Page 49 of The Red Woman and the White Bear

“Go find Rodney,” Aisling told Briar. She dropped the leash, and he bounded up the hill to where Rodney was waiting uncomfortably. Aisling gestured to him to wait there, then let Laure lead her to walk around the edge of the lake.

“So, who was it that found you?” Laure asked. Her strides were leisurely. Graceful. Aisling snuck a look back at her wings that swept through the grass behind them.

For what felt like the hundredth time, Aisling recounted her meeting with the Shadowwood Mother.

Laure hummed, the barest hint of irritation underlying her tone. “She chose not to share that with us, last we visited. And you began your search for answers in the Unseelie Court, did you not?”

Aisling’s steps faltered momentarily before she regained her composure. “Do you have spies there?”

“Nothing like that.” Laure smiled down at her, then shifted her attention back to the meadow of wildflowers that stretched on ahead. “But I had heard rumors of the king’s taking a human prisoner. About a sort of…influence you mayhave possessed. Is it true?”

Aisling remained quiet, choosing not to answer Laure’s question. Her connection with Kael’s magic, whatever it may have been, had little to do with her being the Red Woman.

Seeming to understand Aisling’s silence, Laure nodded knowingly. “Kael Ardhen is a terribly powerful creature. A true monster, the likes of which I’ve not encountered elsewhere in my lifetime. You would do well to remember that.”

Kael Ardhen. Laure had pronounced each syllable slowly. Deliberately. She wanted Aisling to understand the weight of the gift she was giving her—the gift of Kael’s full name. The gift of control. Though if Laure had known it for any amount of time, Aisling wondered why she hadn’t yet used it to her own advantage.

“And I hope,” Laure added, “that the prophecy rings true. That you are the key to his downfall. His subjects deserve to know peace as mine do.”

Aisling thought of the Solitary Fae she’d seen in the battle at Nyctara, clad in too-large armor with swords that hadn’t seen a whetstone in an age. There was certainly no peace in the Seelie Court for them, either. She kept this opinion to herself, instead lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the sun and casting her gaze towards the mountains.

“What’s that place?” High on the mountainside, tucked between sharp peaks, Aisling noticed a large structure, white even under the rays of the red sun. It looked like it was carved from a type of stone; its tall spires glittered in the afternoon light.

“That is Solanthis, our temple of worship.” Laure smiled at the image of the temple in the distance, maybe imagining herself inside its sacred walls.

“Is Aethar your god?” Aisling asked. Laure stopped to look up at it as well. They were atop a low rolling hill now, with the lake just below. “The one that was said to have sent the red sun?”

“She is. She has been good to us since the birth of our court. I’d like to take you to see the temple if you’re interested; very few humans have ever set foot inside.”

Aisling nodded vigorously. There was something about Laure that made Aisling desperately eager to please her. The air she carried about her, maybe, or the way light seemed to be drawn to her like it was caught in some sort of gravitational pull.

“Excellent. You and I will ride out to the temple tomorrow at dawn. It’s not nearly as far a journey as it looks, I promise.” Laure squeezed her hand. “And I believe I will order a feast in your honor tomorrow evening.” She said it thoughtfully, already planning and beginning preparations in her mind.

For just a moment, before Aisling let herself be swept away by the queen’s promises, she hesitated. She knew that she might remain there for some time, but she hadn’t fully considered it when Rodney had picked her up from her apartment that morning. She hadn’t even packed an overnight bag.

Laure left Aisling to explore and promised to send a messenger to take her to the palace once she’d had her fill. She didn’t think she ever would; she could stare at that wide open valley for hours and hours and never tire of it.

Careful to walk only on the trodden path to avoid stepping on the flowers or any other manner of living thing, Aisling returned to where Rodney and Briar were sitting in the grass. Rodney cut a harsh contrast against the landscape in his black torn jeans and oil-stained T-shirt. Despite the beauty around them, he wore a scowl on his face. Briar’s expression was one of pure bliss, his tongue lolling from his mouth as two sky blue nymphs wove flowers into his fur with nimble fingers. Even standing on their toes, they only just reached his mid-back.

“So?” he asked.

“So, I’m staying. At least for a couple nights.” Aisling lowered herself into the grass beside him and plucked a piece to wind around her fingers. The nymphs scampered off, twittering to each other.

“We,” he corrected, just as she had the day before. Anticipating her protest, he added, “I know you can handle it fine on your own. But I’m not leaving you this time.”

Feeling selfish over just how grateful she was for him in that moment, Aisling wordlessly leaned her head against her friend’s shoulder. They stayed there for some time, eventually falling onto their backs to watch the clouds drift by overhead.

As the afternoon light shifted into evening, the guard returned for them. Her expression as she beckoned them to follow was as unyielding as before, though she no longer wore her helmet or carried her dagger unsheathed.

“There’s something down in that lake.” Rodney paused to glance at it warily as theypassed by.

Aisling examined its surface, still now without Laure treading water. “What, like fish?”

“I don’t think so. Bigger.” He shook his head and barely suppressed a shiver. “I don’t like it.”

“Well no one is making you swim in it. Come on.” Aisling took his arm and hauled him away from the shore.

By the time they reached the palace, it was too dark to make out many of its features beyond its general shape silhouetted against the dusky sky. Bright torches illuminated two great stone creatures flanking the large door as sentries. Though they were unmoving, she was almost sure their eyes followed as they passed.

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