9. Kaia

Try, and try again, we have. It’s been over a week of walking to town, talking to anyone who will listen, and mostly ignoring each other when we get back to his home. I’m on the cusp of asking to stay at his sister’s — pain in my chest be damned — because I just can’t handle the tension anymore. I hate the feeling of walking on eggshells, especially when I’ve done nothing wrong.

By midweek, my feet were covered in blisters, the poor skin not used to being tied up in ill-fitting leather. Luckily, Aggie came through with clothes that fit me perfectly and a pair of boots that wrapped my feet in the softest fabric, covered with tough leather that didn’t let the smallest sticks and stones roll my ankles.

Being so close to Thoren has been driving me slowly insane. It’s like the bond can feel that we’re purposefully ignoring it, and it’s determined to grow stronger each day. Thoren came back from another swim in the lake yesterday, and as the discomfort in my chest eased, another feeling started growing… I’m constantly wet and aching between my thighs, and I swear he can sense it or smell it. Many times, when we’ve gotten close to each other over the past week, I’ve seen his nostrils flare and his pupils blow. Like he can sense that my pussy is begging for him to fill it.

But I ignore it, refusing to let something supernatural tell me when to spread my legs.

“I think we should travel to the next city over.” His rough voice, probably from lack of speaking the last few days, jolts me out of my daydream. I’m sitting at the windows that look out at his front yard — do they call them front yards here? — and I pull my gaze from the trees that are beginning to shed their leaves.

“Why’s that?” Even my own voice feels foreign to me. I guess I hadn’t realized just how much silence had filled his home.

“We aren’t finding the answers here,” he tells me. “We’ve been talking to people day in and day out. We’ve spoken to seers, witches, demons, and ogres. Hells, even the wraiths have no answers for us. Not in this village.” He scoffs. “There is someone in Echo Bluff I think may be able to help us.”

I remember the wraiths, their ghostly bodies just hovering above the ground as their impossibly dark eyes bored into my freaking soul. Those things were creepy as hell.

“And you expect us to walk?” I extend my leg, my foot flexing to show the blisters that are starting to heal. “I don’t think I’ll survive that jaunt just yet. And we are not flying.”

“I will get us a horse.”

“A horse,” I say, looking at him with an eyebrow raised. “Just one? Am I to straddle your lap as you take us on this journey?”

He laughs, the first sign of joy I’ve seen on his face recently. I forgot just how beautiful he can be.

“One is all we can afford at the moment,” he tells me. “I’ve been working so hard on the chapel that I’ve had to push back a lot of my normal customers. So funds are low. But you don’t have to straddle me, Goldilocks. Not unless you want to.”

Between the look in his eyes and the constant tug on the mating bond, I’m struggling to see through the haze of arousal sweeping through me. Why would it be such a bad idea to consummate this little thing we have going on? Maybe a quick fuck would just get it out of our systems, let us rest without feeling the constant need for each other. Even in my dreams, this gray-skinned gargoyle finds me and ravishes me. And if he’s anything like dream-him, I would be in for one wild ride.

“Okay,” I agree. “Let’s try the next city over. Do you have weapons?”

“Yes. But why?” He’s walked slowly toward me, inching closer throughout this entire conversation, and I’ve only just noticed. Our legs are about to bump, and I can feel the sweet heat coming off his body.

“Bandits? Thieves? People up to no good?”

“Okay, Goldilocks. I get it,” he says, laughing. “I’ll protect you. Don’t worry.”

“When do we leave, then?”

“Today.” He turns his back to me and walks back to the kitchen, where he’s currently making something that smells fucking delicious. “Once I’m done making us some food for the road, we’ll head into town. I need to grab some things from my forge, get a horse, and then we’ll ride the few hours it takes to get to Echo Bluff.”

“Okay, I’ll go pack.”

“Kaia.” I turn at the sound of my name, said so seriously from his lips. When I face him, he’s half turned and half looking at me. He looks worried. “I am sorry about the other night. I’d like to explain?—”

“No need,” I tell him, my smile so wide it hurts. I don’t want to go back to not speaking. It was too lonely and too anxiety-inducing. “It’s okay, really. I’ll go pack my stuff.”

“So this is where the magic happens?” I ask as we walk into his forge.

An hour later and we finally made it into town. The sun is high, warming the air around us for the first time since I’ve fallen into this world. Granted, I’m from Seattle, so I’m used to the cold. But it’s a nice change of pace after the last week of autumn breezes and rainy nights.

“Mm,” he hums as he nods. “This is it.”

I walk in, my eyes scanning the darkened room. There’s a fireplace on the far end of the building, the coals still hot and glowing. He opens the shutters on the window, and light streams through the glass. It shines on all the beautiful metalwork lying around. There are hinges and doorknobs, swords and daggers, all designed intricately, with patterns and animals; some even have names etched into the shiny metal.

“These are beautiful, Thoren.” I try to take in every piece, running my fingers over the cool iron and steel. I pick up a dagger, its handle a shiny gold, and the blade is lightweight and sharp as hell. I flick my thumb across the edge, testing the finely tapered edge.

“Careful, Goldilocks. Doesn’t sound like you have weapons where you come from.” He grins in my direction, and my heart kicks up a notch. “Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself… again.”

“I couldn’t help hurting myself when we had to walk into town every day,” I shoot back.

“We didn’t have to walk,” he says as he mills about the room, picking up a few things here and there. “We could’ve flown.”

He throws a wink over his shoulder as his wings unfurl, taking up far too much space in this room. Dark veins are scattered through them like spiderwebs, and I resist the urge to touch them. I curl my hand around the hilt of the dagger, trying to remind myself that I’m not going to give in.

“Just get what you need, big man.”

“You stay here for a moment,” he says, gently taking the dagger from my hand. “I’m going to drop these wares off to my customers, and then I’ll be back with a horse.”

“That we will both be riding into the next town.”

“Don’t sound so thrilled.”

Another grin thrown carelessly in my direction, and my panties practically rip themselves off. He leaves, and I’m left to my own thoughts. I think this is the first time I’ve been left alone. Like, completely alone somewhere. Continuing to look around his forge, I find so many stunning pieces he’s created.

His hands create beautiful works of art. The daggers with dark-stained wood carved into the handles are my favorite. They’re glossy, and the color is deep and warm, and it’s a stark contrast to the shining silver blade that gleams in the sunlight. For a split second, I have the urge to flip it in my hand, like I’m some kind of wannabe hero in an action movie. That’s some main character shit, and I am not on it.

“Take it.” His voice scares the shit out of me, and the dagger drops from my hand. I jump back like that will protect my poor toes. But Thoren is fast. Impossibly fast. I guess it comes with the whole supernatural monster thing. Before I can even finish blinking, he’s there, his hard body pressing up against my own as he grabs the knife out of the air.

His grip catches the handle, too. Show-off .

“Or, maybe don’t,” he says, grinning down at me from way above.

“I’ve never handled a dagger before. Sue me.”

“Let us go, Goldilocks.” He flips the blade in the air, and it lands point down on the counter. It sticks straight up and barely wobbles. “I got us a stallion.”