by JK Ensley
“Oh, Kitten… purr for me.”
His breath upon her ear burned like fire and smelled enticingly like the most luxurious roses imaginable. It numbed her mind, addled her senses.
“Ahh, Maiden, I smell you. I smell your sweet temper boiling. I taste your fear. It is delicious beyond all reason. You are ripe, little kitty. I desire you almost past the point of controlling.”
“Do not… call… me… Kitten.”
She snapped her teeth at him. He chuckled.
“I will never take you or your vengeance for granted. I know you now, fair lady. I know your intense desire to harm me. It only makes me want you all the more. Now is not our time, no. But I will incessantly dream of the moment I get to free—and then tame—that most decadent fire burning deep within you. Oh, lovely maiden, how you make me tremble.”
Vareilious’s kiss was sudden and unexpected, but not forceful and impassioned. It was more like this terrifying sentry had kissed her thousands of times before and was thusly entitled to do so. The shock of his assumption to such entitlement with her was disgusting.
His kiss wasn’t like Alzeen’s. It felt more curious than passionate, like… he was exploring her. She shook her head violently, trying to free her imprisoned lips. He held her firm. She was going nowhere until he allowed it. And that made her hate swell all the more.
Jenevier could bear it no longer. She felt the warming surge start deep within her bones. It was foreign and uncontrollable. The intense burning sensation folded in on itself, growing stronger and stronger, until it suddenly burst forth from her raging marrow. She felt it leave her body. Then, she felt the vibrating shock when it landed solidly into her loathsome target.
The alien force emerged from her in a brilliant flash, pushing the enormous sentinel back. It slammed him hard against the wall. She was momentarily shocked. She had no idea where such energy, such raw power had come from. And she cared not.
“I hate you!”
Her charged words echoed, reverberating deafeningly across the mountain tops as the warrior’s buoyant laughter mirrored her cry.
“Vareilious, making new friends again, are we?”
Time instantly stopped…
Jenevier staggered. That gentle, magical voice ceased her racing heart. She knew it well. It had visited her countless times throughout her life. This was the voice of her make-believe childhood friend. It was the angelic accent of her very own conscience. It was the same voice in her head, the one she had always listened to and trusted the whole of her life. It was the unwavering voice of peace and love.
Chapter 39
Willow
(WILL-oh)
“Dinner was sublime. Please give my compliments to the talented cook, Miss Floria.”
Alastyn rubbed his overstuffed stomach as the little girl danced around his table playing peek-a-boo and giggling wildly.
“Oh, but you can’t be full yet. Willow’s bringing out your cobbler.”
“Oh, but I simply couldn’t take another bite.”
Willow approached the table carrying a steaming bowl of the deliciously pungent dessert and smiled as she proudly placed it in front of him.
“I make all the sweets,” she said.
He inhaled deeply. “Mmm, it smells divine.”
The voluptuous teen sat down across from him with her elbows on the table and her chin resting in her palms.
“I want to watch you take the first bite.”
Her ever-present smile was captivating.
“He’s stuffed, Willow,” Floria sang out, while she danced around them. “He can’t take another single bite.”
The happy little girl bounced away. Alastyn watched as Willow’s smile faded and she stood up. He reached for her.
“No, don’t go, Willow. I’ve been waiting for this part all night. I truly am stuffed full, but I cannot leave something this mouthwatering to go to waste.”
She turned back to the kindly young man. “It will taste just as incredible for breakfast.” She reached for the cobbler and he placed his hand over hers. “It’s okay, Alastyn. I’ll warm it and bring it to your room when you wake.”
“Willow?”
Her heart raced when he said her name.
“Yes?”
“Will you sit with me and talk for a while? I have much to ask, and I would enjoy your company as well.”
She tilted her head as she looked at him.
“Is something wrong?”
“No. Well yes, actually.” He blushed brightly. “I’ve never been here before and I don’t know the area or with whom I should speak.”
She smiled and sat down beside him, her heart fluttering like a tiny hummingbird. This man was so handsome he made her blush. She wanted to reach out and touch those gorgeous raven curls. She would have to risk the wrath of her mother if she accepted this wanted invitation. Glancing around at the emptying tables, Willow felt sure she wouldn’t soon be hearing shouts coming from the kitchen.
“Very well,” she said with a smile. “What do you want to know?”
Alastyn divulged a condensed version of his past few days, finishing with the part about Haven and the mysterious Elves.
Disappointment deflated her heart. “So, you want to know if I’ve seen any Elves?” She snorted out a laugh.
His cheeks flushed red. “No, that would be silly. I wanted to see how familiar the Elven tales were in these parts and glean any clue I may find in them.”
“Well, Floria would probably be much more help to you in the whole Elves and Tales category. She talks ceaselessly to everyone who travels through here. If they have a story, Floria has an ear.”
Willow removed the cooling bowl of scrumptious dessert and returned to the kitchen in a huff.
Alastyn was left all alone and horribly discouraged. He glanced over toward the younger sister and couldn’t help a gentle smile. Floria had curled up on a large pink cushion on the floor beside her throne and was slowly closing her weighted eyelids.
