Born of Oak and Silver (The Caradoc Chronicles) (25 page)

I awoke with a start, the new day having already begun
without me. I looked around, disoriented. I found Ayda already awake and dressed in one of her new dresses. Once again, she was staring out of the window into the forest beyond. I cleared my throat, my voice low and gruff from sleep. “Good morning.”

She turned
her head to me, her face bright and smiling. She too seemed to be greatly refreshed by the night’s rest. “Good morning. I trust you slept well?” I inclined my head and she continued, “It is beautiful here. It reminds me somewhat of Ireland, but warmer, and not entirely the same either. But, everything is green, not cold and gray or brown, and for that I am happy.” She was referencing the muted and lifeless colors of the catacombs.

I raised myself up slowly, taking my time to stretch. She
watched me tenderly as I made my way to the washbasin, intending to arrange myself into some sort of presentability. I looked into the old mirror, marveling at my wild and unkempt appearance. I turned aside to give Ayda a wolfish grin. “I hope you find my morning’s best attractive—I would guess that you’ll be seeing it for quite some time.” I chortled at her rueful expression.

“
By the time we’d entered this room yesterday afternoon, our host had already begun to spread word around town that he had a young French man and his exceedingly lovely bride staying in his rooms.” I looked back into the mirror, moving closer to get a better look in its tarnished surface. “I might have managed to get a shave while I was about yesterday.” Then louder, “Beard and all, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me,
ma chère
.”

Ayda just laughed amusedly
. “I suppose there are worse things than being wed to a caveman,” her eyes teased, while she did her best to look down her haughty nose at me, “however, at present I’m not able to think of any.”

I chuckled myself, and made quick work of smoothing my hair and clothing under her watchful gaze. When I had finished, I turn
ed to her with my hand extended. “Shall we, my dear?”

She nodded
, and immediately took my hand and allowed me to place her hand upon my arm. I escorted her out of the room, down the stairs, and promptly seated us within the first dining establishment we came to.

After we had
stuffed ourselves on grits, pork chops, and biscuits with butter and sorghum syrup, it was then that I confided to her that I had sent word to her grandfather. I elaborated that I didn’t know where to find him, nor how long the message might take to reach him, but despite these reservations, I felt a great sense of satisfaction spreading in my chest as I watched the tension worrying her brow vanish immediately upon hearing of it.

Little
discussion was needed for us to determine that we should stay. Not only did we need to discover why the Fae had chosen such an odd place for a Silver, but this was also where Bram might soon learn to find us. We would continue in our assumed roles, I as her husband, and she my ever lovely wife.

Immediately, we
set about creating a life for ourselves there in that small southern town. Both of us were eager to create something tangible, infused with the feeling of permanency after having so much time inexplicably pass us by. I had not been the only one to consider the need for financial resources before leaving Strasbourg. Ayda had also brought with her a large purse of gold. Our combined wealth and interest in a depressed economy worked to our advantage. We were able to purchase a small, single-bedroom home just a few blocks from the town square, two horses, and a milk cow. After all of this, we still had a large reserve that we kept hidden away.

To all of the town
sfolk we were simply immigrant newlyweds—a single couple out of many. This assumption allowed for a seamless integration into Kamarina society. I joined a logging crew, and while working, continually searched for the intent and whereabouts of the Fae.

Ayda played the ever dutiful housewife, and minded our home and property thoroughly.
It was not long before she had our small home well manicured and trimmed, and had managed to change the overall feeling from old and worn to cozy and quaint.

I’d even purchased her a gold wedding band to finish the ruse. Everything about the lives we’
d chosen to portray was exact—with the single exception that instead of sharing her bed, I slept on a pallet on the sitting room’s wooden floor. But the town was none the wiser of that.

We quickly established friendships, helped our neighbors wherever we could, and attended the predominant Christian religion’s Sunday services. The more we became involved, the more we found a fondness for Kamarina th
at we did not expect to find. For the both of us, it had become home. And, as a surprise to me, I discovered that the lie we were living allowed us both to be happier than either of us had been in a very long while.

But
for all of our contentment, our enthusiasm was tainted. Three months after our arrival through the Silver, we still had not managed to determine the reason the Fae were here. However, our lack of understanding did nothing to cease their continual arrival and assimilation into Kamarina. The consistent influx of Fae did nothing to ease our troubled minds. If that were not frustrating enough, we also had not heard anything from Bram indicating that he had learned of our presence here. And so it was that we lived our relatively enjoyable days under the constant shadow of apprehension.

It was around this same point in time, when the evenings presented the coolest time of the day for
pleasant socialization, that Ayda and I accepted the invitation to a community dance and gathering in celebration of the first fruits of summer. I greatly looked forward to any event in which I got to be actively involved with Ayda. In my eyes, she had yet to cease growing lovelier with every passing moment.

Tonight she wore a dress of mint green, which complemented her fair skin, dark hair, and green eyes perfectly. I dismounted my horse and moved
to her side, where she still sat upon hers. I reached up, holding firmly to her waist as I lowered her gently to the ground. There was no one else around, and the sky was deepening, casting everything about her into shadows of velvet. I couldn’t resist the impulse as I held her body close to mine. I stared longingly into her eyes and began to lower my face to hers.

Even though w
e had been living together for the past three months, as soon as I had recognized an undeniable attraction between us, and understood that I did not want to ignore it, I had endeavored to court her properly. Living together made the temptation of doing things improperly . . . difficult, at best. I had kept my expressions of affection chaste and seldom—probably for my own sake more than for hers.

