Page 30 of King of Forest and Fur

She took several long breaths, trying to sense that feeling. This time, even when she didn’t feel it, she pushed harder, scrunched her eyes shut tighter trying to find even a hint of it. The doors to the library opened, their hinges creaking. Leila ignored it and the footsteps approaching and Yaldred’s shush to the intruder.

Then, she felt it, that odd sensation just like last time. With a deep breath, she poured it into the book, willing it to revert, to go back to when it was whole and readable, when the pages were not brittle and crumbling to dust.

Yaldred sucked in a breath, shocked. Leila’s eyes flew open. The crumbled bits of the title page moved toward the book on their own volition. The title page reconstructed itself in a second. The age yellowed page lightened and the faded ink grew bold and black. Leila’s hand shook. Another deep breath and it stabilized.

A cover appeared over the title page, growing from the repaired spine. The corners of the leather cover remained rounded, pressed in with the leather cracked and stressed. That only lasted for a second, though, when they straightened, Leila jerked her hand away. If she kept going, would the pages end up wood, the leather cover an untanned hide?

“Remarkable,” came Rehn’s voice behind Leila.

She flinched before turning. Yaldred stood and gave a slight bow to her king. He nodded, then went back to examining the book and Leila herself. She sat a little straighter, pride bubbling through her, though she couldn’t tell if turning back the clock on the book brought that, or doing it in front of Rehn that had her shoulders square.

He said, “I’ve always wondered what this book was.” He flipped through a few pages. “Too bad I can’t read the language it’s written in. It must be quite old.”

“If I can reverse the effect of time, I’m sure I can move things toward the future,” Leila said, thinking of all the implications. “We need to test this. But with what? I have a great idea. What if I tried to age wine? You have a vintner, don’t you?”

“Hold on, what if that is dangerous? Do you even know the effects using this power has on you?” Rehn asked. “There is always a cost of magic, right? We don’t want to tax your abilities, especially if we don’t know the effect.”

“I feel amazing.” Leila jumped to her feet. “I know I can do it. I just need practice.”

Yaldred slid her chair in and took a few steps back. Seemed she didn’t want anything to do with this conversation. Rehn held up a hand and shook his head.

“You are excited because you succeeded, you don’t know if there will be any detrimental effects if you push yourself again,” he said. “And maybe some things are best left to nature. Drystan wanted to use your powers to change something in the past. What if you end up changing something? We have no idea what that might do to the present and the future.”

“And what if I need to use these powers to prevent whatever our mysterious sorcerer has in mind? If I don’t know how to control them, I’ll never be able to use them to stop it.” Leila was on her feet now, poking a finger into Rehn’s chest as she made her point.

He covered her hand in his, giving it a squeeze. Hot as her temper had become, the touch cooled it like a rushing brook in the heart of summer. For as long as she could remember, she’d been trying to access these powers. In all that time, she hardly thought at all about whether she should access them.

Rehn gave her hand another squeeze and stepped closer. The doors to the library closed, Yaldred having left them alone. Rehn took a deep breath and smiled, melting whatever anger she still held.

“Why don’t we revisit this later?” he said, glancing over to the closed doors. “Why don’t you let me take your mind off all this? The book will be here when we get back.”

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Anywhere we want, but I thought you’d like a ride around the valley to see some of my kingdom for yourself,” Rehn replied.

“I’d love to go riding with you.” Leila gave the pristine book another look before allowing Rehn to take her from the library.

They went out to the castle’s central courtyard, but Rehn tugged her toward the main gate, not the stables. She frowned, glancing at the first line of stalls along the wall, then up at Rehn. He had a slight smile she took as mischievous.

Right outside the gate, he stopped and let go of her hand. His shoulders rolled and he grew taller. Hair sprung from his bare arms and he dropped to all fours as the transformation took him. His massive bear form stood in front of her. He dropped to his belly and huffed, giving her a bear smile.

“Do I need a saddle?” Leila asked.

The bear shook its head and she grabbed a fist full of fur and climbed onto his back before he took off on an ambling trot.

FOURTEEN

REHN

“This isn’t exactly the ride I had expected,” Leila said with a laugh as Rehn continued taking them up the side of the rocky mountain. “But I’m certainly not complaining.”

Rehn smiled to himself, delighting in his mate’s joy. The sky was bright blue and the air crisp; a perfect day for a hike. She’d been hesitant at first, clunky and unsteady riding on his back. But soon she found her confidence, and the grip her thighs had against his sides had loosened somewhat.

“Oh, how lovely,” she sighed as they came across a rushing river. It served as a landmark telling him he was on the right track. Rehn planned to show Leila the most gorgeous view possible from his mountain, and that meant maneuvering some terrain that would be difficult or downright impossible in human form.

But a bear? He could trudge through the ripping currents with ease. That bear part of him did feel a tug of longing seeing the juicy, fresh fish swim by. It had been a long time since he last allowed his bear to go wild and catch his own dinner. But wooing his mate was a bigger priority, and his bear agreed wholeheartedly.

He trudged carefully through the cold water, trying not to get the woman riding on his back too wet. Though when she did encounter a splash or two, she met it with a giggle that made Rehn’s heart sing. He wanted to hear that giggle more often, every day if he could manage it.

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