hundred years away from my tree, I eat a lot of things that she wouldn’t approve of.”

  He smiled and ordered steak and eggs with toast, and a fruit salad.

  “You eat meat as well?”

  “My adopter had it as part of his diet, so he introduced me, and I understand the process now. A human body requires a caloric intake that can only be achieved in large bursts of consumption instead of constant grazing if one is to live as a human in the wild.”

  Aster smiled. “You still live out in the woods?”

  “My adopter has a cabin near my territory. I have evening meals with him, and I give him information on the plants and animals in the territory. I also assist him in finding lost campers and hikers.”

  “Would you like to walk in the human world?”

  He sighed and shook his head. “Perhaps the edges of it. There is too much metal and artificial stone for me.”

  She chuckled. “It is not for everyone. I live outside of an inhabited area. The fringes are far more comfortable.”

  “I would agree. There has been a town that sprouted about fifty miles from your tree. They are constantly providing folk who get lost while hunting.” He quirked his lips.

  “Oh, you like to play with them.”

  “I do. Once I realized that I could not die from a gunshot, it was rather fun to taunt them.”

  “You did not always know what you were?”

  “No. I was convinced that I was my father’s child, even though I remembered our first meeting.”

  Aster nodded. “I remember my mother, but she began to fade as I grew.”

  “Was that difficult?”

  “The Silent Wood was drawing in on itself. The humans were coming. There was nothing left for me if I wanted to grow, so I dug up my tree and came to the new continent.”

  “Where you planted your tree in my territory.”

  She made a face and leaned back as the food arrived. “Yes. That was not one of my brighter moves.”

  He grinned, and together, they went to work on breakfast.

  A few minutes in, he asked, “What would you eat if you were with your tree?”

  “If I was just green and wandering around? Leaves. Berries. I would be fed by my tree.”

  “Ah. When I am in my four-footed form, I am fed by the land around me.”

  “Yes, rather like that. The world and light that feeds the tree feeds me.” She gestured to her plate. “I have had to make lifestyle changes.”

  He sighed. “Become my mate, and you will have access to your tree again.”

  She blinked. “Well, that is kind of sudden.”

  “I am blackmailing you for your tree. It is not ideal, but I can’t see another means by which we can both get what we want.”

  Aster forked up a strawberry. “Blackmail? I believe the word you are looking for is a hostage situation.”

  He waved that off. “Whatever. I can’t give it to you unless you are part of me, and that can’t happen unless you agree to be my mate.”

  “I will think about it, but I think we should spend more time together as ourselves.”

  His eyes brightened. “Really? Your form is magnificent.”

  She blushed. “And you are tall with a very wide rack. Well done there.”

  He chuckled. “It is awkward to compliment me.”

  “Why don’t we ask Dira where we could go for a walk without interfering with anyone else? I believe she would know.”

  He nodded. “That sounds great.”

  She chuckled. “Fine, now eat your fruit salad. This is going to be a long day.”

  “Yes, mistress.”

  Aster sighed and ate the rest of her fruit salad while she tried to figure out her next move. He was handsome in this form, but he seemed young, though he had to be in his thirties.

  “How old is your body?”

  Huron smiled. “Twenty-seven according to my father.”

  She winced. “Okay, so I am going to have to reduce the age of my aspect.”

  “Why? You are stunning.”

  “The society is going to be fascinated by you, by us. The Crossroads is going to be a trial run for passing you off as an ancient fey.”

  “You have a plan?” There was recognition in his gaze that he knew what she was working on.

  “I have a plan. Today will be the primary test.”

  “Does it begin now?”

  “It begins after we get the location from Dira of where we can be private.”

  He grinned and paid for their meals. “You are doing all the scheming. It is the least I can do.”

  She nodded. “Okay. Shall we go?”

  He nodded.

  They got up, and when they were out of the café, she linked arms with him, and they walked back to bed and breakfast.

  Dira was sitting with the guests and platters of food, and carafes of coffee and tea were flying around the room toward the other guests.

  “Excuse me, Dira. May I have a moment?”

  Dira excused herself from her conversation and came around to Aster. “What can I do for you?”

  “We need a place where we can be ourselves and let the power flow. Confining ourselves isn’t the best way to find a dialogue.”

  Dira smiled. “I understand. Give me a few minutes, and I will arrange something.”

  Aster led Huron into the sitting room, and they sat and waited.

