Page 46 of Healing Elixirs & Wicked Crows

When we broke through the cave's entrance, the man at my back sliced apart the bindings around my wrists before shoving me forward with such force that I fell into the dirt.I coughed, pressing my weakened arms beneath me, trying to lift myself from the ground.Standing, I rubbed at the deep lines of purple ringing my wrists as I turned to face him."My sword."

He smirked at me as Rosemary and Malcolm stepped out of the cave behind him.He eyed me for a long moment before he replied, "I should keep it for all the trouble you caused us, but I know who you are?—"

"—I am the one who would have ended your life," I interrupted him before he could give away any of my secrets.I would tell Rosemary every last one of them, but I would not let anyone else take that moment from us."And I still can."

The man gave an amused shake of his head, reaching behind him to pull the blade free from the scabbard at his back.He dragged his fingertips over the design etched into the hilt, over the large ruby pressed into the pommel, and down the metal crow wing pommel.His fingers danced over the royal crest of the unseelie court—two crescent moons flanking a full moon—as he flicked a glance over his shoulder to where Rosemary stood in quiet conversation with his alpha.Then a smile twisted his lips as he tossed it to my feet.

I dropped, yanking it into my hold before letting it disappear into a shimmering cloud of mist.I couldn't risk Rosemary seeing it.She didn't remember everything, but she would recognize the symbol.It was the same design etched along the pommel of her dagger.They were a matching set after all.

As I stood, a sharp pain pierced my right side.My fingers traced the skin beneath the torn tunic given me by the wolves, and they came away bloodied.I stifled a groan, masking the injury with magic.It puzzled me why it hadn't healed yet.My fingertips brushed the raised scar on my neck, an injury that would have been fatal to a human, yet healed overnight for me.So, why hadn't the one along my ribs?

The wolves thanked Rosemary again, wishing her well on her journey.We moved quietly through the thick woods, with only the crunch of leaves underfoot and rustling foliage in the gentle breeze.The silence was comfortable ...until it shifted.Tension emanated from Rosemary beside me as she worried her lower lip and twirled the ends of her long, wavy hair.

"Where were you?"she asked, the question not unexpected, but the hurt within her voice as she spoke quietly squeezed at my heart.She glanced down at my hands.“And what happened to you?”

"I am sorry I was absent, princess," I replied, avoiding her gaze as much as she turned from mine."I left to go check our perimeter.When I returned, the danger present was clear.I tried to fight them off, tried to fight my way to you, but there were too many."I lifted my palms, staring down at the dark lines of my veins.Already, the darkness was receding.All visible signs of it would be clear within hours, though I would never be free of the darkness I’d accepted.It would linger always within my heart and soul.I held my arm up between us, my gaze trailing along the intricate, inky lines.

“As for what happened to me, I had a need for things from the earth that nature refused to give without payment.”I shrugged.“The cost has been paid, and this evidence of that transaction will diminish in time.”

Guilt and shame welled up within me.I had promised to see her through this journey, to keep her protected, and I had failed.Not only had I failed, but even in my apology to her, I’d withheld pieces of the truth.I had left her alone on purpose, knowing I wouldn't return until morning dawned.I couldn't stay with her last night.Not with the curse stealing my form from me.

When I finally stole a look her way, tears glistened in her eyes as she glanced up at me."I thought...I thought you had abandoned me, or that something had happened to you," she whispered."And then they brought you in, tied up and so very obviously wounded."

"You were afraid for me?"I asked, finishing her thought for her.The forest around us seemed to fall quiet as we moved through the reaching branches.Rosemary nodded, her lip trapped between her teeth."Well," I said, half a grin stretching upon my lips, "at least now I know that you no longer want to stab me but rather worry about my life instead."

I joked, trying to lighten the mood, but her words affected me more than I wanted to let on.She had revealed more than the fact that she'd been worried about me.She had just admitted that she cared about me.That was something that I needed, but at the same time, I had feared receiving.Would I be able to see this through, knowing that her heart was in this far deeper than it should be?

That had been the plan.But now, the thought tasted bitter on my tongue, like copper and regret.My heart pounded with indecision, each beat echoing a different answer while my stomach twisted, sour and unsettled.

Rosemary laughed, the sound like gold in the heavy air between us."Maybe I just want to stab you a little less now."

I placed my hand against my chest."Oh, be still my heart," I teased."Careful, princess.I might miss your constant threats."

She shook her head, rolled her eyes dramatically, and marched ahead.“You’d miss me threatening to stab you.”

“That I would princess, because it tur?—”

“Yes, yes.You already said it.No reason to repeat it,” she muttered, but I didn’t miss the flush that spread across her face.

We ventured deeper into the enchanted woods, my body aching with each movement while the magic within me worked to heal my injuries.Yet, my side continued to burn.

Leaves rustled underfoot, and the gurgling of a nearby stream beckoned us.My spine straightened as Rosemary's steps quickened, both of us eager for fresh water.The trees parted, revealing a meadow where wildflowers thickened along the trails, and a wide stream cut through the clearing.

Without a word, Rosemary pushed toward that stream, her pack dropping along the bank.I knelt next to her, dipping my fingers into the cool water, admiring the glittering rays of the sun as it danced across the rippling surface.I drank my fill, relishing the feel of its cold kiss as it coated my parched throat.

I eagerly freed my feet from my boots and stepped into the stream, moaning as the icy water soothed my aching muscles.I waded to the center, where only my head remained above the surface.The cold gripped my side wound, making me wince, but the pain soon ebbed a fraction, and I sighed in relief.

Rosemary tossed her boots next to her pack, lifted the heavy traveling dress from her shoulders until she stood along the bank in only her undergarments.Without hesitation, she splashed into the water, following me but remaining out of my reach as she let the water course over her body.Her eyes studied me, grazing along the jagged scar along my neck to my jaw.Her head tilted as she asked, "What do the tattoos along your face and neck mean?The runes?"

I raised my brows in surprise.It hadn't been the ugly scar she'd been staring at after all, but the runed tattoos painted along the right side of my face and neck.The ancient fae symbols only known to the royal families, passed down over the generations for tradition and survival.

Yet, my seelie companion, a royal herself, didn't recognize these symbols for what they were.I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling the damp strands from my brow."You don’t know ancient fae?"

Her hands roved over her skin as she watched me.She let the water clear away the sweat and grime of our days of travel as she shook her head.

"It is a story of creation.A prophecy of hope and heartbreak," I explained, my fingers gliding over the moist skin of my arm as I traced the symbol there.

Her eyes followed my movements, taking in the intricate details of each rune."I wasn't able to learn much," she confessed as she approached me.Her fingers lifted from beneath the water until she brought them to the second symbol along my skin, her touch a breath away."But doesn't this one mean heart?"