Page 85 of Tempting the Fae Lord
Fickle gate, indeed.
Once through the underground fort of the Vartija and into the evergreen forest, we convene to part ways. On the off chance Farlowe fails to open the gate himself upon his return, I plan to check for him in a fortnight. We clasp wrists and say our farewells.
Gale ropes Petru in for a hug. The mage looks shaken by his ordeal. Hopefully, reuniting with his family will bring him some peace after the trauma he’s endured. I feel bad for him, but I can’t help but be relieved to see him go. He’s a complication I do not want near my people. Let him be comforted by his own.
We watch as the pair heads on their way.
Instead of turning back toward the gate, I take Gale by the shoulders and look into his deep green eyes. They shine like emeralds now that he’s a vampire. Twin jewels with such love and all of it directed toward me.
I will never deserve him, but I’ll be endlessly glad to call him mine.
With trepidation gnawing at my chest, I gather my courage. “I am through telling you no. If you want something that is in my power to give, then it’s yours. And if you still want to seek out the place and people of your birth, I will take you there.”
The black of his pupils swallows the green of his irises. “Really? Now?”
The excitement, the raw hope in his eyes is only part of what I’d feared. “We can go now, but I don’t know if they’ll still be there. People move. People die. You must prepare yourself for the possibility this won’t be the happy ending you’ve envisioned.”
“But it isn’t an ending at all, is it?” He answers far too quickly, without time to consider the implications. “It’s a new beginning.”
His bright smile, which usually lights my soul, only serves to tighten my chest.
I have a bad feeling about this.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gale
My father is a blacksmith,but there’s no smithy, no forge, no shop where Ezra remembers one standing long ago.
No second story above where a small young family made their residence.
No hint of what I seek.
Only a cobblestone corner with a shuttered wooden vending cart and a crooked Closed sign resides here now.
I stare as though expecting something to change if I wish hard enough. A childish inclination, but I can’t help trying. “Are you sure this is the spot?”
“It was, yes.”
“I don’t understand.”
Ezra’s expression is grim. “It’s been many years. Things change.”
“But they lived here.”
“They did once. But that the entire building is gone could mean many things. A quake or perhaps a fire. Not uncommon for a forge.”
“A fire?” Tears well in my eyes. My vision clouds pink.
“We don’t know yet.” Ezra swipes my cheeks gently with his thumbs. They come away red. Blood tears. “Don’t lose all hope.”
I sniffle. “This isn’t what I thought would happen.”
He rubs my shoulders. “I know, love, but there is more we can try.”
“What more?”
“The fae I swapped with you is likely still living. If we find him, he might have the answers you seek.”
