Page 71 of Demure
“You know,” Aodhan broke the silence, “I hate the situation we are in now, but I wouldn’t want to change a thing and run the risk of not meeting you.”
“I feel the same way.” Sierra’s voice came out a bit husky, and foreign to her ears. “After all, who wouldn’t want to have sex in a hollowed-out tree trunk?”
Aodhan tossed his head back and laughed. “You never cease to entertain me.”
Sierra shrugged. “That’s what I’m here for: entertainment.”
He lifted his eyebrows suggestively. “Do I get to pick the type of entertainment?”
“We just had sex.” Sierra rolled her eyes, knowing he could still see it in the low light.
“I told you, we Fae have insane recovery times. I’m ready for round two.”
“If we do another round, I’m going to need a nap. Then we will never get to the seer.”
“You’re right,” Aodhan agreed, shifting Sierra off him and handing her her pants. “Just hold on to those for a moment. I’ll check outside; you can relieve yourself, then put them on.”
Sierra nodded. This was the one thing they didn’t tell you about the adventure of outdoor sex: not having a way to clean up afterward.
Aodhan swiftly stood, tugging on his pants, before peeking out through the opening of the trunk. “It’s clear,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ll stand a few feet forward to give you some privacy.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Relieved and satisfied, she pulled on her clothes so they could get on their way. They each gobbled down some of the bread and nuts from their food stores, which were running low, and then Aodhan went to fill their water skins in the stream, leaving Sierra in the tree so he could use his Fae pace to get to the river and back as quickly as possible.
When he returned, he helped Sierra get her pack on her shoulders before asking if she was ready. She nodded in response, and Aodhan took her hand, and they were off at the same pace as the day before, Sierra struggling to keep up. If she ever got to go back to her old life, she was seriously going to hit the gym.
It was brighter than the day before, and Sierra tried to take in what she could as they passed through the forest. There were all types of birds and flowers that she wished she had more time to watch and study. Hopefully, someday, she would be able to, maybe at some distant point in the future when she was no longer in danger.
She quickly brushed off the thought. They were going to solve this issue soon; she was sure of it.
Unlike the day before, the journey went quickly, and all too soon, Sierra found herself staring at a small wooden home in the middle of a clearing in the enchanted forest. Aodhan had them stop in the tree line, turning to her before they proceeded.
“I have to warn you. The seer, Fia, is strange, but there is no reason to hide anything from her. She knows all, anyway.”
Sierra’s eyes widened.
“She can see the future, the past, and sometimes I think she can see other beings that we don’t.” He took a deep breath. “She might say some things that terrify you, but I promise she is just trying to convey what she knows in the best way possible.”
“I understand.” Sierra swallowed as Aodhan took her hand for the second time that day and led them at a leisurely pace to the door of the building. Before they could knock, the door opened, revealing a beautiful woman in a floor-length purple gown. Her golden hair fell in two long braids down her back, and while she was clearly Fae, Sierra could sense something else about her, but she couldn’t put a name to what it was. This was likely the strangeness that Aodhan had mentioned.
“Aodhan, Sierra,” she said, greeting each of them with a bow of her chin, before moving aside to let them into her home. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said in perfect English, which was almost spooky after weeks of hearing the Sidhe-accented English spoken by everyone around her.
Aodhan pulled Sierra into the house, which looked on the inside just as she suspected it would from the outside. The living room and kitchen were small and sparsely furnished. There was a stone fireplace, however, with flames crackling even though it wasn’t the least bit cold. The kitchen held a wooden table with just two chairs, and similar appliances to what Sierra saw in Teach Crann. The wall above the counter was filled with shelves, lined with colorful bottles of all shapes and sizes, and containing all manner of things. Some looked like food, and others Sierra hoped weren’t food, because they certainly didn’t look edible.
“Make yourselves comfortable.” Fia motioned to the purplecouch in the living room, which didn’t look strong enough to hold both her and Aodhan, but when they sat down, it didn’t so much as creak. Fia picked up a wooden chair from the kitchen, and placing it before them, she sat.
“You have questions.”
Sierra was glad that Aodhan had warned her, as she was much less creeped out than she would have been had she just gone in blind. The one thing they hadn’t talked about, however, was whether Sierra would be talking, or Aodhan would be.
As it turns out, there was no need to discuss, as Fia took Aodhan’s hands and placed them on the sides of her head. Sierra had never been a jealous woman, but something about the motion made her a bit uncomfortable.
Maybe Fia could hear her thoughts, because without even a glance in Sierra’s direction, she said, “I’m just showing him what I saw before. Before he went to find out.”
Sierra nodded as Aodhan’s eyes drifted closed. She assumed he was committing to memory what he saw, or perhaps looking for details he had missed previously.
“Would I be able to see too?” she asked.
