Faethfully Yours: Unbound

Chapter Two

Thunder strummed, and I awakened, no longer able to sleep through the noise. Lightning flashed through black clouds that pushed over endless gray skies. At a time, I would have rolled my eyes, and huffed about how stormy days depressed me. But then and there, as the winds groaned past, I didn’t know how to feel. Whether millennia of storms, or centuries of sunshine, what would it change? The nightmare that was my life would continue long after storms were dragged out to sea and the sun dipped into the horizon.

But in all the dreariness, there was a silver lining—literally. Through the mist, icy gates towered in the distance. Nestled between two snowcapped mountains, the arched entrances of Gri'ah glistened, reflecting the torch flames that scratched the fog like red fingernails.

I let out a slow breath.

"Sleep well?" The rumble of Kheelan's voice against my ear jarred me from thought. Our horse trod to a slower gallop, and I nodded against his chest, still gazing out to our destination.

Kheelan followed my eyes, and then looked up to the sky. “Let's hope this rain holds out. If we don't have to stop for shelter, we should be there by sundown.”

I let out a small laugh. “Sundown? When did the sun ever rise in this place?” The horse beneath us whined as if agreeing and complaining the fact.

Our entire journey to Gri’ah had been under a vortex of gray. The last time I saw the sun was back at the crossing between the human and Fae realms. In one of the many towns we’d passed, a storekeeper told us told us that as of recent, the days had grown darker and colder, the sun staying away for longer periods each passing day. It’d been three weeks since he'd last seen the sun. That had been two weeks ago.

My smile withered.

“I liked that smile,” Kheelan said, brushing windblown strands of hair from my face in gentleness only he possessed. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”

I arched a brow. “You’re asking me? Since when did you Fae ever believe in privacy? Why don’t you just read my mind and find out?” I taunted him and laughed harder when his eyes narrowed, the corners of his lips twisting to a dangerous smirk.

“Will I find anything mischievous?”

I leaned back, smiling widely. “Why don’t you find out?”

Lifting a hand, I pushed back the hood of his cloak and looked up to the turquoise pools that had over the past two weeks become my personal blue skies. A cool wave flowed through me as I opened my mind to him, and let him navigate freely through my many thoughts.

Kheelan grinned. “You like me unshaven, and think I have nice lips.”

I gasped, and yanked the hood of his cloak further down his face. Kheelan’s laughter rippled around us, the air seeming to warm up a bit. It felt good, but not as great as it was to hear Kheelan laugh. It was even nicer to know I was the one who’d made him happy after having caused him so much pain.

After we managed to stop laughing and ignore Elena’s sideways glances, I rested my head against his chest, as he spoke the truths of my mind. “You’re worried about going to Gri’ah, and don’t understand why I chose for us to go there.”

I bit my lip, a bit ashamed that I doubted him. It sounded much worse when said out loud than it did as little whispers in my head.

“I’m still in your thoughts, you know?” he said softly, and ran a hand down my back reassuringly. “I chose Gri’ah because it’s one of the minor kingdoms, and extremely remote. It’s six weeks from Hillenia, and even almost twelve from Niarr—The Unseelie Kingdom. I wouldn’t have chosen it if I didn’t think you’d be safe, and far away from any threats.”