Page 31 of Healing Elixirs & Wicked Crows

Yet, I had allowed stormy gray eyes and a wicked smile to tempt me away from it all.I had let myself drown in the warmth of his touch, the way his fingers traced patterns on my skin as if he were writing poetry in a language only our bodies understood.My hands clenched at my sides as fury flared within me, hot and bright as forge-fire.But beneath the anger lay something else, something that terrified me more than any unseelie magic: the knowledge that part of me didn't regret a single moment of it.

My jaw clenched at the thought, muscles jumping beneath my skin, and I spun with such force that the ground rustled beneath my boots like autumn leaves caught in a whirlwind.He twisted to face my wrath, moving with that fluid grace that marked him as something other than mortal.His chest still heaved with each labored breath, and his dark hair hung messier than before, tussled from my fingers running through the silken strands.A twist of it fell across his brow, catching the dying light and gleaming blue-black like a raven's wing.It enticed me to sweep it away, to feel the softness against my palm once more, but my fingers remained curled into tight fists at my hips, nails biting crescents into my palms.

"What the hell was that?"I demanded, my voice shaking with barely contained rage that threatened to spill over like water from an overfilled cup.Each word felt sharp-edged, cutting my throat as they emerged."You had no right to kiss me like that.To touch..."I gestured wildly at the space between us, at the lingering heat that still seemed to shimmer in the air."...to touch me as if..."The words tangled on my tongue.I didn't know what I wanted to say, or if I truly wanted to voice the thoughts racing through my mind like hunting hounds.

"As if what, Rosemary?"Elias asked, his voice soft as silk drawn across bare skin.His gray eyes searched mine with an intensity that made my knees weak, as if he could see straight through to my soul and read all the secrets I kept hidden there."As if I want you more than my next breath?As if I would gladly drown in your kiss and count myself lucky for the privilege?"

The words hit me like physical blows, each one landing with devastating accuracy.My braids whipping around my shoulders, I shook my head vehemently, hating the way my traitorous heart leaped at his confession like a bird taking sudden flight.Why couldn't he call me princess like he usually did?That mocking nickname that grated against my nerves and reminded me of the distance between us.It was so much easier hating him when he refused to drop that particular form of address, when he kept me at arm's length with teasing words and crooked grins.

"No," I answered, my gaze still hardened into what I hoped looked like armor but felt fragile as glass.My muscles remained tensed, coiled like a spring wound too tight, ready to snap at the slightest provocation."As if you have any claim on me.Any right to my affections."

The words tasted bitter, each syllable a small betrayal of the warmth that had bloomed in my chest when he'd held me."I am not some conquest for you to seduce and discard at your leisure, Elias.Just because we find ourselves sharing this journey for now does not give you the right to distract yourself in this way.I have a task to fulfill, and I won't let you or anyone else stand in my way.”

He flinched as if I had slapped him, and a flicker of pain flashed across his features before he shuttered his expression like closing curtains across a window.I watched the transformation with something that might have been regret as the warmth drained from his eyes, replaced by the mask of indifference I'd come to know too well.When he didn't have that wicked glint behind his gaze while he teased and charmed, his face remained unreadable, locked away behind walls I had helped him build with my sharp words and sharper rejections.

"Forgive me, princess," he said stiffly, the formal tone cutting through the space between us like a blade.He wiped his palms against the fabric of his trousers with deliberate movements, as if trying to erase the memory of my skin beneath his hands.The nickname had returned with cruel precision, my name vanishing from his lips like smoke, and it made it easier to stoke the flames of my displeasure with this infuriating man in front of me.Yet somehow, the familiar address felt like a loss rather than a victory."As I have already mentioned a moment ago, I overstepped.It will not happen again."His chin nodded toward the path we had been traversing, the gesture sharp and dismissive."Shall we continue?We really must find shelter.The wolves will be out for the moon soon."

Part of me wanted to keep arguing with him, to let the words flow like poison.It was easier to channel my anger than to examine the complicated tangle of emotions he stirred within me.But the truth was harder to face than any enemy I could ever have encountered on a battlefield.Elias wasn't the problem; he'd been trying to win me over from the start with his easy charm and unexpected moments of tenderness.I was the issue, allowing him to affect me in ways I'd sworn I'd never permit again.I couldn't afford to waste time on the luxury of attraction when every moment brought us closer to the full moon, when Briar's well-being hung in the balance like a sword suspended by spider's silk.

Her condition was worsening with each passing day, I could feel it in my bones like an approaching storm.I didn't know how much time she had left before the curse claimed her entirely.What had once seemed eternal now felt frighteningly finite; her paling skin and fading hair over the past months made that clear as crystal.There was no time for games of lust or love, no matter how my body betrayed me with its wants and needs.

