Page 22 of The Demon of the Wood

“Are you not angry with your uncle and cousins for treating you the way they did?”

She straightened, going stiff at the mention of her treatment, but shook her head. “I have never thought of it, but really, they gave me as much as they could.”

Kaemon grunted disagreeably. “I don’t think they did. And forgive me, but I am angry on your behalf. Family shouldn’t treat each other like that.”

She gazed at him, her eyes full of an emotion he couldn’t name but wanted to fall into. His thoughts emptied out again and only the roaring din of want replaced them. But he couldn’t think of her like that. Being with him was not good for her. He knew that too well.

twelve

Melina

SilenustrottedtoMelina,hands full of beechnuts, coming up to the canvas bag she had with her. Kaemon had offered to give her some old sacks from going to market, and then she had fashioned a small wheelbarrow out of fallen limbs and rope. Kaemon made a wheel and spoke to use, and she took it out into the forest each day to forage. She had already gathered enough that Kaemon said she’d make a nice profit at the market.

“When you make enough money, are you going to leave us?” Silenus asked, his ears dipped down as he gave her a side glance, holding the nuts back as if for ransom.

She laughed. “I can’t bother Kaemon forever.”

But part of her wanted to. Well, maybe not forever, but for longer, certainly. The gentleness of their life in the woods, of life with Kaemon in it daily, had struck a spark in her chest that glowed each waking moment.

“Come live with me, then. I’m far better company than him, anyway.”

“Perhaps I will. When Kaemon grows tired of me, then you and I can languish at his broodiness.”

Silenus sighed, finally placing the nuts in the bag. “I doubt Kaemon is ever broody with you. He grins like an idiot all day long now.”

She looked hastily at the nuts in her hands, fighting off the delight that bit of information brought her. “I’m sure it’s not because of me.”

She couldn’t let herself think like that. Kaemon had given her no signs to believe that he felt any special way towards her. There were brief moments when she was certain she’d caught him staring at her, but he looked away so fast and said nothing. He also never remarked when he caught her staring. Now that she knew it wasn’t his thrall, she tried to hide it more. They lived in a tiny little cabin together. She didn’t want to make the atmosphere tense.

“Well,Iam smiling more because you’re here,” Silenus said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and his eyes went wide as his pale cheeks flushed. “I’m going to tell Kaemon you kissed me. You don’t know what you’ve done.”

She laughed and walked on to continue foraging. They finished in the late afternoon, before dusk settled dusty blue over the landscape. She waved at Silenus as she came to the clearing, and he bounded off into the dark of the woods.

Kaemon was coming out of the shed when she arrived. Happiness split his face when his gaze fell on her, and she stumbled a step, her own face mirroring his. Gods, but he was the most beautiful being she had ever seen. And that was before he smiled. With the joy that radiated from his face, she felt as if she were peering into the heart of the sun, seeing its beauty shimmer around her.

He bounded to her in a few easy strides, his long legs and large frame carrying to her at a dizzying speed she could barely comprehend. Grabbing the wheelbarrow, he settled next to her, slowing his pace so she could walk in line with him.

“I can push it myself, you know,” she said, that old nagging fear poking its head up. Kaemon did so much for her and never seemed to tire of it. But where was his threshold? When would it go from something he liked to something he dreaded?

“You’ve been out pushing it all day. I don’t mind,” he replied, a gentle expression on his face that made her heart ache in a beautiful way.

She cleared her throat, taking in the clearing. The snow was still high and would most likely stay that way until the spring came and melted it slowly, but otherwise the weather was nice, and they could navigate the forest.

“I managed to forage quite a bit to sell at market,” she said, hating what she would have to say next, wanting to ease into it, to prepare herself.

He nodded. “You’re a hard worker.”

The pride in his voice made her want to go back out and forage more, to hear him say it a thousand times over. “And the weather is clearing up.”

Kaemon’s pace slowed a fraction, his posture straightening, his wings tucking a fraction. She fiddled with her hands at the change.

“Yes, it is,” he replied.

“It seems that perhaps I should leave soon. Find another town to live in.” She hated every one of those cursed words. She didn’t want to leave Kaemon, didn’t want to have days where she didn’t see him, didn’t talk to him. Would he visit her if she moved away? Or forget she ever existed? The thought was enough to send her mind spiraling to a forlorn place.

“Yes, you could…” Kaemon frowned, and silence stretched between them, the tension of unspoken words suffocating the air. “But also, it’s harder to find work in the winter. There are no crops to plant or harvest. People come into town less, they want to buy less too so that their resources stretch to the next harvest. Winter is a bad time to start out in a town, paying for rent and food.”

Her heart sang at the excuse he had offered as she glanced at him. He stared straight ahead, deep in thought. “So, Spring or Summer would be better?”

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