by Twyla Turner
A happy smile spread across my lips. As exhausting as it was, I hadn’t felt that much exhilaration in centuries.
“If you can make it through it, Immy, so can I. So can I.”
Chapter 19
Rafe
Night had fallen within the forest. Bonfires blazed once again and cast a golden glow on the revelers surrounding them. The Pixies’ colorful lights bounced around as they fluttered happily about the gathering. Music played from quickly thrown together instruments. The dwarves were a resourceful bunch. And in the middle of it all was Immy.
Earlier in the day, after announcing that we’d defeated the Alpanians, the dwarves had been happy and relieved, yet somber for those who they had lost. We held an informal ceremony for those who had passed on to Elysium. Bertie spoke a few words, and I watched as Immy swiped away a few tears that ran unchecked down her round cheeks. I knew she was probably thinking of her parents.
Now, I watched her as she celebrated with the dwarves and the three other faeries. We’d had our moment of mourning, and now it was time to revel in our victory and honor the lives that had moved on to a better place.
Immy danced on the makeshift dance floor with several others. She was bent forward as she looped her arm with a robust dwarf man and they skipped round and round to the music. Her face was lit up with laughter. Her full lips were turned up in a sweet smile. The firelight danced in her amber eyes. Her nose crinkled as she laughed at something Wakeley said, drawing attention to her dusting of freckles. And her wild fiery hair was a cloud of curls that bounced as she danced. She was breathtaking and smart and brave. And feistier than a disgruntled gnome.
If we got out of this journey alive, the thought of losing her anyway when she goes back to Earth, made my chest tighten a little. Even if she could stay and she did actually have feelings for me, no faery had ever brought a human to Empyrean to live the rest of their lives together. No human at all had been to Empyrean. And I was the faery prince. Was it even allowed? I’d never felt anything for any of the faery girls. I had even started to worry because I literally knew every girl in Faerien City. And if I had no feelings for any of them, if none of them was my lifemate, then who would I take to be my mate when it was time? But now, I have all these feelings for a human girl that I should have for a faery girl? How could it possibly work?
I ran an agitated hand through my hair and saw that my imprints on my hand and arm had darkened to indigo in my confused mood.
“Come on, Rafe. What are you doing over here, all by yourself?” Immy called out as she skipped over to where I was seated. Parts of her lovely curvaceous body bounced that I tried to ignore as I forced my eyes up to hers. “Come dance with us!”
She held out her hands, and I reached up to take them. As soon as I touched her, shockwaves pulsed up my arms, and the color of my imprints rippled like waves and changed from indigo to azure and back again. It had never done that before, and though I knew what it meant, I wasn’t ready to think about it just yet. I didn’t really have time to ponder it anyway because she pulled me up to my feet. She took my hand and led me into the group of revelers.
Immy’s cheeks were flushed with pleasure as she danced around me. I turned, trying to follow her movements. She laughed, and I grinned back at her.
“Why were you being a party-pooper?” She asked with a mock pout. Her plump bottom lip with that one freckle stuck out like a little kid’s pouting. “We won! We made it through our first gauntlet! You should be celebrating, not looking like we lost.”
“I just wanted to watch for a while. To let it all sink in.” I explained though I knew there was more to it than that. She didn’t need to know that, though.
“Well, I hope it’s all sunk in now. Because it’s time to celebrate!” She grinned up at me. “You know, I’ve always hated parties. I’ve never fit in or felt comfortable. This is my second party on Empyrean, and I’ve had the time of my life at both of them. I wonder why that is?”
“Maybe you didn’t belong there. M-Maybe you belong here.” I said hopefully.
“And what exactly, would I do here if I stayed?” She asked with hands on her hips, pausing her dancing for a moment.
Be with me. I frowned. Where in Hades did that come from? I definitely liked her, but… But, what?
I shook my head of my thoughts, and I pulled Immy into my arms to dance, as the music changed to a slower melody. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But for now…let’s just dance.”