  Dira joined them in the promised few minutes with a scroll. “If you are in your full power forms, you should be able to get to the end of this path in three hours.”

  Aster grinned. “I haven’t done that for a very long time.”

  Huron blinked. “The full power form?”

  Aster sighed.
“Let the god wear you.”

  “Ah. That I can do.”

  They unrolled the map and looked at the path. It seemed straightforward but long.

  Aster looked at him. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

  He shrugged. “I do.”

  She got up and held the map. “Right, well, I am going to need to be appropriately attired. So, stripping on the front porch, it is.”

  Dira grinned. “I will put your clothing in your rooms.”

  Huron trailed after Aster as she walked to the front porch, and he stood by with his eyes wide as she stripped to the skin and turned her skin a rich and vibrant green.

  Aster stretched and let the leaves that lurked under her skin come out and wrap around her. She wore her origin in ancient colours, and then, she turned to Huron, and she whispered in the language of leaves. “Your turn.”

  Huron pulled his shirt off over his head, unbuckled his belt, kicked off his shoes, and peeled off his socks with his jeans.

  Aster blinked slightly at the lean ridges of muscle under the taut skin. There was a surprising lack of body hair, but that was the side effect of choosing a form by eye.

  He straightened and smiled. “I had better not do this on the porch. He hasn’t been fully out for quite some time.”

  She inclined her head and waved for him to step down. He cleared the building and stood on the grass before there was a thick shimmer, and the waves of power were coming off him.

  Dira whistled low. “Haven’t seen one of those in a while.”

  Aster murmured, “A naked elk? Do they wear pants here or something?”

  “Funny. Your language skills have slipped.”

  Aster chuckled and continued in the language of leaves, “I wear the language of this form. Huron can understand me.”

  She picked up the map and looked at the crowd that was forming on the deck and on the street beyond. “We will leave now.”

  Aster approached him, and she looked up and up. She took the map in her teeth, and she climbed up and settled on the hump of his back. She sat side-saddle. There was no way she was wrapping her thighs around a hairy god.

  She settled down and looked through the twelve-foot horn span. She whispered to him. “Shall we go?”

  He lifted and dropped the mossy head and took his first steps. The thud of power was amusing to Aster, and Dira was behind them doing damage control on the rampant greenery that was blooming and twisting behind them.

  Every footprint had a rare species blooming in it. Dira might notice it or might not, but it was going to happen.

  Aster felt like a wilderness Lady Godiva, but since she was covered with her hair and the leaves she had grown, she felt fairly comfortable with what she looked like.

  They paced past the watchers, and she kept her gaze forward, toward the path that they needed to follow.

  It is good to see you again, mistress.

  She paused and thought about her answer. It is nice to see you as well. You have grown.

  Huron has made me markedly stronger, as have the years between our last meeting and now.

  We did not truly meet. I was pushed away. You have my tree.

  She is in my lands, yes. She gives me power.

  I know. I felt it the moment I sent her roots into the soil. I need to see her.

  Become my mate, and you will have access to your tree any time you wish.

  She smacked the ridge on his back. Why are you holding that above me?

  It is the only way. I have set up heavy protections around to keep the humans out. There is no way for you to enter without becoming part of me.

  Shit.

  I do regret your pain, but you are correct. It is not the ideal situation.

  She watched the map and their heading, adjusting their course with a tap on his shoulder. Ideal situation? No, it definitely was not. It was a good thing she had hours to think it over, hours with her skin fully exposed to the light of the Crossroad’s sun.

  Chapter Five

  Their walk had taken them past the path to the Isthmus and past the path to the Aerie. The kingdom was off in a different direction.

  When she realized where Dira had sent them, she laughed. “We are going to the edge of the Crossroads.”

  Why would she send us here?

  Aster insisted on talking out loud. “Because if we are out here and we mate, the resulting magic will be of benefit to the Crossroads itself. We are paying for our keep.”

  Ah. That makes sense. Will we mate? Huron is very interested in the answer.

  “We might. Do you see that cabin? Aim for that.”

  There was a slightly more brisk movement to his steps.

  The cabin was sitting on the horizon, in a blank field with the basest of meadow grasses. There were no trees, there was nothing. Not yet. Dira was very clever.

  Aster slid from Huron’s back, and she stretched. A glance back at the way they had come showed the distinct pathway that had been left by the marks of his hooves. Wildflowers were bright and made a clear path back to the Crossroads.

