33. Chapter Thirty Three

Aramis and I walk in silence, loosely holding hands as we make our way towards Nero. My body still hums from his touch, yearning for more. I turn my head, studying his profile. His sharp angular jaw clenches every time he glances towards the sky with worry. But the corners of his eye crinkle with entertainment any time he looks my way.

"What does pomme sucrée mean?" I ask as I lace my fingers through his.

I can't explain the draw I have to him. It's like I have only now taken my first real breath.

"Ah." The corners of his eyes crinkle as he smiles softly down at me. "It means sweet apple." Aramis grips my hand tightly then releases it gently. The absence of his hand enfolding over mine makes me look up. He winks at me, and there's a promise in that gesture. Leaning forward he whispers, his breath a tickling caress, "Because you, Sybil darling, are my new favorite dessert."

Goddess help me.

Aramis tilts his chin up, breaking his gaze to scan the trees. The power of emotions courses through me and I am torn between leaning into the pureness of this moment, and trying to understand how this is going to change everything. There is also Kela's death still clinging to me like a relentless shadow, casting even the happiest moments into darkness.

The snapping of tree branches precedes Nero landing in front of us in a crouch. "Took ya some time," he says, a sneaky grin on his face. Splatters of iridescence coat his wings and body. Aramis doubles over in laughter, clapping his friend on the shoulder while helping him to stand.

"What fairy bush did you roll in?" He flicks at a gooey glob stuck to Nero's wing.

"What did I tell ye about touching ma wings, ye insensitive arse?" Nero growls, flapping his wings and splattering Aramis.

"Hey!" Aramis's eyes widen in shock as he glances down at his now glowing body. The tall, regal princely air is shattered and I bite back my entertainment. "That was uncalled for, you know. I carried your pack this whole way while you have been gallivanting up in the sky." Aramis pulls a glob of iridescence from his hair and throws it at Nero. It lands with a wet splat in between his brows dripping down his cheekbones.

"Gallivanting?" Nero growls, swiping at his face, smearing the goo.

I can't hold it in anymore. Glancing between the two of them squabbling like old housewives, covered in iridescent goo, I burst out laughing. I double over as I cackle at the sight of them. Nero grumpy with defense and Aramis trying to seek more information.

Splat!

Warm lavender goo obscures my vision. I wipe away at my face clean, revealing the twoof them, fallen to the ground, doubled over with flushed faces from their laughter. "Who did that!?" I command an answer, but they continue laughing at me, denying me. I toss my bags on the ground.

"Get up, the both of you!" I kick at their boots. At their refusal, I lean down and pack a ball tight of snow, and throw it at Aramis' pretty face. I lean down, gather another one, and throw it at Nero. The snow around them glows faintly from their antics, but my attack has officially stopped their laughter.

"That's it." Aramis' tone commands, full of steel, and sends me a calculating look.

Ooooh boy. What have I just started?

Whilst Aramis gathers his own snowy ammunition, I let instincts take over, and dash off running as far away as I can from him. The heavy, wet impact of the snowball hits my back, sending me sprawling. My face hits snow, and Aramis laughs with triumph. I lean on my forearms, sputtering snow out of my mouth, and brush my hair out of my face.

"Aye, Aramis, that was a low blow," I hear Nero say over my muffled ears and turn around to see Aramis getting pelted by snow from waves and waves of Nero's wings. The image is so absurd I burst into laughter as the crown Prince of Shadowvale is slowly turning into a snowman, and as my stomach cramps up from joy, I realize I am not lonely anymore."Right." I begin as we all recover from our little snow fight.

I step around Aramis, ready to grab my bags, but slip over a root. I land in a pile of glowing mushrooms that let out puffs of iridescent powder coating all of us. This only causes the two males to burst into more laughter as I sit up, completely drenched and resplendent in fairy powder.

"Ye. Look. Ridiculous." Nero pants out his laughter.

"We all look ridiculous," Aramis agrees and offers me another hand up. His wind blasts the worst of the iridescent dust off my face, then gently brushes my lips. Lemon pops out of my pocket and crawls up to my neck, licking at my cheek.

"You didn't happen to find a stream on the way to the tunnels, did you?" I ask eagerly. "As much as I love looking like a firefly, I'd rather not draw unwanted attention to ourselves."

Nero flashes me an amused grin as he claps his hands together and grabs his pack from Aramis's hands. "Even better, I found a small hot spring and some caves to stay in overnight."

Thank Goddess.