I began to position her for a formal dance. Arms raised, one hand at her waist. She apparently had other plans. Immy pulled down my hand that held hers aloft, and then she placed it on the other side of her waist.
“I’ll show you how we dance on Earth. Well…when no adults are around.”
She guided both of my hand further around her waist, to where they rested at the base of her spine. Dangerously close to her backside. Immy raised her arms up and wrapped her hands behind my neck. Her soft, warm body pressed flush against mine, and we swayed back and forth. Please, don’t react… Please, don’t react. I told my body internally. My heart began to beat out a fast and steady rhythm. I almost died of embarrassment when she laid the side of her head on my chest, knowing she could hear the erratic beat of my heart. It didn’t help that the blood my heart was thrumming out was headed straight towards the southern region of my body, filling parts of my body I didn’t want filled. Though, Immy didn’t seem to notice or acknowledge the hardness pressed against her belly.
We stayed like that for a while, until the music picked up the pace once more, relieving me of the torture of her soft body pressed against mine. Immy slowly lifted her head from my chest. She looked up at me and my heart tripped over itself as I stared back. Her face, her mouth were so close that if I just leaned down a few inches, my lips would be on hers.
Her smooth brown skin glowed in golden tones against the firelight. I watched her amber eyes trail down my face and land on my lips. She licked hers and then bit her bottom lip. My already painful erection jumped. I began my descent down to her soft mouth and her lips opened in anticipation. My lips were centimeters away from hers when she was whipped away, pulled into a line of happy dancers that were weaving through the camp. Immy turned and looked back at me. It was a look of both relief and regret. Then she turned back and laughed as she skipped off with the other dancers.
I sighed deeply before Saffi pulled me into the winding conga line. The revelry continuing into the night.
Chapter 20
Imogen
I woke up with a splitting headache. It felt as if my brain was thumping against my skull, in the same rhythm of the drums, the dwarves had been beating on the night before, mocking me. Before the dancing had begun the previous night, we’d eaten a celebratory feast that the dwarves threw together. And they’d passed around some yummy drink that I guzzled down. Little did I know that it was some powerful dwarf-made ale.
No wonder I was so flirtatious with Rafe. I sat up and rubbed at my temples. A hazy memory of Rafe’s azure blue eyes staring at my mouth like he was hungry for a pork chop, danced across my mind. Nah! I had to have imagined it.
No, you didn’t imagine it. There were definitely some sparks flying between you two. Daegan chimed in, and I cocked my head to the side to give him the stink eye.
He was lying beside me as usual. He was quickly becoming my safe haven. My best friend. Thoughts of losing my best friend when I had to go back to Earth made my chest hurt, and I shook my head to get rid of the sad thought. I realized too late that that was a mistake when the throbbing in my head intensified.
Never. Again! From now on, I’ll be sure to ask what I’m drinking before I take a sip. I groaned. Thank the Lord, I only had one cup. Or I’d be like that guy. I thought and jerked my thumb in the direction of a distant tree.
One of the dwarves was bent over with the tree holding him up. The sounds of him puking reached our ears, and we both looked at each other and scrunched up our faces in sym
pathetic disgust. Daegan’s disgusted face was more of a pulling back of the lips and exposing his huge horse teeth. The face so unexpected that laughter bubbled up in my throat and exploded through my lips before I could catch it. And once it was let loose, I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I clutched my stomach and fell over in a fit of giggles.
Unfortunately, my suddenly jovial mood woke up the entire camp. Startled, Rafe sat up abruptly and looked around. His blue-black hair stood up on one side of his head, which didn’t help my sudden silly mood. I laughed even harder, and Daegan joined in at the expense of the disheveled blue faery. I could barely breathe I was laughing so hard.
“Well someone certainly woke up in a good mood,” Bertie commented as she sat up groggily.
