Daughters of Creation

Chapter Ten: Dormiveglia (Part Two)

 Rowan placed a soothing hand on Millicent's shoulder, silently giving her support. Dana still wondered what exactly the fae felt toward Millicent, but she dare not out right ask Rowan. The fae was the hardest for her to read and she did not want to accidentally say the wrong thing—the fae kind could be sensitive to the most random things and getting on his bad side did not seem like the best thing to do.

"I'll have to call this in soon. When I do I want the six of you—plus your friend Dae—out of the vicinity. Stay in the apartment. After we transport the body back to Oleander Hold and look more closely we'll come back and discuss the plan on getting the records." Rena tilted her head, pulling from her squatted position.

Dae stiffened beside Dana and her gaze snapped to the sky. The sun was further in the sky than she had thought. She frowned. They talked longer than she had thought before Rowan and Millicent sensed the dead shapeshifter. Her frown deepened. Dae wouldn't be able to stay with her much longer. His midnight eyes looked down at her, a sad knowing reflecting back at her. She knew he didn't want to leave her, that it killed him every time he had to walk away from her side, but Dana knew he had no choice. He was Eytelis' Sentry, he had a duty and calling to fulfill. She did not hold it against him, she didn't think she could even if she wanted to. She cared for Dae too much to let her petty selfishness to cloud her judgment.

She smiled softly, as if she was not standing next to a dead body, and nodded at him. "Go, tell Eytelis I want to see her, too. I miss her." I miss her a lot. I want to see her soulful starry eyes, I want to get lost in their endless depths, to forget what I've seen today.

Dae read what her eyes were telling that her voice could not. He leaned down, whispering in her ear. "I'll tell Eytelis. I'm sure she would not keep away even if I didn't say anything." His breath is warm against her ear, causing her cheeks to flush. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her and hold her close, but she was not bold enough to do so or ask with everyone around. Dae sensed her thoughts anyways and sent her a secretive wink.

"You know where we'll be: stuck inside the apartment playing safe."

He rolled his eyes. "While they deal with the Guards and the case, spend time on the flower and what we could be missing with the Originals' story. It's not playing safe, Dana, it's knowing what moves to play."

She sighed. He was right. "Go, find Eytelis. I'll divert the attention while you make your escape."

Dae chuckled and planted a chaste kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back in the morning to hear what wild plan Rosalyn has cooked up and more about the shapeshifter. Poor bloke, he has the worst injuries out of them ... which means he's either escalating or he didn't get what he wanted right away and the results are from his anger."

The shadows around them twisted, curling and weaving. Dana wasn't sure if they were natural or magic-enforced but she did not want to remain in the woods any longer—nothing good seemed to come from being in the woods.

Vela stiffened, her eyes darting. The shadows intensified, darting and retreating, taunting. Dana frowned as Dae slipped away. There went her Sun. Her focus snapped back when Andre took Vela's hand in his, entwining their fingers. The stiffness in Vela's shoulders eased and she casted Andre a grateful look; the shadows withered. The tired look in the werewolf's eyes ebbed away, as if being near Vela was enough to revive life into him. Vela would have to talk with Andre sooner than later. The poor boy looked exhausted and it hadn't even been two days since he confessed to her she was his mate. Dana thought back to Dae and Eytelis, her heart warming and her mind briefly forgetting the dead divine. It could only have been fate that brought them together; they had awoken her from a living nightmare, a cycle she couldn't break since the deaths of the Coven of Strey. Her Dryad and her Sentry sparked the universe inside her, bringing forth a new energy inside of her she had thought had long since been dead. They had healed a torn soul, mended a broken heart, took on her personal darkness. Eytelis and Dae were her Moon and Sun, she could not imagine her life without them, could not imagine never meeting them. She wanted Vela to feel the same contentment with Andre that she felt with Eytelis and Dae.