Page 61 of Demure
“Oh.” The room was quiet as Sierra absorbed the knowledge. “So, I have to go toSceach Ghealthen.”
“Yes,” Aislan confirmed. “But Aodhan would kill me if he knew I sent you in there alone, so Kaye has to go as well. Sidhe is dangerous for humans without Fae protection.”
“And where Kaye goes, I go,” Braan cut in. “And now you see how we came to the conclusion that we can’t split up.”
Sierra turned from the table to observe the last of the sun’s golden rays sinking behind the edge of the sea of trees. She turned their predicament over in her mind a few times, coming to her own conclusion before turning back to the group. “I know where we should go.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Where?” Aislan asked eagerly.
“Aislan,” Sierra turned to Aodhan’s brother. “Do you think your father would really punish Aodhan for betraying him, or do you think he probably just wanted to scare him a little?”
Aislan rubbed his chin with his hands. “I think he would probably just want to scare him a little; after all, he is the favorite child.”
Sierra nodded in agreement. “I don’t know your father well, but I know my parents, and although they frequently get angry, they usually just want to scare a little sense into me. Therefore, I think it is unlikely that Conlan actually sent Aodhan toSceach Gheal,if it is as scary and difficult to escape as it sounds.”
“I agree,” Aislan said. “I think he is inCuileann.” Braan raised one eyebrow, still clearly thinking thatSceach Ghealwas the better choice, but he let Aislan continue. “It’s safer to traverse the forest during daylight hours, so I vote we stay here for the night and leave in the early hours of the morning.”
Sierra bit her lip. While she would much rather be able to see where she was walking, she was also still a bit worried she was being hunted. “But what about Conlan?”
Aislan shrugged. “Honestly, at this point, there’s enough forest that the chances of running into him are very slim, and I doubt he would search for you for more than a day. Either way, we will be careful.”
Kaye stood up from the table, putting her hands on the wood surface. “Now that we’ve settled that, how about we have some dinner and take some baths?”
All of them nodded enthusiastically, and Sierra followed Kaye into the kitchen while the men folded up the map. “Need any help?” she asked.
Kaye smiled. “Actually, I’ve already got something in the oven, so most of the work is done, but I’m glad you followed me.” She looked over Sierra’s shoulder to ensure the men were occupied before lowering her voice. “I wanted to make sure you were okay and that nothing happened that you couldn’t tell Aislan about.”
Sierra was glad that Kaye was checking in on her, even though it was unnecessary, “No, I’m okay; mostly just scratched and bruised but nothing serious happened. I actually got in some good thinking time while I was locked up, believe it or not,” she joked.
Kaye’s eyes searched her face for a moment; looking for what, Sierra was unsure of. But she nodded and then turned to the black iron oven, where Sierra could see a flame behind the rack holding whatever their dinner was. “If you’re sure. You know you can always talk to me, right? I’m a girl’s girl, so I’ll always side with you.”
“I’m sure,” Sierra assured her. “Now let’s eat!”
Dinner turned out delicious, though Sierra wasn’t sure what it even was. It was some form of casserole filled with potatoes, mushrooms, and some other vegetables she had never seen. Either way, they all took seconds and thirds, scraping the bottom of the pan when it was eventually empty.
After dinner, they sat in the living room, discussing the route they would take the next day. Well, everyone except Sierra discussed, since she had no idea where anything was in Sidhe.
As they sat there, Sierra felt herself getting tired. She had slept all day, but yawn after yawn kept passing her lips. After fighting it for a while, she finally gave up, standing to announce she was going to bed.
While Braan tried to argue that she had slept all day, Aislan understood, bidding her goodnight as Kaye rose with her to work on filling a much-needed bath.
Sierra watched as Kaye added a few pots of boiling water to the tub, adding room temperature water to help dissipate the heat. Although Sierra’s skin was now almost completely clear from her psoriasis, she stayed dressed out of habit, leaning against the wall as Kaye worked to fill the tub.
“Can I help in any way?” Sierra asked, feeling bad that she wasn’t lugging her own water for her bath.
Kaye shook her head. “No, I’m almost done.” She patted Sierra’s shoulder as she returned to the kitchen for the final bucket of boiling water. “When you’re done, allow the water to cool completely before you release the plug. The water goes right to the tree, and we wouldn’t want to burn it.”
Sierra nodded, thinking how cool it was that they recycled their bath water directly to the forest. “How does the water get up here anyway?” Sierra hoped that Kaye wasn’t lugging it up from the ground below by the bucketful.
“A type of hose that runs up the side of the tree. It’s made from old tree roots, so it blends right in. But of course, we can’t cover the full tree with them, so most treehouses have only one tap, though some have two.”
Kaye turned to leave, but Sierra had one last burning question she couldn’t brush off.
“You talk about this place as if you’ve been here before.”
Kaye smiled. “I have. Aodhan spends a lot of time here, andhe and Braan have been friends since I’ve known Braan, so whenever we come to visit, we stay here.”
