Page 10 of Blossoms and Bloodlines
His strong elemental connection with the earth allowed him to feel each of the year’s energy changes. The thinning veil of Samhain and the hush of Yule. The stirring of Imbolc, the wild push of Beltane, and its zenith at Litha. The taste of the earth’s bounty of Lammas. But nothing moved him like Mabon. There was gratitude in it, joy. Relief in the balance. The sun’s dominance was ending, and reflection would follow, but now was equilibrium. The earth had given generously, and Gael, in turn, renewed his vow to protect it through the dark.
This year, he would allow himself an extra dose of pride. A smile on his lips, he made the remainder of the way to his cousins’ pub. He’d walked from Olympia to Mystic Hollow, something very similar to a one-and-a-half-day spiritual pilgrimage that had been needed more than wanted. He moved way faster than humans, required less food, and had welcomed the cocoon of the forest around him.
When he was close enough, he laid a hand on the ancient oak that housed the pub, felt its strength, its welcoming stir. Elara and Aryon had saved it so many years ago and since then, the pub was its purpose, and the tree was its heart. Magic flowed through the living wood that shifted with the seasons, its essence threaded through every beam and floorboard. Only magic as strong as the High Lord and Lady’s could have fused them like this. To Gael, the tree was an old friend whose placid happiness pulsed into him even now as if to say,welcome back. “Hello, old one,” he murmured.
He entered the pub and spotted a few tourists poring over hiking maps, chasing the fall colors that lit up the forests around Mystic Hollow. At a nearby table, Aryon, Jade, and Rick sat huddled over a laptop and a pile of papers, deep in discussion. “You look like a bunch of folks about to make trouble,” Gael said as he strolled over. Three heads snapped up. “I mean, an elf, an oread, and a vampire walk into a pub,” he added, grinning. “Nothing good ever starts that way.”
“Gael,” Aryon said, happy. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
He sat at the table with them. “No one did. It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. How are you guys doing?”
“Finalizing Mabon’s festival stuff,” Jade said, playing with a dark curl that hung on her shoulder. Her brown skin sparkled, and her rainbow dragonfly-like wings gave a buzz of excitement. “Not a party, that’s totally Litha.”
“It was a great one,” he told her. The youngest Chief the Oreads ever had, Jade was an endearing buzz of scrambled energy that managed to get any job done. Through chaos and noise, but still. He’d met her in June and had liked her instantly.
“We’re going for the usual festival deal, which means we need... What is it we need more of?” she asked Rick, the town handyman and vampire.
An easy-going vampire, Rick pointed at the computer desk. “Not much. A few more raised platforms for the harvest displays. The ground can get damp this time of year, and we want to keep produce and crafts dry. I’d add more weather-resistant lanterns as the days are getting shorter. And make sure the central bonfire pit is properly contained and safe so that Lachlan doesn’t have a seizure.” He shrugged. “I’d say that would be it.”
“Do you need Heath for whatever manly, muscle-related reason?” She asked, making a face. “I just gavehima seizure this morning. I might have momentarily displaced the Mabon codex. I found it, so everything is fine. I’m sure he’d love to help.” Towhich, both Aryon and Rick laughed. Heath was Jade’s cousin, her Second, and the ying to her yang. Structure and order to her chaos. He would not love to help, but he would do it because of his clan and his cousin.
Jade nodded. “No, okay. He wouldn’t love it. I can volunteer Tom, though.”
Tom was her partner, very human and very patient. It was so true that fate sent the perfect match.
Rick nodded. “Send him over. Tell him to come for the work and stay for the game. I’ll get the beers.”
“Will do.” She checked the time on her phone. “I have to go. I’ll see you guys tomorrow afternoon to finish it all.”
“Yeah, I’m off too,” said Rick, standing. “I have to check on the drainage system behind the Peterson place. It’s been gurgling like it’s about to cough up a salamander.”
Within minutes, the others had drifted off, leaving Gael and Aryon alone.
They both leaned back in their chairs, easy and relaxed. “I don’t even need to open up, I all but see your happiness,” Aryon said, before tilting his head. “But your aura is weird.”
Gael skipped right past the aura comment. “The energy grid got final approval.”
“That’s great,” Aryon said, smiling. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re here to relax, then?”
“Yes. Litha was a lot, and I wasn’t in the right place to enjoy it. Plus, you know Mabon is my favorite. I always loved coming here for it, and I missed it the past couple of years.”
Aryon said something, probably warm and affirming words, but Gael didn’t catch it, because the reason his aura was allegedlyweirdhad just walked out of the kitchen.
Beth.
She carried two plates with the practiced easiness that came from working the floor for years, handed the food to an older couple sitting by the window. They had a question for her, and she pointed something on a trail map they’d unfolded awkwardly across their drinks. She smiled, and then she turned to walk away.
Saw him.
Her stride didn’t falter, but her chin lifted, her eyes sobered, and her mouth flattened to polished stone.
“Gael,” she said, all cool professionalism as she dipped her head slightly before turning to Aryon. “I didn’t get to prep the back stockroom this morning, but I’ll take care of it before close.”
“That’s fine,” Aryon said. “I’ll do it, don’t worry.”