I squeezed my lips together in an attempt to stifle my giggles. “Sorry,” I said contrite when I finally contained my laughter. The pressure on my head from laughing so hard threatened to split my brain in two.
“I got something for what ails you.” Bertie offered when she saw my wince of pain. I watched as she took out some dried leaves from a pouch that was tied to her thick waist. She placed them in a mug, filled it with water from a canteen, and placed it over the still burning embers of the fire from last night. After a few minutes, she gave me the steaming concoction. “Here, this will help with your headache and upset stomach if you’re feeling like you’re gonna be sick.” She said kindly.
“Thank you, Bertie.” I took the brew and drank it gladly. Anything to help the throbbing. It didn’t taste completely awful, so I drank it all down within minutes.
“You’ll be fitter than a fiddle, in just a few minutes.” Bertie winked at me.
“Well then, you might want to give some of that magic potion to that guy over there.” I pointed to the dwarf that had been puking his brains out. He wasn’t throwing up anymore, but he still looked pretty wrecked, and I had to stifle my laughter as I felt it bubble up once more.
Bertie busied herself with making another hangover drink for the poor man as Daegan, and I stood up and stretched. Rafe and the other three faeries walked over to us. Luckily Rafe had smoothed down his wild bedhead before approaching us, or I’m sure I would’ve lost it again.
“It’s time for us to move on to Älva Mountain. It's further north, away from Unicris and Mermaid Cove.” Rafe announced.
“What’s Älva Mountain?” I asked.
“It’s the mountains where the elves live. Älva means elf in Swedish.” Saffi answered. Always ready to educate with her knowledgeable mind.
“Really? You guys know Swedish?”
“We know every language on Earth. Our legends and myths extend far beyond just your country.” Saffi informed me.
“I guess that makes sense.” I nodded my agreement. “So, is there any specific reason we need to stop there?” I looked to Rafe.
“Remember what the Oracle said? That we needed to go see the elves to ask for their help? The elves have a powerful army, and we just might need them. So we’re going to speak to their king and see if we can get some added help. The Alpanians were just the beginning.” Rafe remarked gravely.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Lovely.”
“We’ve got this, Imogen. No one’s gonna hurt you.” Wakeley said confidently.
“Thanks, Wakeley.” I couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm for battle.
We took the next several minutes to pack our belongings. Even though the dwarves didn’t have much after their village was destroyed, they still gave us some extra supplies to help us on our journey. Once we were finally ready to head out, we stood in front of Bertie, saying our goodbyes. For some unknown reason, a lump had formed in my throat making it hard to speak.
“Thank you for saving us,” Bertie said sincerely. “You could’ve left us to fend for ourselves, but you didn’t. You have a good heart.”
I nodded and then cleared my throat. “I only did what I hope others would do for me if I were in trouble.” I finally got out, though my voice sounded husky with emotion to my own ears.
Bertie stepped closer to me and wrapped me in a warm hug. Even though her head barely reached my chest, it still felt like being hugged by a mother. Something I missed every day. When she finally released me, I turned away to swipe at my damp eyes, while she said goodbye to everyone else. Daegan kneeled down, and I climbed onto his back. The faeries unfurled their wings and fluttered up a few feet in the air, prepared to take flight. I looked down at Bertie and smiled.
“Thank you for the armor and shield. They saved my life.”
“You’re welcome, dear. But they were always yours to begin with. I was just the courier. Remember that. You were meant to come here. Meant to save us. Stop doubting yourself.” Bertie gave me her parting advice.
I nodded my head once. “Bye.”
“Goodbye. And good luck.” She said and waved as she watched us go.
We took off out of the forest, past the rubble that once was the Alpanians, and then turned north, towards possible help in the form of elves.
~~~
It was a two-day trip, and we were on the last stretch towards Älva Mountain. We had been going for hours and my butt finally decided it needed a break from riding. It had gone numb, and I needed to walk the feeling back into my derrière. Luckily no one seemed to mind and were glad to slow down to my glacial human pace. Rae and Wakeley walked together, talking quietly as they took the lead. Saffi and Daegan took up the rear. I could hear their friendly chatter behind me. Rafe and I walked along in silence, in the middle of our little entourage.
