Chapter Thirteen

Silas

That was… incredible. Silas woke as the first rays of the sun poured through his window. As he yawned and stretched, the sight of the magnificent demon snagged his attention—in human form this time, but the man was undeniably demon underneath. Silas’s body stirred as his mind played clips of how gentle yet strong his demon had been the night before, but Silas purposefully slipped out of bed. He could feel it from his tree—how stressed the demon had been for the past week. Dryad and tree agreed the bigger man should be allowed to sleep.

I didn’t even get his name. Silas chuckled as he went about his business, before clicking up another shift to cover his bits. The ground was cool on the soles of his feet as he stepped outside, smiling at the huge basket that greeted him, resting on his front stoop. He distinctly remembered their sex had been root shaking—a rare event that none of the forest folk could ignore. In their typical fashion, their approval was shown with the food left in the basket.

Popping open the lid, Silas’s smile widened. Yes, there was a bowl of freshly picked berries, and some succulent peaches Silas knew came from his sister’s grove. Thank you, Wanda, he thought as he trailed his fingers over the plump flesh. His sister’s acceptance was important to him.

However, there’d also been some clear discussion on a demon’s needs. Silas chuckled quietly as he imagined early morning conversations, probably had over Dougal’s firepit. Someone had sourced chunks of cooked meats, cheeses, there were two small bottles of pickled jam, and two crusty loaves of freshly baked bread, complete with the crisp crust Silas adored. Tucked against the side of the basket was a large green bottle with a reusable cork that Silas recognized as coming from Dougal’s stash of homebrew.

Leaving the basket where it was for now, Silas trod his usual path, confident his tree would care for the demon who was now attached to his soul.

Making his way to the river, Silas focused on breathing, cataloging the slight changes he felt as he walked. The obvious twinges brought heat to his cheeks as he remembered how he’d gotten them. His beloved oak would never harm his skin, but his back muscles had worked in unexpected ways… and yes, Silas was still blushing.

What will this mean for us going forward? Usually an “in the moment” type of person, Silas truly wasn’t sure. He could feel his connection to the demon. It was like a comforting and steady hand in the back of his brain—an anchor for his soul, which didn’t displace his oak, but stood beside them. And no, that wasn’t weird at all.

Bending to caress the leaves of a small plant that was straining to reach the sun, Silas recalled how he’d felt when he’d first bonded with his oak. That had been weird.

Pausing to soak his toes in the river water, Silas remembered how when they first bonded, he’d been overcome by the power of his ancient tree, and then… Silas’s chuckle disturbed a passing bird. He hadn’t wanted to leave his tree for weeks, terrified the connection would break the moment he couldn’t see the oak leaves. It was Dougal who’d come along eventually and literally dragged him from the branches of his tree.

And now, I’m bound to a demon, too. One that will probably be hungry. Eager to find out more about the man he was bliss bonded to—that was an expression he hadn’t heard before, it resonated with Silas. He hurried back to his tree, content he’d tended to his plants.

Manhandling the large food basket through his door wasn’t easy, but Silas was thrilled to see his demon was just waking up when he stumbled in. “I’ve got breakfast,” he said with a smile.

“You went out?” The demon ran his fingers through his hair, and then looked around. “Er… where can I…?”

“The bathroom is just through that door there.” Silas popped the basket on his table and pointed at another small nook where the bathroom was. “Why do you look so surprised? Did you think I was going to send you out to pee behind a bush?”

“You have a very nice place.” Pushing his hair behind his ear, the man swung his legs out of bed, and wandered over to where Silas had indicated.

Sigh. The man was naked, and the view of him walking away was worth watching. “What’s your name?” Silas called out as he set out his goodies on the table. “I can’t believe I didn’t ask after what we’ve already shared.”

“I’m called Dakata. Daks.” The name came over the sound of running water. A minute later, Dakata came back into Silas’s main living space. He looked unsure of himself, and the naked view was now covered in business pants and a finely pressed shirt. “I… damn. I have to say this is an unusual situation for me.”

“Sit down.” It was in Silas’s nature to make Dakota feel better, even if he wasn’t sure what was so unusual about anything. They were only having breakfast. “I don’t have coffee, but there’s juice, water, or even wine, if you’re partial to that first thing in the morning?”

“Juice is fine.” Dakata sat down, resting his elbows on the edge of the table. “This is more than I expected—your place, and this food, I mean. I appreciate it.”

“My tree believed you had a few antiquated ideas about the myths surrounding dryads.” Silas gathered together a couple of plates and a knife for the bread. Bringing them over to the table, he dropped a kiss on Dakata’s head before taking the second seat. “It would be extremely uncomfortable for anyone to just sleep on the branch of a tree all the time, although I have done it on occasion. Please help yourself.”

“Where did you get this food from? Do you have a shop around here?” Taking the knife from him, Dakata sliced the bread before helping himself to meat and cheese, creating a huge sandwich. He took a big bite and nodded as he chewed. “This is good,” he added after he swallowed.

