Page 8 of Whispers of the Dryad

“She’s not that important.”

“Pity,” Rowan said.I frowned at him.“Why is that a pity?I thought you were the one telling me that I’m playing with fire.”

“Well, you are.”

“But you want me to go with her?”

“I just think it will be safer to give up your immortality and go with her than it will be to do whatever Dolus has in store for you.”

I shook my head.“What’s wrong with what Dolus is doing?It will be a new life, and I’ll still be immortal.Win-win.”

“Unless this new life you keep dreaming about is really drawing the short straw and you’re so eager to run away from whatever demons are chasing you that you might not see the hell you’re running toward.”

“Why would you think he has hell in store for me?”

“How do you know he doesn’t?Has he told you what to expect, where you’ll be going, what your life will be like?”

I shook my head.Dolus hadn’t told me anything, even though I’d asked more than once.“Yeah, I wouldn’t trust the guy,” Rowan said.“You were the one who suggested it!”

“I didn’t suggest you go to him.I told you to go to Hecate.”

“Because the goddess of witchcraft is better than the god of deceit?”

“At least you’ll know what you’re getting.With Dolus, who knows what his plans are?”

I shook my head again.I got what Rowan was trying to say, but it wasn’t that simple.“Hecate was busy, and Dolus wasn’t.”

“Said who?”Rowan asked.I bristled.Of course, Dolus had said that, so Rowan would insist that it was more deceit.I couldn’t tell him that it wasn’t, but it pissed me off every time he said it was.“I think I’m going to go,” I said, getting up and dusting myself off from the muddy sand we’d been sitting on.“I just wanted to hang out, not be a part of an inquisition.”

Rowan shook his head.“Sit, man, don’t fucking leave.I’m just worried about you.”

“Yeah?”I hesitated but sat down again.“Well, don’t be.It’s not like I haven’t been through shit before.I can handle whatever comes my way.”

Rowan nodded, but I wasn’t sure he believed me.We both watched the sprites playing in the water.For a moment, a pang of jealousy shot through me.If only my life and relationships had been as simple as Rowan’s.His life seemed so straightforward.Before I’d met Ava, mine had been like that, too.It just wasn’t anymore, and I didn’t know how it could ever be again.Especially now that I’d met Lorraine.Once she was gone, and I’d lost her, I would need to get the hell out of Dodge as quick as I could.If this place hadn’t been enough of a reminder of the love that had left me, it sure as shit would be a reminder now of the love I’d lost.

That was what would happen after Lorraine was gone, which meant I’d need Dolus to get that shit sorted as soon as possible.I wasn’t going to spend another three centuries pining over a woman who would never be mine.I was not giving up my immortality for her, either.“Look, I know I’m hitting all kinds of nerves and that wasn’t the idea,” Rowan said when I didn’t say anything for a while.“I know you’ve got your shit covered; you’re a big boy and you can deal with your life…”

He had a lot of faith in me if that was what he thought, because judging by how I’d handled the last three hundred years, that wasn’t entirely true.“I just want you to remember that no matter what you choose, there’s always a cost.”

“A cost?”

“Yeah.When you decide to be with one woman, you give up all the others.If you decide to be with them all, you don’t have anyone exclusive whom you can get attached to.When you gave up your immortality, you sacrificed it for love.And now, when you’re going to choose immortality instead, it will cost you Lorraine.”

My chest physically ached at the thought.“The thing is, if you give up who you are completely, which is what Dolus will ask you to do, you just better be sure that whatever you’re giving yourself up for is worth it.Everything has a price.Just be sure it’s a price you’re willing to pay.”

Rowan’s words hit me like physical punches.I’d lost so much, given up so much for things that hadn’t been worth it in return.It was why I wanted to get away from it all now.He had a point, saying that I had to know what it was all for before I did it.That was one thing I could take away from my friend without feeling like my fucking pride was wounded.“Thanks, man,” I finally said.“For what?”

“Being a good friend,” I said.“And dealing with the metric ton of shit I’ve been giving you for the last century at least.I’ve been a hell of a character to deal with.”

Rowan chuckled.“Hey, I know the real Ash, and he’s still in there somewhere.Shit happens to all of us.I just want you to get out okay on the other end.”

I nodded.“I appreciate the words of wisdom.”

“Hey, there’s more where that came from,” Rowan said and hammered his fist in dominance.I laughed and shook my head.“You can still be an asshole, though.”

“It comes with the territory,” Rowan said and grinned at me.“Seriously, just think about what I said about Lorraine.She’s not all that bad, and if you give up your immortality for her… it might not be the longest life you’ll get to live, but it will be fuller than anything you’ve had so far.Just might be a fair trade.”

“What if it doesn’t work out?”I asked.“That’s the cost you have to be willing to risk,” Rowan said.“But rather the devil you know than the devil you don’t.And by devil, I mean Dolus.”

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