Chapter Eighty-One

“For fuck’s sake, Avery! I’m fine! Let me out of this damned room!”

Avery shook his head, eyes narrowed at Ellie. She’d been arguing with him for the better part of an hour, and he had to admit, even he was beginning to grow annoyed.

“Not going to happen. I’ve already told you that you’re not allowed to leave until you get the clear from Doctor Zephyr.” He crossed his arms stubbornly, mirroring her stance. “You can scream all you want – I’m not changing my mind.” Ellie grabbed the nearest item and threw it at his head. Unfortunately for her, being hit in the face with a pillow didn’t seem to faze him at all.

Avery steeled himself, ready for her to scream some more. *I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, he thought. Go ahead and yell, nothing you can say will – wait… Is she crying?*

His hard exterior melted instantly, and he appeared suddenly at her side.

“Ellie, why are you crying? I know you can’t be this angry about being in a room for a couple of weeks.”

He cupped her face and stared into her eyes, concerned when he realized she wasn’t angry – she seemed frightened. Ellie’s silent tears became sobs, and she began pummeling his chest with her fists. There was a wildness in her eyes now, a primal urge to flee – and suddenly, Avery realized how much of an ass he had been.

“Oh. Oh, *no*, Ellie. I’m so sorry – I didn’t think.”

She didn’t respond to him, but her hands finally stopped accosting him. She rested them on his chest, her fingers gripping his shirt tightly.

Ellie stood before him, shaking like the last leaf on a tree in a windstorm. Her eyes were cast downward, unable to look at his face.

“I can’t do this, Avery,” she whispered. “I cannot be locked up again –* I won’t*.” Her voice was hard and full of pain. “There’s a difference between keeping me safe and keeping me captive. This—” her voice broke, and he could feel his heart break with it. “This is no better than that damned basement.”

“I know, I know,” he murmured. “I’m so sorry, my love. I’m so sorry. The thought of losing you drove me mad. I’m sorry.” He tentatively placed his hands on her shoulders, seeing if she would allow his touch. When she didn’t pull away, he carefully wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

He just wanted to keep her safe from the Master and the Mistress. He didn’t think keeping her isolated in their room for two months would do any harm. Of course, Doctor Zephyr had cleared her a month ago, but he had to protect her. He’d just lost his son, he couldn’t lose her as well.

*That’s incredibly selfish of you*, a small voice whispered from the back of his mind.* You know damn well you weren’t just keeping her here to keep her safe. You didn’t like that everyone was so concerned for her – especially not that brother of yours…*

He gritted his teeth at the thought of Ozul. His brother had been unusually interested in Ellie and her well-being. Aurora kept telling him it was just because she was family now, but he didn’t believe it. The way his eyes followed her every move when he visited...

*Selfish, selfish, selfish*, the voice chided. *You know better than anyone that Ellie doesn’t have eyes for anyone other than you. Ozul could promise her the universe and she would still reject him…*

The voice was right. Some small part of him believed that Ellie blamed him for the miscarriage, that she couldn’t stand the sight of him anymore. Goddess knows he couldn’t stand the sight of himself.

*She wouldn’t be in your arms if she didn’t still love you…*

Avery sighed, feeling even worse about everything.

“I’m sorry, Ellie,” he whispered again. “We’ll go out once you’ve had a chance to calm down, alright?”

Ellie nodded against his chest, her sobs becoming soft sniffles. Her body gradually stilled in his arms, and after a while, she leaned wholly into him. She rested her head on his chest, and he knew she was listening to the sound of his heartbeat to help soothe her. Once her sniffles had become nothing more than occasional hiccups, he swept her off her feet, willed his wings, and flew them out the balcony window.

They traveled in silence, both listening as the sounds of the night market below began to fade. Stars twinkled overhead, a waxing crescent moon hung lowly in the sky, and the forest sang with the sound of the night creatures. It would have been romantic if Avery hadn’t screwed everything up.