Silas got an uncharacteristic thrill, seeing Dakata so happy with his offerings. “The basket was a present from our friends in the forest. The fruit is from my sister, Wanda, who you’ll meet soon, I’m sure. The wine came from Dougal, who is as old as the forest, and the bread and bits and pieces were most likely from George. He doesn’t live in the forest, but he drives a taxi, and as a bear shifter, he spends a lot of time here. You’ll find people are very friendly around here.”

Popping the last of his sandwich into his mouth, Dakata nodded again. After he’d finished, he said, “We should probably talk about what we’re going to do, going forward.”

“You have a very busy life, I imagine.” Silas broke off a piece of cheese from the slab and ate it, giving Dakata a chance to explain what he was thinking.

“Yes. I do. Most of it’s in town.” Dakata looked around again and then faced Silas head-on. “This is going to require an adjustment from me. You’re clearly happy here with your tree, singing in the club once a week and… and… I have no idea what else dryads do.”

“We help keep the forest healthy.” Silas smiled. “That’s what our magic is based around.”

“Right.”

It was clear that Dakata didn’t understand, but Silas trusted in the bond the demon had formed with himself and his tree.

“I have to travel a lot for my work,” Dakata continued. “Managing bands and solo artists… You’re not going to be able to come with me, are you?”

“No.” Inhaling deeply, Silas breathed out, letting go of the sudden tension he felt at Dakata not being around. “I go out for a few hours at most, but living here is kinda a big part of who I am. Being a dryad means I’m bonded to our tree.”

“I’m not sure how this is going to work between us.” Dakata looked worried.

Bit late to be thinking about that now. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Between our tree and your demon, we’ll work something out.”

“I could still sign you up—I could be your manager, and then you could travel with me…” Dakata trailed off as his eyes widened. “That’s why you wouldn’t sign up for me, isn’t it? You can’t leave your tree.”

Typical demon response. “I wouldn’t have signed up with you anyway.” Silas laughed. “The corporate world is all about money, and contracts, and getting ahead. It’s all Crave and the band talk about when I do go to the club. I know that’s your world, but I can’t see the joy in that. Having to be around people all the time…” Silas breathed in slowly again trying to work out how to explain.

“It’s emotionally draining for me. So many people take, take, take from each other all the time. There’s so little giving. When I sing, that’s me giving my gift to the people who hear me. Yes, Branson pays me, but apparently, he has to by law. I never asked him to. I usually spend the money on takeout food for my sister and my friends. It’s not like I need it here.”

“You would sing for free?”

“It’s not a crime. I promise.” Silas covered his mouth with his hand. Dakata looked scandalized. “I totally respect that you see things differently…”

He frowned as someone knocked sharply on his door and Dougal came in, looking even more annoyed than usual.

“You.” He pointed directly at Dakata.

“This is my Dakata. We’re bliss bonded, whatever that means,” Silas said happily. “Dakata, this is Dougal, one of my very dear friends. Dougal, what’s wrong? You look upset. You should take a seat…”

“Your demon has to leave and go down below,” Dougal roared.

“Why?” Silas clutched at his heart. He’d never heard Dougal so upset.

“Demons came just five minutes ago. Demons came, two of them. I was talking to Wanda. They said and I fucking quote, ‘Great. The asshole got a dryad. That wasn’t difficult’, and they grabbed her arms and took her. Fucking disappeared before I could stop them. Get her back, demon. Do you hear me? Get her back.”

“Not my sister, no. Dakata? Who would do that?” he cried in distress.

“Not every demon believes in blissful bonds.” Dakata stood and for the first time since Silas had come back to his house, he could feel the demon stirring under Dakata’s skin. “I’ll get her back. How long do I have before she has to be back with her tree?”

“Two hours at the most.” Silas jumped up, too, clicking his fingers and changing into tights, a tighter fitted robe, and boots. He ran over to a tall cupboard by the door and pulled out his longbow, quiver, and a knife. “You’re taking me, too,” he said. “Wanda will need me.”

“I’m not taking you down below,” Dakata roared, reminiscent of the night before at the club.

“You’re not leaving me behind.” Silas didn’t need to yell. It wasn’t like he was negotiating. “Wanda’s my sister. I can find her essence far quicker than you ever could, no matter where she is.”

“But if you stay away from your tree…” Dakata sounded genuinely concerned.

Silas wasn’t going to let his new whatever Dakata was to him leave him behind. “It just means we have to move quickly then, doesn’t it? Come on. Don’t dillydally. I’m not just a pretty face, you know. I can help with this.”

He could see the indecision on Dakata’s face, but after a long moment, with Silas getting to the point where he was going to kick the man in the shin if he didn’t move things along, Dakata held out his hand. “If you want a hope in hell in getting back to your tree, stay with me at all times.”

Let’s just see what happens first, shall we?