CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE（Untitled）Grace

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Grace

The ground starts to climb as soon as we leave the meadow the next morning, the way ahead made up of gentle hills, still covered by forest, though apple and dogwood trees are mixed in.

Branikk picks more of the yellow summer apples for us. They're not a type I've ever seen in a grocery store, being only about half the size of the ones I'm used to. But the taste! Dear god, the taste is amazing, tart and sweet and hella strong.

Branikk's another thing that's surprisingly sweet. The way he carried me in his strong arms last night, going to all the trouble of showing me the Ferris wheel. No one's ever done anything like that for me before.

Usually I hate surprises. My parents were never the kind to throw surprise birthday parties or fun things, so most of the surprises in my life have been like the prom-date prank.

But Branikk's surprise had been amazingly thoughtful. And his words! They echo through my mind even now and warm my heart. My magical creations bring joy. I bring joy.

It's not a way I've ever thought of myself. Even though I love that part of the carnival, that most fairgoers have a great time, it never felt like I personally added to their joy. But I must have all along, because you can only enjoy a ride if the machine works.

It took Branikk and my new magic to make me see that.

"I bring joy," I whisper under my breath.

"What's that?" he asks.

"Nothing." I pull out my phone and turn it on. I've left it off the last couple of days, trying to save the battery, but the screen's dimmer than usual. It's gone into battery-saving mode. I tap to start my favorite Bridgerton clip, and if I squint really hard, I can just make out Kate and Anthony facing off before they kiss. A split-second before they do, a low-power message flashes on-screen, and the whole thing turns black.

"What happened?" Branikk asks.

"The battery died."

"Can you make a new one?"

Can I? I close my eyes and grip my crystal. A nebulous want fills me, a desire for a battery for my favorite thing in the world. A small weight pops into existence on my hand, and a spurt of joy goes through me. I did it! Then I open my eyes.

It's a battery, all right—a battery for my vibrator, which I don't even have with me in this world. I groan. Why the hell does my magic keep doing shit like this?

"You did it," he says. His arm tightens around me, his deep voice warm and full of life.

My tummy starts to flutter. Bad tummy! I now know exactly why my magic thought of a sex toy. It's him. It's got to be.

"Not exactly. It's not the right kind of battery." I don't explain any further. What would I say? I'm embarrassed just thinking about it. I shove it into my pocket beside my dead phone.

"We're close!" Rune bounds ahead, running faster than before and goading the unicorn to greater speed. His tongue lolls from his mouth in a doggie grin. "Is that the best you can do?"

Aurora tosses her head, making the spirals of her horn catch the sunlight, gleaming gold. "Let's strap an orc to your back and see how fast you are."

A startled laugh bursts from me as I imagine Rune with a saddle on his back, the stirrups so short Branikk's knees would be up around his ears, like a clown riding a toddler tricycle. The cu sith's huge for a dog and probably weighs more than me, but Branikk's legs are seriously long.

"You can keep the orc," the wolf says. "I would carry the human. Now come on! We're there!" He leaps across a stream and disappears between the lower branches of two pines.

Aurora barrels through the last of the trees to break out into a clearing at the base of the largest hill we've seen so far. It rises in front of us, the slope covered with rich green grass. Caves open all along the base, their shaded mouths lined with rocks that form uprights and lintels.

On top of the hill, wolf sentries create dark silhouettes against the bright blue sky. One snaps out a warning bark, then yells, "Sluagh!"

"No!" Rune cries out. "It's all right! These are pacified."

I'd almost forgotten our own personal cloud of birds. They're silent, and when we ride through the woods, they're often hidden by the trees overhead. But here in the open and the bright afternoon sunshine, they hang above us in a noticeable clump, darkening the sky.

Black wolves pour from the woods and from the mouths of the caves until we're surrounded by a swirling mass of fur. They gather around Rune, everyone touching noses and sniffing each other in hellos.

Then tiny little faces appear at a few of the cave openings, and excited yips ring through the air as the most adorable little puppies race across the ground. "Rune!" "You're back!" "I missed you!" "A unicorn!" "Who's that?" "That's an orc!" "No, silly. Who's the other one?"

Several of the pups come to an abrupt halt right beside Aurora, their tiny heads tipped back as they look at me, little ears swiveling.

"It's an elf! Elves have come to Alarria!"

"Hooray! Elves!"

"Why does everyone think elves are so great?" Branikk mutters behind me.

Aurora sounds amused as she says, "Perhaps because they weigh less than orcs?"

He slides to the ground. "Hint taken."

"It wasn't a hint. It was a fact."

Branikk chuckles as he lifts me down.

I grin, too. Today's been good. Ever since he took the time to show me the Ferris wheel last night, things have been more comfortable. Or I guess, I've been more comfortable around him—he never seems to be uncomfortable with anyone. But last night helped me to remember that even if he'll never love me for me, he's also not the type of guy who'll hurt me on purpose.

The puppies surround us, jumping up to set little paws on our calves, excited faces beaming up at us, mixed cries of "Orc!" and "Elf!" ringing through the clearing.

I crouch down, laughing. My hands move from one little wiggling body to the next, trying to give them all attention. Their tails whip back and forth so quickly it makes their butts move from side to side. They have the little smooshed faces of puppies, not having grown their adult snouts, and their eyes are absolutely huge and impossible to resist.

"Hello!" One bounds onto my lap, his little tongue licking my chin. Then another one joins him, and the rest cry out, "Me!" "No me!" "Me!"

"I saw her first." The first pup on my lap gives the other a shove.

The other shoves right back, a little girl's voice saying, "Well, I knew she was an elf."

"Hey, now. None of that." I brace an arm around each to keep them from toppling from my thighs. "There's plenty of me to go around."

"This is Astrid and Agnar," Rune says. "My niece and nephew."

"Who were both told to stay inside the den," a woman's voice says, sounding serious. One of the adult wolves steps up beside Rune, almost as large, her eyes the exact amber color as his. She must be his sister.

"But Mom …" they whine in unison, making the one-syllable word at least three.

"Don't ‘but' me. You know it's dangerous outside."

"Not with Uncle Rune here!" the little girl protests. "He brought an elf and a unicorn!"

"Finally, someone sees me as the magnificent being I am," Aurora says in a pleased voice. It looks like even big old grumps fall before the cuteness of puppies.

"What about me?" Branikk says, squatting beside me and flexing his biceps. "I'm a big orc warrior."

"You're okay, too," Astrid says.

"Hear that, Branikk?" The unicorn gives a whinnying laugh. "You're okay ."

He smirks over at her, showing off his tusks. Then he takes several of the other pups onto his lap, his big hands gentle. My heart skips when he cradles the most insistent puppy to his chest so it can lick his chin with little puppy kisses.

It only gets worse when he stands and sets a pup on Aurora's saddle, cupping his hands around it to keep it in place while she walks in slow circles, giving them "unicorn rides." Even my two abandon me, leaping around his legs, demanding to be next in a chorus of high-pitched "Me! Me! Me!"

His deep laugh makes my tummy flutter, my whole body lighting up with the thought: "Here be Dad material."

Branikk meets my eyes over the head of a tiny pup. He smiles at me with a look of pure joy that makes his face more gorgeous than ever.

It takes my breath away.

Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.

I know why I freaked out so badly earlier. It wasn't worry that I might fall for him and get hurt.

It's because it's too late to keep my heart safe. I'm already falling.