"No!" Fern actually looked shocked at my jest.
She waved her hands exaggeratedly. "You are no pet! Please don’t misunderstand !"
Seeing her flustered was actually quite nice. It took the tension out of the air and dispelled so of the awkwardness. It was also interesting to note that Fern switched to another language. Her words had a nice touch to them, but I couldn’t understand them regardless.
"I don’t know what you’re trying to say," I mouthed when Fern stopped speaking. Her eyes widened as if she had just realized that she’d spoken in another language, and her blush deepened once more. "But what does being claid an?"
Fern murmured sothing I couldn’t quite grasp. She avoided my eyes until finally blurting, "I claid you. As...as my mate!"
That was unexpected. My jaw dropped to the ground as I stared at the beautiful fae. To say I was starstruck was yet another understatent of the year. "Mate?"
Fern’s face was completely red. I didn’t even think it was possible to turn such a red shade. "I– I had to do sothing. And since you already adapted to my scent and accepted the Gift of Interest, I thought...you know...I thought it was the best option to keep you alive." Her stutters were cute, and so was her struggle to explain the situation. "I definitely didn’t claim you because – No, wait, I did it because I wanted to! Don’t misunderstand! It’s just that I would have loved for the circumstances to be better."
Cute.
It was impossible not to smile at Fern’s antics.
"I guess I am yours now?" I asked, only to be t with a tomato-red face. My cheeks burned hot as well, but I didn’t hate the situation. If anything, it was quite nice.
When nobody said anything for a while, I took it upon myself to ask the really important question, "What now?"
Fern looked up at that, her blush receding slowly.
"What do you want to do?" she asked curiously.
"I–..." What exactly did I want to do? "I don’t know. The fae wouldn’t want to roam through the grove unattended, right? They probably don’t want to leave either, for the ti being, until they know whether to trust or not. Am I correct with that?"
Fern’s lips ford a flat line. She said nothing, but no words were needed to know the answer.
"They don’t trust humans. Honestly, I wouldn’t trust my people either if the only humans I t were Earl Nuer’s soldiers – or people just like him," I spoke in all honesty. "But I hope your people understand that I am not the sa. Not every human is as bad as those soldiers."
Thinking about it for a mont, I added, "Are all fae good? Surely, there have to be so ’black sheep’ among your people. If so, you should put the earl’s soldiers in the sa category."
"The Elders know about kind humans. They also know that not all humans of the Destroyers’ lands are bad. But betrayals run deep, and the Elders cannot afford to be negligent," Fern said quietly.
That was good enough for . "As long as they keep an open heart, I will be fine. I can earn their trust. And once they trust , I can join your hunts maybe? I think that would be great."
Fern smiled at the last bit. "I would love to hunt with you. But is that enough for you?" She hesitated for a mont. "You told you wanted to see more of the realm. Explore the realm and have an adventure. You can do that. Maybe...we can do that together."
She regarded for a mont as if trying to read my reaction before continuing in a hurry, "You don’t need the Zetrian Empire to have adventures and explore the realm."
Hatred seeped into her voice at the ntion of the Zetrian Empire.
I don’t need the Zetrian Empire.
That was right. I didn’t need the empire.
"But what about my family?" I blurted my thoughts out loud.
"What about them?" Fern tilted her head. "Just visit them when you feel like it. You can easily avoid the earl’s people. So whenever you feel like taking a break from adventuring, you can visit your family."
"But what about my Pow–..." Before I could finish my sentence, the sound of footsteps rang in my ears.
Turning around, an unfamiliar fae stepped into the hut. She was older than Fern but nearly as beautiful. The fae was also humanoid and resembled the Forest Folk with her antlers, but like Fern, she was covered in bark. Yet, while Fern had only a few spots covered in bark, resembling a second skin, the unfamiliar woman’s arms and neck were covered in bark.
Fern bowed toward the woman, her voice serious. "Elder Taria."
"It appears our guest is awake." The fae, Elder Taria, turned to look at , her eyes as piercing as Maer’s.
Her gaze alone radiated imnse power. It was enough to crush soone like the flying ship’s captain with ease.
The Elder was a powerhouse and much more straightforward than Fern or Maer. "Since you are awake, how about you tell about your Power. What’s your Power?"
As the last words rang through the hut, the tension skyrocketed. I broke into a cold sweat, my legs threatened to cave in, and I struggled to catch my breath.
"Are you not listening?" She clicked her tongue, which only seed to increase the weight crushing down on . "The gods’ blessing given to humans are called Powers, or am I mistaken?"
Elder Taria did not sound like she thought she was mistaken. Like, at all.
The Elder knew what she wanted, and she was certain she would get it.
My lips parted even before my mind registered what was happening.
"Shift. My Power is Shift."
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