He sighed before walking outside, filling his lungs with the crisp Northern air. It worked to clear his head, yes, but his heart was fearful and lonely. Not since he was a boy—unable to reclaim his favorite toy from the older children—had he felt this tiny. Even though Ousten was a bustling town full of travelers and chatter, Alastyn felt he was the only soul left to roam this earth—in solitude, desperately searching for nothing more than a myth, a mere vapor on the blowing wind, an unattainable dream.
I have asked but one young girl. Tomorrow, I will refresh my purpose. I’ll question all who will speak with me. I never thought it would be easy, no. But I had wished for it to be so.
Feeling too much like a lost little boy, he headed back inside the Fuzzy Muzzle to his newly acquired sleeping quarters. As he rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, Alastyn literally bumped right into Willow.
“Oh, there you are.” Her beaming smile lit up the darkened hallway. “I was looking for you.”
Willow didn’t step back from their collision. She remained but a breath away. Alastyn chose not to retreat either, but he wasn’t sure exactly why. He could smell her daisy-scented hair and wondered if daisies grew in the snow.
Her voice dropped to a whisper as she absently played with the fastened buttons on his heavy winter coat.
“I was wondering if you still wanted me to heat your pie and bring it to you in the morning?”
“Yes, I do. But only if you promise to provide me with your charming company during such a delectable breakfast as blackberry cobbler.”
Alastyn playfully twisted the shiny red ribbon tying back her silky hair. Oh dear gods, what am I doing? He released her hair ribbon and started to step back, but didn’t.
Her sweet smile widened. “Is that so?”
He swallowed hard. “Yes, Milady, that is so.”
“I must say… I am a bit surprised.”
Not as surprised as I am, he thought.
“Very well, then. I’ll be there… bright and early.”
“What was that just now?” he mumbled to himself, shaking his head. “What did I just do? And… why did I do it?”
*****
The gentle knock came just as the sun began to lighten the horizon. Alastyn stumbled to the door and was pleased to find a smiling Willow carrying a tray with two steaming bowls of sweet bliss.
“May I?” she asked.
He yawned. “I would be offended if you didn’t.”
They spent the better part of an hour eating, laughing, and talking about absolutely nothing of importance at all. The lost little boy who had fallen asleep on this oversized bed, now had a comforting companion with the magical ability to take away his gnawing uncertainty and terrifying loneliness.
“I’m sorry I was so rude to you last night,” she confessed. “I mean, you were going on and on talking about this beautifully enchanting maiden—”
“Jenevier.”
“Yes, Jenevier. Your eyes were sparkling and your smile was so genuine and full…” She paused.
“Yes?” he prodded.
“Well, I became a bit jealous. And, I didn’t handle it very well.”
Alastyn didn’t try to hide his shock. “Jealous?”
“Yes. I thought you wanted me to sit with you for reasons other than to tell me how blissfully angelic some other girl was.”
“Why, Willow? You are a very lovely young woman. I’m certain sparkling eyes and full smiles are rabidly contagious when you walk down the street.”
“Perhaps, but nothing close to yours. I could see the love all over your face. You were as light as air—glowing inside, as you spoke of her and remembered her so fondly. It was obvious to anyone, you truly love her.”
He stared off into the distance. “That’s because… I do.”
“But how? How can you love her so deeply? You only knew her but for a moment.”
“It was a moment like no other, Willow—a magical mixture of her lovely face, coupled with her soft laugh. Then… her trembling touch, the way her eyes sparkled, and her unimaginably intoxicating scent.” He sighed. “These things all exist without creditably describable words. Yet, there was more. It wouldn’t have mattered what she looked like on the outside. It was something else entirely. Something… something unexplainable happened when our eyes met.”
Willow looked away, swallowing hard. “And does she return this great love?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“And if not?”
“Then, I cannot change how I feel about her… no matter where her heart now lies. Love isn’t something you can simply exchange or return to another out of obligation, Willow. Real love is felt deeply and earnestly, whether it is requited or not. I cannot go back and unlove Jenevier. Such would be an impossible feat.” He snorted softly. “I could sooner pull down the heavens than deny her my heart. She is my destiny, Willow. I feel it with every ounce of my being. Whether I spend the rest of my life wanting her love, or sharing in it with her… I cannot change my heart.”
“I would boldly face a thousand demons to be loved so,” she whispered.
He smiled at her. “You will be, one day.”
“I don’t think so. I’ve never even heard of love such as this. It must be a rare thing indeed. So, that’s why I was jealous and behaved so badly. I wanted a place inside that chaste heart you poured out to me last night. I wanted just a tiny taste of that magical love you described.”
A tear ran down her rosy cheek. Alastyn wiped it away.
“Come now. Don’t cry, Willow. You are so beautiful. I am truly flattered I even caught your eye. You are worth more than a hundred other maidens I’ve met. You, Milady, are a radiant beauty in this cold, dreary place.”
She finally gave in to her curious desire and touched his loose black curls. Alastyn wiped the tears from her face and took her chin in his hand.
“Never again let me see you shed such tears for nothing more than imagined inadequacies, lovely lady. You have none. If my heart were still mine, I would freely entrust it to you.”