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of his negativity. There was no place for it tonight – Ellie needed him. His eyes scanned the land below and he finally spotted what he’d been searching for. He descended slowly, landing them atop a large boulder covered in thick moss.

“I was saving this spot for a special night, but…” His voice trailed off, his face flushing with shame. Ellie stepped out of his embrace and cupped his face. Her eyes, though still red-rimmed and watery, were soft again, kind.

“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” she said simply. Avery nodded quickly, relief flooding his body. She placed a soft kiss on his cheek and took his hand, allowing him to lead her down from the rock.

“This place is hidden from prying eyes. Most of the fae folk don’t even know it exists.” His hand squeezed hers gently as she made her way carefully next to him in the dark. He frowned as she stumbled on a root, catching her just as she'd started to fall.

The air here in the dense forest was cold, and the branches overhead were far too thick for starlight to filter down. Unwilling to risk her hurting herself, he quickly gathered her in his arms again and began to stride through the darkness. The darkness didn’t matter right now. When he got them to his special spot, she wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.

A gust of wind rustled the treetops overhead, and Ellie shivered against him.

“Seems a bit cold for a summer night,” she muttered.

“We’re a *bit* farther north than you think we are. Willowvayne is about a day’s walk away,” he explained as he carefully stepped over a stray log.

“Really? It didn’t seem like we flew that long,” she said with wide eyes.

“I’m a fast flier,” was his only response. Ellie fell silent against his chest. She curled herself into a ball and stared up, gazing curiously up at the stars that tried to shine down on them. Bits of light would occasionally illuminate her face, making her skin glow ethereally. His heart throbbed painfully as he glanced down at her.

He would do anything for this woman. She was perfect in every way – his own special goddess sent to him from the heavens. But he hadn’t treated her like one recently. He’d been so selfish and controlling, becoming someone that he never thought he would. She should hate him as much as he hated himself.

Yet when their eyes met, she gave him the sweetest smile she’d ever given him. Her fear and panic had been replaced with such a clear serenity that he stopped in his tracks. Her eyes held nothing but the purest love and contentment that he had ever seen, and it took his breath away. He truly didn’t deserve this woman, but he would do everything from this moment on to show her just how special she was.

“Avery?” She’d flushed under his intense gaze and averted her eyes. He could almost hear her heartbeat quicken, and he smiled stupidly.

“I just love you so much."

“You... you fucking walnut,” she muttered, embarrassed. Her hazel eyes peeked up at him through her lashes, and her contentment spread to him.

He didn’t say anything else, though. All he wanted to do was get her to the spot and spoil her the way she deserved to be spoiled. He resumed their walk, a light bounce in his step.

“So, are you going to tell me where you’re taking me?” she asked after a while.

“No. We’re here, why would I tell you?”

Ellie sat up in his arms, squinting her eyes.

“And where is here, exactly?"

Avery shot her a cryptic smile and walked up to a towering wall of ivy. He watched as Ellie studied it for a moment, waiting for her to realize that they were standing at the base of a small stone mountain. She glanced at him, finally understanding what it was, but still still seemed confused.

"Is this a special mountain...?"

"This is where I come when I want to relax. I consider it my most sacred space. I've never brought anyone else here." He smiled down at her before he suddenly began running toward the ivy-covered wall.

"Avery, wait!"

Author Note:

Hi, everyone! I'm so sorry for the delay. It has been rough. My mother had to have an emergency port put in so that she could start dialysis immediately instead of waiting the normal three months. I'm not going to lie, we almost lost her a couple of times, but she is doing SO much better now that she's on dialysis. Her dialysis schedule is still all out of sorts because she was an emergency case, but it will even out soon. I've been trying to write, but it's been hard with all her health scares and some of my health issues as well.

But, now that my mom is starting to do better, it's been easier for me to get into the headspace to write. I'm so excited to begin wrapping their story up soon! I have another, far steamier, story that I'm going to start working on soon, so I hope you'll stick around for it. I'll be back as soon as possible with another update!

Remember to treat yourself with kindness and reach out if you're struggling. See you all soon <3