It didn't matter if the heat of his kiss had felt like coming home to a place I'd never been.It didn't matter if there was something drawing us together like magnetized metals, an invisible force that seemed to pull me toward him even when my mind screamed warnings.It didn't matter how his touch had ignited something within me that I'd thought long dead and buried.I gave my head a hard shake as I followed him, trying to dispel those thoughts from my mind like scattering dandelion seeds on the wind.They weren't helping anything.Now wasn't the time for such distractions.

We continued in uneasy silence as the afternoon light started to diminish, casting shadows that enveloped the world in a deepening twilight, reminiscent of the creeping dusk that slowly swallowed the day.The forest grew denser with each step, ancient trees towering overhead like silent sentinels that had witnessed centuries of secrets.Their gnarled branches intertwined above us, creating a canopy so thick that only scattered beams of the quickly fading sunlight managed to pierce through, casting everything in dappled shadow and light.

Elias moved with the practiced grace of someone who belonged in these wild places, his dusty boots finding secure footing on roots and stones that would have sent me tumbling.Every step was deliberate, controlled, as if he were dancing to music only he could hear.I struggled to keep my footing on the uneven ground.My healer's training had focused more on identifying plants than navigating treacherous terrain.My ankle, though healed from my earlier mishap, still ached with phantom pain, a reminder of my own mortality in this place of ancient magic.

The air grew cooler as shadows lengthened, carrying scents of moss and wildflowers and something deeper, more primal.Something that spoke of old magic and older secrets.I found myself stealing glances at my companion despite my best efforts to maintain my anger.Despite my determination to focus solely on saving Briar, I couldn't deny the pull I felt toward him like iron drawn to a lodestone.

Every movement he took seemed targeted toward keeping me safe.The way he checked over his shoulder to ensure I was keeping pace, his gray eyes holding concern he probably didn't even realize he was showing.The careful way he held branches aside for me to pass, his fingertips brushing mine for the briefest instant before he pulled away as if burned.The protective set of his shoulders as he scanned the darkening woods for threats, ready to place himself between me and any danger that might emerge from the gathering gloom.

These small gestures chipped away at my defenses like water wearing away stone, each one a reminder that beneath his teasing exterior lay someone who cared more than he wanted to admit.Someone who had sworn to protect me, and who seemed determined to keep that promise.

"There," Elias said suddenly, his voice cutting through my spiraling thoughts as he pointed to a rocky outcropping ahead."We can shelter there for the night."

The formation jutted from the hillside like a natural fortress carved by wind and time, all weathered stone and deep shadows.A shallow cave nestled beneath an overhang of granite, its mouth dark as a secret but promising protection from both the elements and any predators that hunted in the darkness.Lichen clung to the rocks in patches of green and silver, and I could hear the distant trickle of water that spoke of a hidden spring nearby.

As we approached, I noticed the moonbell petals I'd gathered earlier glowing softly in my pack like captured starlight, their silver light pulsing with each step I took.The rhythm matched my heartbeat, and I wondered if that was coincidence or if the magic within them responded to the life force of whoever carried them.The thought both thrilled and unsettled me in equal measure.

"The full moon is approaching," I said quietly as we began to set up our makeshift camp, the words falling between us like stones dropped into still water.The weight of that knowledge pressed down on me like a physical thing, heavy as a mountain and twice as immovable."If we don't reach the daemonacus flower by then..."

"We will," Elias said with quiet certainty that seemed to resonate in the air around us.He was gathering deadwood for a fire, his movements efficient and practiced, but his eyes never strayed far from me."I won't let you fail, Rosemary.Not when we've come this far."

Something in his voice made me look at him more closely, really study his face in the dying light.In the purple twilight, his features seemed carved from shadows and starlight, beautiful and terrible in equal measure.The sharp line of his jaw caught the last rays of sun, and his eyes held depths I'd never noticed before, as if they contained entire worlds of secrets and sorrows.For a moment, I forgot why I was angry with him, forgot everything except the way he was looking at me as if I were the most precious thing in all the realms.

As if I were something worth protecting, worth saving, worth loving.

The thought hit me like lightning, sudden and illuminating and dangerous.I pulled back from it, wrapping my anger around me like armor, but the damage was already done.The seed of possibility had been planted, and I could feel it taking root despite my best efforts to tear it out.

"Why?"I whispered, the question escaping before I could stop it."Why do you care so much about helping me?"

He stilled, his hands freezing in the act of arranging kindling, and for a moment, I thought he wouldn't answer.When he finally spoke, his voice was so soft I almost missed it beneath the evening sounds of the forest settling into night.

"Because some promises are worth keeping, even when the person you made them to has forgotten they exist."

The words hung in the air between us like incense, thick and heavy with a meaning I couldn't quite grasp.Before I could ask what he meant, before I could demand answers to questions I hadn't even thought to ask, he turned away.He busied himself with gathering more wood for our fire, his movements sharp and defensive, as if he'd revealed more than he intended.

But his words echoed in my mind like the tolling of distant bells, memories that felt just beyond my reach, like trying to catch mist in my bare hands.There was something there, something important that danced at the edges of my consciousness, but every time I reached for it, it slipped away like water through my fingers.