“Is the whole of your heart taken?”
“Yes,” he whispered. “Every last inch of it.”
Willow moved closer to him, her sweet breath warming his lips as she spoke. “Not even a teeny tiny little sliver is left for me to squeeze into?”
“Please do not tempt me so, Willow. I am but a man. A man who feels abandoned, left all alone in this world… for now.”
“So, you are tempted?”
“Of course I am tempted, Willow. I desire comfort and companionship. As do we all. But my heart is no longer mine to give. I would only hurt you, use you for my own selfish needs. You are too worthy a woman for such useless feelings as mine.”
She took his hands and placed them just above her ample breasts. “My aching heart beats within. It races, but is near to crumbling. Can you not feel it?”
“…I can.” His whisper was strained, heated.
“I have never given it to another, Alastyn. It is all mine—pure and perfect and unfettered. And… I freely offer it to you now.”
He reluctantly pulled away. “No. Why would you do this, Willow? I cannot repay such an extravagant gift, and I do not deserve it. I have told you the truth of my heart. You are indeed offering your most splendid of all treasures to a truly unworthy recipient.”
“Yours is not the only heart that can be magically struck by love’s painful arrow at but a glance.” She gently cupped his cheeks in her hands. “Last night, you walked into my life and sent my world spinning out of control. I cannot deny my feelings, my desires, or my growing worship. That is one curse I feel we are destined to share.”
“Please stop, Willow. I beg you. Don’t do this.”
“Very well.” She sighed and stood up. “I am finished, Alastyn. I will not tempt you further. I only wanted you to know what you have unintentionally done to my soul.”
“…Willow.”
“Still… I must ask you this one thing before I go.” She paused and glanced down at her fingernails, fidgeting.
“Yes, Milady?”
“Well…” She took a deep breath. “I need you to tell me… what it is you would have done, Alastyn? Tell me how you would have felt.”
“Concerning what, Milady?”
“Concerning your heart.” She sighed before once again meeting his emerald gaze. “Tell me true, Alastyn. Would you have been able to go on… if your lovely Jenevier had not returned your passionate feelings in- kind?”
“…Willow.”
“Please.” She grabbed his hands. “Please, tell me. This is the answer I must needs know.”
Chapter 40
Jenevier
(ZHEN-ah-veer)
She was frozen in a defensive position. Her tiny fists were still clutching Vareilious’s clothing where the massive energy had exploded from her, lending her the power to press this giant into the wall and hold him there. She wanted desperately to run away. Yet that familiar, miraculous voice had rendered Jenevier completely immobile.
Am I breathing? Did he kill me? I don’t think I’m breathing. What just happened? How did I expel energy from my very bones? And, how is that voice here? Why does it have a body? Who does it belong to?
Her thoughts ran wild. The only movement she could even manage from her unresponsive body was to slowly unclench her fingers. The massive Vanir’s clothing fell from her hands. She watched in slow motion as the subtle cloth landed upon Vareilious’s sculpted chest. Only her eyes moved, her gaze gradually scanning up the angelic form of her handsome nemesis. Those leaking blue orbs of hers finally found their target. She was met with a sadistic grin and a taunting wink.
The paralyzing spell the enchanting voice had cast over her was broken. Her hatred and fear welled into extreme panic. She was free, yet trapped. She wanted desperately to turn her head and visualize the embodied owner of her inner accent. She longed to see his face, yet dared not move.
Vareilious’s bicep twitched, ever so slightly, an instant before he lifted his powerful arm. Nestled within her extremely heightened state, Jenevier moved with speed she did not truly possess. She effortlessly spun her body, swinging the heel of her foot up, striking the ethereal giant with a crashing blow to his masterfully carved nose. Within the same fluid movement, she leapt from the sparkling crystal balcony and blindly ran into the dense forest surrounding the hallowed arena. She now needed, and longed for, her familiar comforting voice to return to her, lead her in the right direction.
Bloody hell! Bloody hell! Bloody hell! Which way? Which way? Oh god!
She knew she had no hope of outrunning or outfighting Vareilious. He would catch her. She shuddered at the images playing out before her, revealing all the creative punishments the ferocious warrior would bring upon her. She darted to the right just as the vise-like arms wrapped around her waist, sweeping her up through the treetops and out into the open sky.
She fought frantically. Jenevier knew the tiny blow she’d landed on the enormous sentinel had served only to ignite his fury. He would definitely make her pay. She could feel her slow, methodical death approaching as the glowing dome came nearer and nearer.
“No! Let me go, you giant freak,” she hissed. “Kill me now. For if I survive, I swear I shall see you dead.”
Struggling within the sparkly massive arms, she tried to again summon forth the strength and power that infuriating sentinel had only just awakened within her. Nothing came.
“Oh, how I hate you.” She spat her words through gritted teeth as tears of anger burned her eyes. “You disgust me.”
“Ahh, but we have yet to even be properly introduced, lovely maiden. I’m really not that bad of a guy. Will you not give me a chance to show you?”
That precious, familiar voice whispering in her ear rocked her to her very core. She quit her feeble struggles, falling limp, staring straight ahead as the unmistakable form of the angelic Vareilious came into view.
