34. Yera

Chapter thirty-four

Yera

Two Months Later

M y phone buzzes and buzzes and buzzes. The cursed device slips out of my pocket and slides below my seat asI drive.

"Hold on," I yell at the vibrating phone as I steer over to the curb-side parking in front of my house.

I fish the phone from the depths of my ancient and messy Rav4, only for it to buzz in my hand. Mari's name pops up, with a picture of her comparing her height to a carved statue of Bigfoot.

"Holy shit, someone had better be dying for you to be panic- calling me like that."

She is panicked on the other end but just from stress. Her non-profit is hosting a banquet tonight in Bend for donors, and we live three hours away.

"I told you, I just need to shower, and I'll be over. I will bring my outfit to change at the event center. I've got you." That seems to satisfy her.

"Okay, I will expect you in one hour."

I loose a breath, slightly annoyed by her persistence. "Yes, see you in one hour, but let me decompress, and don't flood my messages in the meantime, please."

She agrees. I hear her calling over to the caterers before she hangs up the phone, and I shake my head.

This will be a very long night; I better relax while I can.

My house is a small two-bedroom, one-bath bungalow-style home. It smells like lavender when I walk in, taking a deep, calming breath.

Even though my house is small, I've designed it in such a way that it instantly relaxes me. All the furniture is bright, yet calming colors. The terracotta tile is cool under my feet when I shuck off my hiking boots and socks.

I head over to the kitchen, first grabbing a small glass of white wine to take into the shower. It's not a common practice, but I feel pre-gaming is necessary tonight.

The bathroom is cool and scented with mint and citrus. My khaki-colored gear is covered in mud, and I leave it in a pile on the floor with my underwear and bra.

I grab my glass of wine and take a big sip before setting it on the window ledge above my head.

Steam fills the room, and I take this moment to look down at my tired body. My hand grazes over the Vaki runes now tattooed over my stomach, upper thighs, and shoulders. The skin is raised where the spells mark my flesh, just like Arrick's.

Before another moment passes, I hear the sound of leather and metal hitting the ground before Arrick joins me in the shower. His enormous arms wrap around my stomach, and his body presses against mine.

"Did you have a good day protecting the forest?" he purrs into my ear, his once paper-white skin now darkened enough to pass as human but possibly one with an iron deficiency. His horns are gone, and his claws have shrunken down to resemble black-painted nails. It should be embarrassing how emo looks like this, but he's so fucking sexy that I don't care.

The runes still circle his hard abs and washboard chest, matching mine. "I had a good day; I only got stuck in the mud twice and got some good samples for my bark beetle study."

He grabs me tighter and kisses my neck. "I knew the forest would choose you. There is no better person to watch out for it."

I smile at that.

Trying to spell me to a place with seemingly no magic was risky, but when the call was given, the forest accepted, and the runes appeared on my skin, providing Arrick a permanent link to me and vice versa.

He stays over as much as he can during the week unless something pressing calls him back. It's been fun watching him adjust to my life and technology. The first time he stepped into a car, he nearly had a panic attack. Now that he's getting used to everything, he'll check my phone for me, which is buzzing now, and he pops out of the shower to check it.

"Mari's calling you. You want me to grab it?"

"No, I told her to give me an hour, so I'm going to ignore her until that timer goes off."

"You actually set a timer?"

"I did. I knew she couldn't make it and wanted proof to show her later."

Arrick chuckles and runs his hands over my skin and then presses his forehead to mine.

I love this so much. I love him so much. On the weekends, I'll go back through the veil. We've been spending our time looking for Ava. Since Mari can't move back and forth the way I can, I promised her I wouldn't stop looking.

My heart pangs at the thought of our friend still lost on the other side until my phone buzzes again.

I pull out of Arrick's embrace, sighing in frustration.

"She will never give us peace until we show our faces," he says.

"I know," I say, voice seething with irritation, "but she better get a good bottle of champagne for our table."