“So…what is regular life like on Empyrean?” I finally spoke. Ready to break the silence.
“Nothing special really.” He shrugged. “We enjoy our day to day lives. We work, go to school, trade, have fun. Just like you do on Earth.”
“Trade?” I asked curiously.
“Yes. The elves mine for metals and then gives it to the dwarves. The dwarves then melt down and create the items we need. And then the faeries design and build machines with those items that help with day to day life and give it back to the dwarves and the elves. So it’s an even trade.” Rafe explained their system.
“What about the unicorns and mermaids?”
“They don’t need as much. Though the unicorns do get armor from the dwarves and in exchange, they take the dwarves to Älva Mountain to get the metal and haul it back.” Rafe told me.
“Nice. It sounds like the perfect balance.” I remarked.
“It is,” Rafe smiled. “And then, once a year, we all gather near Mermaid Cove and have a festival to celebrate the end of the year. Hopefully, we’ll be able to have that celebration again this year,” he said thoughtfully.
“If you all gather together each year, why is it that no one has ever seen Daegan before?” I wondered out loud.
“He has never been to any of the festivals. Maybe his parents told him not to go if they’re ashamed of him.” Rafe frowned at the thought.
“Poor, Daegan.” My heart hurt for my new best friend.
“Well, he’s got us now. We’re all the family he needs.” Rafe said decisively.
I smiled at how dead serious his face was. He may have been a little pushy, overbearing, and cocky at times, but he still had a good heart.
“What about you?” He glanced over at me. “What is life like for you back on Earth?”
“Meh…” I responded noncommittally.
“What does that mean?” He chuckled slightly.
“Life? Well, my life hasn’t been all that easy lately.” I hedged.
“I’m sorry about your parents, by the way,” Rafe said solemnly.
“Thanks.” I looked down at the ground.
“What happened to them?” He asked hesitantly.
I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to talk about my parents for the first time since they died.
“My dad was a General in the Army.” I began.
“Which explains why you know how to fight.” He smiled, tryi
ng to make talking easier.
“Yeah, he taught me how.” I sighed and continued. “A little over a year ago, my dad was at some political event, supporting a senator. And some crazy guy that didn’t agree with her views and plans for the state decided to gun down the event. My d-dad threw himself on top of some people, to protect them and got shot. He died in the hospital.” My throat threatened to swell shut with emotion, and I swallowed thickly.
“I’m sorry, Immy.” Rafe reached out to grab my hand and gave it a supportive squeeze. His large hand felt warm and comforting as it surrounded mine. “Now I also know where you got your courage and selflessness from,” he complimented.
“I don’t know about that.” I denied. There was no way that I could come close to my dad. He was the bravest person I knew.
“Don’t do that. Don’t doubt yourself.” Rafe said passionately and squeezed my hand tighter to get my attention. “You almost ripped my head off in order to help out the dwarves. And then you rode Daegan straight towards the Alpanians with barely any hesitation. You’re definitely brave and incredibly thoughtful.” He tried to convince me.
“No, I just don’t have a choice.” I shook my head.
“Oh, you have a choice. You could’ve chosen to go back to Earth and let our worlds crumble, but you didn’t. You could’ve told us where to shove it and went back to your life, but you chose to help.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” I nodded my head. “Technically, I did try, though. But the mermaids ignored me and then disappeared.”
“Well, I’m glad they did,” Rafe grinned at me, his imprints were a pretty sky blue. I looked away and felt my cheeks heat. My hand was still firmly within the security of his. “You know, having courage or being brave doesn’t mean that you’re not scared half to death. Anyone who isn’t scared to go into battle is either crazy or just plain stupid.” Rafe chuckled.
