Page 21 of Healing Elixirs & Wicked Crows

When I said nothing, he prodded further."It will be a long day if I am to carry you while your ankle heals.It will feel far shorter if you distract me with your story."

"There is no story," I replied.

"Oh, there is always a story," he said.His chin grazed the top of my head as he spoke."How about I tell you a story of my own, and in return, you give me one of yours?"

"Mine is too sad to share," I answered, unable to keep the hurt from my tone.

"I have a sad tale as well."He shrugged, my body lifting against his chest with the motion."As sad as it is, though, I think it gives us strength to live even more."

"Fine.If for no other reason than to pass the time."I let out a slow breath."You first.Have you ever fallen in love with someone?"I asked, wanting to go deeper than something superficial.Were the unseelie even capable of love?

He didn't respond for quite some time.After several minutes passed, I finally said, "Elias?"

There was a faraway look behind his silver-gray eyes when he said, "I did once, yes."

"Tell me that story then," I demanded.

"I fell in love at a very young age.Back then, when I was just a wee lad, I didn't know it was love," he began, a sad smile pulling at the corners of his lips."I was so mean to her at first.I teased her almost constantly, played cruel tricks on her.I did whatever I could to capture her attention."

"Why?"I asked, letting my head rest against his shoulder.

"It was all I knew to do back then."He sighed."My family didn't know much about love.It wasn't something freely given."

"So, you didn't know how to act toward this female that you fell in love with," I said.When he nodded, I asked, "What did you do then?"

A wicked grin cut across his lips."It wasn't what I did, but what she did."

"Well, what did she do?"

"She tried to drown me," he admitted, laughing at the look of shock that crossed my features.

My mouth fell open as a flash of memory played behind a blink of my eyes.One of a soaked boy.I tried to grasp onto it, but like strands of mist, it evaporated.It felt familiar, but it was gone before I could figure out what it could mean.

"Tell me you're joking," I said.

He shook his head."Oh, no.I am dead serious.She pushed me over into a deep fountain.I sank to the bottom, thrashing like a waterlogged infant, until she found it in her good graces to save me."

"You didn't know how to swim?"I asked.Something foreign nagged at the corners of my mind, an inkling of knowing that melted away each time I reached for it.Everything about this story felt familiar, but I couldn't figure out why.

"That's what she screamed at me when we surfaced, after I choked out half the pond.I think it was then that I fell in love with her."

"How old were you?"

"I was eleven.She was eight.Even then, I knew that one day she would own all of me, well, if I wasn't careful, that is."

"What happened to her?"

"We changed.We grew apart and are now on different paths."His eyes lost that sparkle and his voice went flat.

"Do you still love her?"I inquired softly.

"She will always own a piece of me.Yes, I still love her, but I’m trying not to.I have a different path to walk now.She deserves better than me.I could never be what she deserves.Not now.Too much time has separated us.There’s too much history."

That confession, so raw and unintentional, seemed to halt our discussion of love in its tracks—as if he hadn’t meant to be that vulnerable.He didn’t ask for my story, and I didn’t offer it.We continued in silence, once again haunted by our pasts.

The sun was high in the sky now, its warm rays filtering through the thick foliage.Even though the effort was not my own as we moved through the forest, a prickle of sweat beaded along the nape of my neck.Elias carried me effortlessly through the lush undergrowth, his strong arms cradling my body close.It was impossible not to be hyper aware of every point where our bodies touched.A few times, I could swear I saw the flash of something moving through the trees in the distance around us, but Elias didn’t seem concerned so I pushed the worry from my mind.

My ankle still throbbed dully, but the pain was now an afterthought, overshadowed by the intoxicating sensation of being held within his embrace, surrounded by his masculine scent.I shifted slightly, trying to find a bit of distance from him, but all I managed to do was to create a delicious friction between us.I chewed my lip, realizing that while my ankle healed, I was completely at this unseelie male's mercy.