Arrick laughs at that, and the sweet, rich sound washes over me, causing my skin to prickle.

I turn the water off and leave the shower, Arrick following.

We both wrap ourselves in fluffy blue towels and pad to the bedroom.

It's so second nature having him in my house. The first few times were all curiosity and explanation. Now it's just familiar and lovely. I watch him as he opens my closet and fingers the material of his suit for the evening.

"Why does this damn thing need to be so tight?" he wines.

"Because I like how your ass looks in it, and if I have to be uncomfortable, then so do you." I remind him of how uncomfortable I'll be—swinging my green heels at him. He winces.

"Why does this place torture its women so much? "

"Centuries of the patriarchy," I quip, throwing sweats and an oversized T-shirt on.

"We're not dressing now?"

"No, it's like three hours away. We will help for a few hours and then get dressed in our fancy stuff just before."

"Thank the gods." Arrick throws on jeans and a black t-shirt before helping me gather the garment bags.

He looks fucking delicious in jeans and has become rather fond of them himself. He's even taken a few pairs of Carhartts back with him.

Back . Damn it. My stomach churns every time I think about that place. Our quiet, brilliant Ava is still there—somewhere.

We heard words, whispers really, about someone of her description. She is gone, in any case. Sailors and sea nymphs speak whispers, whispers about places even Arrick can't port to, areas with different magic and rules.

How did she get there? Why were the wisps so meddlesome? I shake the thought out of my head. We have a lead for the first time in two months. We have a lead. That thought alone sparks a bit of hope in my heart.

Arrick sees my stormy mind so clearly that it may as well be his own. "We are going to find her, My Lovely. I vowed that to you. Remember?"

I look back into those endless black eyes, full of love and determination. My problems are his, and it's written over every line of his face.

My phone vibrates again, breaking our silent moment. "Holy shit, I want a cake at our table, an entire cake for this level of obsessiveness." Arrick laughs at my demand but doesn't question its merits. "Oh shit, that reminds me, I need to call a Lyft." I'm going to drink that entire bottle myself for these antics.

Mariana has been known to be imposing, but this is over the fucking top.

"I don't know how Soren came out alive after those two weeks," Arrick muses to himself, gripping the front door with one hand and holding all of our garment bags in the other.

"You know what? She won't tell me the whole story. I've asked a dozen times now and can't get her to budge." Mari has never been very open about her relationships or conquests.

Her nature is to dominate everyone and everything, so vulnerability and sensuality appear to be her weak spot. I momentarily stand in the doorway, letting that roll around in my mind.

I get another ping on my phone, but this time, it's a notification that our Lyft is pulling up.

"Hey, creep, stop thinking about your best friend's sex life. I don't want that in my head when we see them."

He's right, but I pause for one more minute, taking him in. My wild Vaki. The one thing I never knew I needed. He walks up to the black SUV and gingerly opens the trunk to hang our clothes.

Instead of waving me over, he strides up with a hand out. "Shall we?" He bends a little like a knight would to a lady.

I take his hand. He leads me to the door and ushers me in, following closely. We sit in silence for a moment, and I use the opportunity to rest my head on his shoulder. The driver turns the radio on, and "Love on the Brain" by Rihanna fills the space.

It's melodic and timeless. I let the music wash over us, pressing my body closer to his. He pulls a wisp of hair off my face and lets his finger linger on my cheek momentarily.

Here, right now, everything is perfect. We are perfect.

I gaze out the window, seeing the full effect of fall color on the trees and sky—my favorite time of year .

"Mine too," Arrick leans over and whispers in my ear. I blush, forgetting he's always with me in my thoughts and heart.

The world passes by my window, and I watch it go by in my contented state. I look up at Arrick doing the same. Fall sunlight catches on his black eyes, and I sigh at his beauty.

Not as lovely as you, but thank you for the compliment , he speaks into my mind.

"Are you going to be creeping in my head forever?" I say, nudging him a bit.

"If forever is on the table, My Lovely, then forever it is."