Page 61 of Fae Unleashed
Perhaps I should have been more careful. I’d watched my friends do this and felt the consequences. When Addie changed her own fate, she’d frayed mine. Yet, I reached with excited abandon.
24
RHOAN
My princess was stunning.
I stood in the laboratory doorway with a food-laden tray in hand and watched her move about the room with fluid grace. Cerri’s hair had changed once again. It was as if the white had simply been a blank slate waiting for power to come and paint it with color.
Her hair took on a moonstone rainbow of color, like the light twin to my own hair. When she turned and noticed me, there was a new flush to her face. She no longer looked drained and sallow. Her eyes danced with shards of rainbow color and flecks of gold.
“What have you done?” I asked, breathless and worried.
Her brow peaked in the middle. Concern pinched her gemstone eyes. She glanced back at the bubbling cauldron behind her. Her worry didn’t last long because a smile teased the corners of her mouth when she turned back to me.
Cerri closed the space between us, grabbed the front of my shirt, and said, “I’ve made a breakthrough.”
A nervous crackling gripped my spine.
“Cerridwen,” I said with a note of warning.
She recoiled. “You never call me by my full name.”
I swallowed. The barrage of colors in the room made looking anywhere for an extended period of time rather difficult. The aura that I’d grown to associate with Cerridwen was gone. In its place was something entirely new.
I’d left her alone for a handful of minutes so I could get fresh food, and this is what happened. Wary, I took another step into the room. The aura brushed up against my skin, but it didn’t cause alarm. Instead, my beast purred deep. The sound rumbled all the way to my core and back out again.
Cerri smiled, and the sight of it stole my breath.
We’d been so busy that I couldn’t remember the last time she’d genuinely smiled. Seeing my princess happy nearly brought three words to my lips that I knew I couldn’t say.
I shoved the food tray at her and stepped back.
When she’d awakened earlier, I’d been so relieved that I’d rushed to her side. At the last second, I’d forced myself to pull back. There’d been no ignoring the pain I’d caused. Cerri’s face had been wrought with grief. It’d been no surprise that she’d run from me before I could tell her to eat.
We danced around one another. When Cerri came to me, I had to pull away. It caused her to drift, which made me want to pursue her even more. This back and forth pained us both.
“I should leave,” I said.
Cerri’s joy faltered. She looked down at the tray laden with enough food to feed two. I’d brought it up here with the idea that I would feed her, but I could tell now that’d been a bad idea. My heart already hummed with need. The beast craved more and more, absolutely insatiable.
Cerri
Rhoan stepped away from me.In a single movement, a canyon yawned between us. The vibrant joy that I’d conjured while brewing suddenly vanished. My stomach plummeted. While I knew that I needed to eat, I suddenly had no appetite.
He vanished from the room before I could think of anything to make him stay. I’d meant to tell him that I was working on a potion that would break his curse. There was hope for us yet, even if my first attempts were messy.
Potion-crafting was something I knew, but this use of raw magic was new. My cursed arcana made it easier. It was as if changing it had somehow opened a door that hadn’t been there before. I wondered if I could also brew my own potion to unlock my memories.
There was so much available to me now that I had Cerridwen’s notes and cauldron.
I had everything except for the man I loved.
I dropped to the floor with the tray he’d brought. There was a tomato and basil salad with slices of fresh bread. I used a tiny gold spoon to heap the salad onto the bread and took a grumpy chomp out of it while I sulked over Rhoan.
If I was going to save the Seelie Court and push Beryl out of Lakesedge once and for all, then I damn well deserved the chance to love the man of my dreams. I’d grown tired of having things taken from me over and over again.
It was high time that I got a taste of happiness, even if I had to brew it myself. This wasn’t a love potion, so I didn’t see a problem. I wasn’t trying to force Rhoan’s hand. I simply wanted to free him up so that he could love me.
