Page 64 of Bound By Blood
Buttons barked and trotted up to him, sniffing the air. His tail wagged as if he was happy to see the kytobar. She still wasn't sure whether she trusted the little dog's judgment.
"Not precisely. I suppose you could view it that way but not for anything untoward. I needed to get those stakes up from the staircase. Then I heard your voice in the distance and thought why not finish our conversation."
"I wasn't aware we were in the middle of one." She looked him up and down as she set her hands on her sash. "You just so happened to have a change of clothes out in the forest and got yourself all back to your normal state, huh?"
His smile broadened. "It's all an illusion, my dear, but even illusions need restoration. And, yes, we've been in the middle of a conversation for a while now. He's proposed that you reconsider using that cursed prism with the unknown consequences that will only affect him. For what my opinion is worth, I agree with you. Magic isn't something you should try to trick. That only makes it more complicated and more uncomfortable for everyone."
She wrapped her arms around herself tight. "Whoever made this law—whoever stitched it into our souls and seared it into our blood—should be made to pay."
If it weren't for the wish, she'd have jumped Ryul already. There was no way she could have sex with him and not at some point scream how much she loved him.
He shrugged. "Maybe so, but acting foolishly with it won't make it better. It can only make it worse. Magic has many types and many forms. Each one must be respected and understood, regardless of your feelings for it."
"That means my only real choice is to grant the wish or to go back to the soup cottage. I wish I wasn't still scared. I've never met anyone like him. He is kind and thoughtful. He sees tasks that need to be done, and he tries to do them. Even chores that most men don't see."
"Bargains and wishes should never be entered into or granted casually. Perhaps the fear is not a bad thing. There are no real assurances, but there are sometimes exceptions."
She shrugged. There were, and she had already made one for him.
"I will say one more thing." Traelan adjusted his hat. The long pheasant feathers gleamed in the morning light. "You don't have to choose between going back to that little soup cottage or sticking with the blood fae. I like your nerve and grit. You know your way around a frying pan in more ways than one, and your soup is rather good. If you'd like to join me, I could certainly use someone to assist me in my travels and studies. And I stand by my promise not to harm you."
Buttons barked in response, head cocked as if that was ridiculous.
It was.
She laughed. "What?"
"It's a great big world out there. Those aren't your only two choices. He said he wants you to be happy. You could go off and make your own way for a time and then return when you're ready to make that bargain. If you want to. You could change your mind any time. And the space away from him would help you avoid tripping into that bargain unintentionally."
He was right. That was a possibility.
She straightened, finding it easier to breathe after the laughter. "I appreciate the offer. I know what I want, though."
He chuckled. "Well, the pleasure has certainly been all mine. Ryul is a lucky fellow. You're a rather useful companion."
Something in the way he said it made her draw back. He hadn't meant it. The offer. Not the well wishes. If she had said yes, he would have lost respect for her.
She tilted her head, her focus narrowing in on him. "What's your game, kytobar?"
"Game?" he asked with over-exaggerated innocence. His eyes widened until the whites were visible all around his bright-green irises as he pressed his hand to his chest. "No game at all. Just an awareness that the choice between an over-crowded soup cottage and what amounts to an essentially haunted castle with a handsome blood fae might make one think that there weren't any real choices in the matter."
"And if I had said yes?"
"We'd have had a good time, but you would never have said yes. I know that look, and it warms what little remains of my cold dead heart. Offering you a choice just made you realize what you wanted. And I hope that all goes well for you." He bowed his head, closing his eyes. "May all your paths be blessed, the wind always at your back, and your purse always full."
With that, he winked, turned, and strode away until he disappeared over a hill farther into the forest.
Buttons barked again, then looked up at her.
"Yes, I know," she said. "Come on. Let's go."
She snapped her fingers and then dropped her hand to her pocket. Her eyes widened. That kytobar had just stolen those whispering rocks. How had he even gotten close enough? He hadn't touched her, had he?
Scoffing, she shook her head. Well, that figured, but maybe he was right about the rest of what he'd said.
Buttons circled in front of her, barking another question.
"No," she said. "I'm not going after him for that. We have somewhere else we need to be, and it's going to take us a bit to get there."
