Chapter 70

I watched from the corner of my eye as Xen wrote his reply to the Vampire King. Brian, Alkin, and Lief had to stay there as a pretence. Whoever is keeping tabs on their correspondence now thinks that Crescent Alpha is residing in Dragonstone. Two things reportedly happened: the attacks on Dragonstone were reduced, and the silence here is almost deafening. As we approached the full moon, instead of letting our guards down, Xen became more guarded.

He kept sending the wolves on overnight patrols, and he would go to the black oak woods every day. His late-night strolls had now become daytime walks, but this time, the reason wasn't me. He folded the letter and sealed it with the Crescent seal, his hand trembling again as he clenched his fist, hitting it on the desk. I moved away at the impact as the lamp fell and the quills scattered away.

He grabbed my hand and said, "I am sorry." The stress lines on his forehead were deepening.

"What is bothering you? That we have no lead, or that the Vampire King suggested we should move from here?" I asked.

"Silas is thinking about catching the faeries," he said, shaking his head in disappointment. "Vampires and their obsession with Fae and sirens," he said, standing up from the desk. He laced his fingers through mine and looked down at the letter in my hand that I was holding as he wrote the reply. I had read it; the tone of the letter was different from before. It clearly indicated an intention to mislead the Vampire King, taking a different approach. This letter was shrewd and emotionless, straight to the point.

"I don't particularly agree with this, but he makes sense. If you keep your guard so tight, the fae will never reveal themselves," I said.

"We need to find the children first; catching fae is not my aim," he said.

"I understand, but we have no leads for this alone. We need new leads, and that can only happen if we let our guards down," I replied.

He pulled me across the room, and we sat by the window. "That would put everyone in danger. I won't do that," he said, holding both hands resting on his knees. Our knees now touched as I looked into his eyes. He was determined to follow this path.

"Then I suppose we have to stay here longer?" I said.

"Why? Are you tired of this place?" he asked.

I looked out of the window. "No, it is too quiet."

It reminds me of quiet and peaceful days before my stepmother was about to strike again.

Whoever is behind this is biding their time. Unconsciously, I traced my fingers to the back of Xen's hand and felt a rough patch. My fingers had traced their way to the front of his wrist, and I turned it to see. It was black, patch-like, a bruise but not quite. Just like before, on his back.

"What is...?"

"It's nothing," he said, covering my hand with his, hiding it.

"No, I saw..." I removed his hand, and it disappeared. I blinked, confused, and looked back at him, smiling. "I told you, it's nothing," he repeated.

"But there was something," I murmured to myself.

"Now, who is thinking too much?" Xen's hands gently cradled my face, his touch warm and comforting. I found myself mesmerised by the intensity in his eyes. I sighed softly against his touch.

"It's nothing, Rose," he whispered, his voice laced with tenderness. And then, as if drawn by an irresistible force, he pulled me closer. His lips, soft and supple,

met mine, and my thoughts once again melted away. The kiss was soft but seared through me like an unbridled fire. Xen's hands came to rest at the back of my head, pulling me closer and almost sliding me into his lap. Our mouths moved in perfect harmony, each brush of our lips sending sparks of electricity through my veins. I lost myself completely in the intoxicating taste of his kiss, savouring it. It still amazes me sometimes how much I have changed. How these intimate acts with him come so naturally and effortlessly. Not only because I want it. When we pulled away breathless, I rested my head on his shoulder, and he held my hands. Basking in the moment of peace

"Then you are planning to leave for the oak woods again?" I asked after a while, raising my head, and he nodded.

"What are you looking for in the woods?" I asked. He looked at me for a moment, contemplating. "Tell me," I insisted.

"It is very little, but it might lead us somewhere. It is a clue." He went to the desk and picked up a book. Coming back to sit beside me, he opened it.

The book was in a language I could not understand, but there were symbols and pictures of plants. A picture of a delicate flower caught my attention in the corner of it, with five small petals and growing vines. I had seen it before. He touched it.

"This is what I am looking for. It is a summoning spell one can use to summon..."

"A fae," I completed, meeting his eyes. I thought, when I heard it, that it was nonsense. Sansa’s kind believed in too many stories beyond vampires and werewolves. I had not seen them back then either. I had never paid any attention. I thought my path would take me to the opposite end of this world, but now I find myself in the middle of it.

*"Witches and faeries have a complicated history, but we try to be tolerant of each other. The nectar from the flower is the favourite of the fae," *

Sansa had told me once when I visited her house. I may not have been more than fifteen.

*"If you grow one and offer it to fae, they can be your friends if they accept it."*

*"How do you know they have accepted it?"*

*"You see the vines; they have grown all over the house. That means they have never come here, but we don’t like to take our chances. They are vicious creatures. Better to have friends than foes."*

I looked down at the book. I flipped over the page and then closed the book. I could not understand a word.

"Can it truly summon them?"

"It is not easy. You can bind them to a spell and make them do anything," Xen said. "You have seen it."

"Yes, at the witch's hollow. Witches like to grow them around their huts," Sansa told me, but I never took it seriously.

"Around the hut?"

I nodded.

A flower that can summon the fae. That makes one think. If the fae are here of their own accord or if someone is summoning them.

My mind raced with possibilities as I considered the implications of the flower and its connection to the fae. Then I remembered what little information I read in Elder Hilda’s book. "You can make deals with the fae, and you can summon them. Are you thinking that someone in the village..." I came to a startling conclusion, looking at the man in question.

"Every deal with the fae comes at a cost; most people's souls would wither to pay," he said, looking sadly at the pages of the book.

I stared speechlessly. It was as clear as water. "But it is someone from the village who made a deal with the fae against the lives of children. Why? Who?"