Page 24 of Bound By Blood
"I know about that."
It was a horrible magical requirement too.
He winced. "It's a big responsibility. Very easy to make bad or have something unintended happen. It tests the heart and tempts us."
She almost laughed. "You worry about that? Try worrying about being the person who is vulnerable to it."
"There's this myth I always liked." He tapped his fingers on the clay cup and then picked it up. "Omat and Huldah. Some details change depending on who tells the story, but my favorite version was the one where they were a weaver and a healer, and they initially fought over who should get to use a certain plant. But there are many stories about them. The adventures they went on. The sights that they saw. The way that they changed and defined the way that blood fae could interact with others. The wish was a great concern though. But when she confessed to him that she loved him, he wished for her happiness and fulfillment in her pursuits and promised to love her fully forever by blood and by soul and by will. Forever."
"Very romantic." She stirred her soup. "I see why it's a beloved myth."
"There's always a risk of a wish being twisted or corrupted. And the receiver of the wish will face enormous temptation in that moment. But they say that if the one who receives the wish truly loves the one who gives it, then it will be true and simple, and they will not give in to the temptation. It's the twisting of the one who receives it that can make it go bad."
"All the more reason to consider it exceptionally dangerous and ill-advised. There's no way of knowing whether someone is really telling you the truth."
He nodded slowly, turning the clay cup in his hand. "And how do you really know if you mean something? You can think you mean it and then later realize you don't or that there were other things you wanted more. It's terrifying. To know that you could ruin someone's life like that is a lot to consider."
She almost laughed. It had never occurred to her that a blood fae would find that particular tradition or requirement troubling.
"Then why not keep it simple then? Wish for a daisy. Or a cup of coffee."
"If someone tells you that they love you, they are giving you a great gift. The wish must recognize that worth. Otherwise, it's an insult. It has to be beautiful. Otherwise, you're inviting more curses on yourself and your union. Besides, no matter what the wish, it tests your heart and what you really feel against what you want. What makes it harder is that when a wish like that is freely given, it is filled with great power. There's a chance that no matter what you ask for—even if it is more than what the giver can provide—it will be granted because all the heavens and all the magic and all the good of all will come together to make it so. Whether that's true or just part of the temptation, I don't know. You always have to be on guard against the curses, though."
"More curses?" She raised an eyebrow at this. That was a part she hadn't heard before.
"It's part of being fae. Navigating all of the magic. Part of being a blood fae, in particular. Not that I know what it is to be any other type. And there is still much for me to learn. Everyone encounters it a little differently too." He finished the last bite in his bowl. "Is there more soup?"
She smiled as she took his bowl. "Plenty."
THE STORM
The next few days passed calmly and ordinarily. Erryn continued to hide Buttons, and she took down the plank each morning so that no one would notice it. Darri commented both on the increased number of unusual items as well as the smell of smoke. But he still completed all his tasks, including laying up more wood for her and ensuring she had all the items from her list.
Traelan returned but only purchased soup and implied he might be going on an intriguing quest. She asked no questions but bid him well. When he returned the following day, she followed the same pattern. Of all the people she had met recently, he was the one most likely to have some answer about blood fae magic, but she couldn't risk it.
Ryul returned each night, and each night, she let him take Buttons out to play. More than once, she caught him holding the little dog and talking to him in quiet tones. Any residual concerns she might have had about him harming the pup faded entirely. Especially once he started trying to teach Buttons how to fly and crouched down on the ground beside him. Where were his wings though? Didn't all fae have wings? Unless there was some horrific accident, of course.
Probably best not to ask.
They both sat at the windowsill and ledge, enjoying the soups: chicken noodle, black bean surprise, green soup, and mushroom leek. Ryul grew almost apologetic in acknowledging that the soup wasn't healing his magic, but he told her not to worry about it. Their trade was just for soup that she tried to make to restore his magic. And he liked her soup a great deal.
Nan arrived two days later. A normal occurrence at the middle of the month. She walked with a slower tread this time, leaning more heavily on her bulbous wooden cane. In the early days, she had come to supervise and ensure Erryn had everything she needed. Now the visits were more social than anything.
"You seem to be doing even better than before," Nan observed as Erryn put a steaming mug of tea on the counter before her. "There's a happy sort of light in your eyes."
"It's the change in the seasons. I love autumn."
Not entirely a lie. But she had been smiling a lot more lately. Even when sweeping or washing dishes or cleaning up little messes that Buttons made.
"Hmmm. Is that it?" Nan chuckled as she wrapped her hands around the thick mug. "I almost thought perhaps you had met someone."
"I meet lots of people here." Erryn took a demure sip of her own black tea.
Ryul's face at once sprang into her mind, his warm amethyst eyes and that clever smile and the gentle way he spoke when he was contemplating something. She stiffened. No, that was—that wasn't anything she meant to focus on. It wasn't wise anyway. He was a blood fae. She would never ever make a bargain with a fae like the one that would be triggered if she ever admitted she was in love. Besides, falling in love was not for someone like her.
"True." Nan nodded slowly. "And one day, perhaps you will meet someone who will want to whisk you away."
"I'm not going anywhere any time soon."
