Jovari the Blue

Chapter 12: Pelwynn

The Gable Forest

Koldis couldn't help his wandering mind. Couldn't help the thoughts that replayed every moment from the night before. The feel of Taylynn's flesh beneath his fingers. The small sounds she made. The taste of her lips—

"Not long now, I think." Her voice jolted him.

"You think?"

"It's different when the forest isn't guiding me," she explained.

He pressed outward with his mind, felt a collection of skittering consciousnesses. Squirrels and chipmunks, concerned about their foraging. Rabbits. Birds, too. Even the distant flicker of a unicorn.

What would it be like, he wondered, to have so few cares? He couldn't fathom it. His entire life had been spent caring about one thing or another, and those cares had only gotten worse.

"I think...yes. Just here." Taylynn stopped at the edge of a clearing. He came up behind her, pressing close against her back. He couldn't help himself, couldn't help the shiver of eagerness that raced over his skin. Gods! He was lovesick.

At the center of the clearing there was a tree—not the king tree. It was stunted, its trunk and limbs gnarled with age. There was a gaping hole in its center. He knew without knowing, that the stones were hidden within the tree. Or, that they should be.

He took a step around Taylynn. Her hand shot out, fingers wrapping around his wrist. He froze. "Wait," she warned. "Let me check the wards."

"I thought the forest—"

"Do you want to get sliced to bits based on my assumptions?"

"For what it's worth," he said, grudgingly, "I trust your assumptions."

He trusted her wholly.

She sighed, shaking her head. Then she lifted a hand and moved forward, as if feeling the air. Her hand dropped. "As I suspected. Nothing."

"So the protective wards are all gone?" She nodded in confirmation. "But the stones?"

"Let us hope they're still safe. Stay here, I'll check."

He fidgeted, watching with his heart in his throat. She strode across the clearing and stopped at the gnarled tree. Her arm delved into the hole at its center, disappearing into its trunk, all the way to her shoulder. A small cry of relief fell from her lips.

"All good?" His own relief was palpable.

"All good," she said.

A twig snapped. His eyes snapped up. From the far side of the clearing, a slithery voice said, "Excellent. I would have been most displeased."

Taylynn went rigid, her arm still hidden within the trunk of the tree. Koldis bristled, his hand going straight for the hilt of his sverak. The undergrowth parted. He blinked. Somehow, knowing what he would see still didn't prepare him for the gut-wrenching shock of it.

Kane emerged, his movements hindered. At first, Koldis couldn't tell why. Then he spotted the body Kane dragged behind him, bound and gagged.

"Kane," Taylynn hissed, though she didn't move, didn't pull her arm free. Like she was afraid to. Koldis growled, low in his throat, a warning.

His first thought was to protect his mate.

Taylynn's eyes settled on the prone figure Kane dragged. "Oh, gods! Pelwynn! What...what have you done to him?!" she demanded.

"I've poisoned him," Kane said, a triumphant smile spreading across his lips. "One of my own unique concoctions, I'm afraid. There is an antidote. Just one dose. I'll give it to you, if you hand over the stones. Otherwise, I'm afraid he's minutes from death."