  She wriggled her toes in the grass. It felt good to just be herself again. It had been a very long time.

  The giant elk next to her shimmered, and Huron was standing next to her. He smiled. “You look lovely in that shade of green.”

  She smiled. “Thank you. Your human-seeming is very pleasing as well.”

  He blushed. “Thank you.”

  “I believe Dira has left us a meal then we can discuss what our plans for the future are.”

  She opened the cabin door, and a meal was set for two on the table. Both servings were vegetarian by the smell. “She has decided to err on the side of caution. The food has no meat.”

  He sighed. “It still smells good.”

  She stepped aside, and he followed her in, waiting until she was seated before he took his own chair.

  “Do you get cold like that?” Huron asked it after they had been eating for a few minutes.

  “No. I am impervious to cold. I just don’t move as quickly.”

  When they finished, he collected their dishes and put them on the sideboard, returning to his chair. “What did you mean, the future?”

  “I mean, what are your hopes for your territory? I have been living among humans, and I now know how to keep them from my lands.”

  “Keeping them away would be good. The hunters... stopping the hunters would be ideal. I cannot be everywhere at once, and sometimes, I do not arrive in time to save my charges.”

  “Ah, I have a few ideas to stop that. We will require a few investors, but the effect on the land will be minimal.”

  “What kind of effect?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “In recent years, there has been a motion to provide green burials for the humans. They wish to return to the earth as they did in the past. So, if we gain a few investors with high enough status, we can purchase the land from the government, use it as a green burial site, and book burials for humans, shifters, and fey for the foreseeable future. That will render the land inviolate, so we only need to gain it from the government, and I can help with that.”

  “How?”

  “I am a registered dryad. I simply need to take a picture of me with my tree. My kind is dying out, so we are being given the land where our trees are rooted.”

  He gave her a narrow-eyed look. “Have you already registered?”

  “I have, but I need to prove it is my tree by stepping into it in front of witnesses.”

  “Ah. I see.”

  She nodded and wrinkled her nose. “Right. So making the land safe is just a matter of me getting there.”

  Huron nodded. “Will you be my mate?”

  “Why do you just keep asking me like that?”

  “It has been on his mind—my mind—as long as I can remember. I know you, your green limbs, and the spark in your eyes. Your tree spoke highly of you but agreed that I needed her more at the time.”
r />   “She said that?”

  “She did. You were young, strong, and your bond had not made separation impossible. She wanted me to tell you, but I could not yet speak. I had no languages.”

  “Ah. So, you really did just rise.”

  “There had once been people there, and I was awake for them, but I slept when they left me. When you arrived, I woke again.”

  She smiled. “I felt it. I felt you.” She got to her feet. “I would like to go for a walk outside.”

  “Why? There is nothing to see.”

  “Say that again once I am outside.”

  He caught on and bolted to his feet. He was upright all over.

  She grinned and led him into the afternoon sun. Taking him as mate? She wondered about it and shrugged. He had her tree, and she seemed to have his heart. She wished she could have spoken to his shifter guardian, but he was as far away as the sun was overhead.

  When he stepped up next to her, she took his hand. “So, I know that I can offer you an attachment and understanding of the human world, but what can you offer to me?”

  She turned until she was facing him, and she brushed her fingers over his neck, moving down to his shoulders and across his chest.

  He frowned. “I can offer you your tree. He will offer you life unending.”

  She chuckled and leaned forward to kiss his chest. “There is no such thing as life unending, only a long life. Trees die, gods fade, even the fey surrender to time.”

  “He will keep you with him through all the millennia.” Huron’s voice was slightly high.

  “Will he? What of the children?”

  He wrapped his hands around her biceps. “Children? Gods do not have children.”

  She chuckled. “Dryads can. The shifter he chose as a vessel can. So, with a mate, there will be children.”

  A glance down showed the eager pearl of fluid at the head of Huron’s cock.

  “He is in favour of it. There are many lands that need protection.”

  She nodded and nipped his skin. “What about the dryads that I will plant and raise. Will he give safety to them?”

  Huron was surprised. “Of course. Anything that grows from the great oak will be welcomed.”

  Aster looked up into Huron’s sincere eyes. “As fun as our first time standing up would be, I don’t think your legs are up for it. Lie down.”