“Ayda,” I whispered to her. H
er breath had quickened as I had lowered my face to hers. “You look beautiful tonight. Positively breathtaking,
ma belle
.”

We
gazed into one another, both of us breathing heavily. Finally, I closed the few inches that separated us and brushed my lips softly against hers. I heard her sharp intake of breath, and felt as my desire for her immediately blossomed inside of me.

“Ayda,” I again whispered her name, and then for the first time
, I kissed her more deeply. She was completely willing and pliant as I held her, matching my almost reverent fervor as she pulled me closer.

Unwillingly, I p
ulled away as I heard another group of partygoers approaching. My thumb came up gently under her chin, tilting her head so that she could look up into my face. “
Ma coeur
, I do not think you know what you do to me.”

“Nor you to me,” she said
, and embarrassedly looked to the ground.

My hand still was held under her chin, and
I slowly raised her face to mine again. “Never be afraid to tell me how you feel. I want no one else but you.” At this, her face lit up, and my heart began to swell to the point that I feared it might explode.

“Daine, what are you and your m
issus doing over here?” came the direct, and unwelcome, interruption to our private moment. “The music has started, and no party can start without the two of you. Come on. Nita is desperate for someone besides myself talk to, and she’ll be sorely disappointed if I don’t bring you back with me. Well, at least you, Mrs. Dalton. As for that rascal, I’m sure she would be just as happy without him,” Matthew, a fellow laborer who had become what I would consider a friend, joked as he approached us.

Nita wa
s his wife, and was expected to deliver their first child any day or moment now. Nita and Ayda had struck a chord fused by their passion for life. Where one was, it was generally expected that the other would also be.

Ayda chuckled, looking up a
t me a bit exasperatedly from under her long eyelashes. “Just a moment, Matthew. Daine, would you mind getting my basket for me?”

I moved past her and undid the leather belt that had been wrapped around a large lidded basket
that held our picnic dinner.

“Thank you,
love,” she said in her beautifully lilting voice. She strolled forward to take Matthew’s arm, and then asked to be taken directly to his wife.

I followed behind them, rooting around in the basket for a biscuit and then eating it as we walked across the eaten
-down pasture toward the gathering of people. I set our things down near the trees and away from the crowd, watching as Ayda hurried off to Nita.

As for me
, I sat back on the blanket, savoring the rest of my biscuit and enjoying the atmosphere. Mostly I watched Ayda, the way she moved and laughed, and how perfectly kind and considerate she was of everyone. They all adored her, and it was easy to see why. I felt a momentary pang of regret whenever I thought about how long it had taken me to realize it myself. But it was better late than never.

Matthew came over after having just received some chiding from his wife, and sat down roughly on the blanket next to me. He accepted the biscuit I handed him gladly. “Hey
, Matthew, how are you holding up?” I asked him as I motioned toward his very pregnant wife.

“All I can
say is that, at this point, I am lucky to still be alive.” His face twisted into one of mock terror, and we both burst into laughter. “I’m just happy that she doesn’t want to dance. I can’t imagine how I’d even be able to get my arm around her in her present state, and my inability to do so would most assuredly bring down the wrath of something terrible and mighty upon me.”

“It’ll all be ove
r soon, my friend,” I said as I clapped him affectionately on the back.

Our conversation was light and easy as the evening progressed. Ayda eventually decided to join me on the blanket, and Matthew quickly took his leave to
rejoin his own wife. We both snacked on the picnic dinner she’d packed, my personal favorite being the early raspberry pie that she’d made solely because she knew I loved them.

I stood
and, with a regal bow, I extended my hand down to her, asking her for her hand in as many dances as she’d allow me. She accepted gladly. How long we danced I do not know. The night, the music, and everyone else faded away until there remained only her. Her skin was dewy from prolonged dancing in the summer’s heat. Her vivacity had become a thing I craved. 

W
ithout warning, I felt that well-known tingle blossoming across my skin. It felt like an unexpected shiver on an exceedingly hot night. Immediately, awareness returned to me. “Ayda,” I said, my tone making her eyes grow wide with worry. I did not need to say anything more. I clasped her elbow firmly and escorted her from the dance floor, hustling to our picnic area, collecting our things, and then moving her into the thicket of trees that had been at our backs. Hidden inside the tangle of branches, I placed Ayda behind me.

I scanned the crowd wildly.
They approached the gathering from where the horses and carriages were waiting. Four very handsome men, all holding a mortal woman on their arms, walked happily toward the scene. These were not the same Fae that Ayda and I had encountered at the Silver, but were four that I had never observed in Kamarina before. My fist clenched in fury. I watched, ever silent from our place within the trees.

Easily, they integrated with their dancing partners into the soiree, melting into the carouselling medley of townspeople as they joined
in the dance. Their movements were graceful, gliding as they moved with their stumbling companions to the fiddled music

Ayda began to tug on my sleeve, pointing toward the horses’ area o
nce more. Three more approached. Again, I had never seen these before either. Together, we pressed a little deeper into the darkness, silently aware of the intrusion that no one else noticed. Ayda was anxious to be away, but I could not risk the chance that we met more Fae as they approached on their horses. I needed to know that we could make it away safely before I was willing to risk trying it.

In time, their
mortal partners grew weary. All seven of the men moved to stand in the area where our blanket had lain not long before. I crept forward, leaving Ayda hidden behind, and ever so carefully maneuvered myself into a place where I could hear their conversation.

T
he male Fae discussed nothing more than their sexual exploits with the women they had come to the gathering with, as well as innumerable others. I had almost believed my desire to overhear their conversation was to prove fruitless, when without words leading to his rapid change of subject, one said, “The son of Caradoc is here.”