Page 21 of Fae Tithe (The Cursed Courts #1)

I n his forty years, Lance had never been so far from the sea.

He longed for it already, as though a piece of him was missing.

It gave the Merman a nervous edge. He felt his magic wane the further he was from it.

Concern furrowed his face as he wondered how useful he would be once they arrive in Solas.

After the first day’s long ride on horseback, he practically fell off his piebald horse, cramping with pain, when Helena finally stopped for the night. His muscles screamed from being in the saddle for so long.

They sat by the campfire. Lance plopped down beside Helena.

He kicked off his boots and socks, feeling instant relief after having his feet trapped for so long.

The lush spring grass of the river bank was soft beneath him.

He cast his eyes upwards at the chandelier of stars above, occasionally marred by a purple cloud.

Orange fireflies meandered around them. A gentle song of crickets serenaded them in the night.

The Merman rolled up the legs of his breeches and wrapped his hands around his calves.

A faint, swirling blue glowed where his palms met his legs.

The cool, healing waters poured through his muscles, easing the strain.

He felt instant relief and sighed. He then slipped his hands down his waistband, repeating the process on his cramping thighs.

The Merman threw off his shirt, and then reached around his back to heal the throbbing pain radiating from muscles he did not even know he had.

He could not quite reach the spot right in the middle, where the biggest aching knot had settled against his spine.

Lance grunted in surprise as he felt Helena’s small, strong fist knuckling into the sore spot.

He let out a groan and closed his eyes as she switched to using her thumbs.

She spent a long time massaging out the stubborn knot at the middle-bottom of his shoulder blades, bringing him the relief he needed.

“You got it, sweetheart.” Lance grinned, looking over his shoulder. Her face softened in the flickering campfire light as she smiled back at him. “Thank you.” He patted the lush grass between his long legs. “It’s your turn now.”

“You’re not too tired?" Helena asked, sitting down where the Merman had patted. "I know that it can be harder for you when you’re exhausted.”

“Not yet. I will let you know if I have to stop,” he replied, touched at her concern despite everything going on.

Lance watched avidly as she pulled off her sweat-stained shirt. She was always so beautiful to him, even filthy and sweaty from a long day on horseback. His eyes traced the light dusting of freckles across her shoulders, her deeply tanned skin warm in the firelight.

She untied the strophium across her chest, a long linen cloth she wrapped and tied in a complicated knot that secured her breasts.

Helena passed one end to Lance so he could unwind it from behind.

Rid of the material, she pressed the front of it to her chest – he guessed to give herself some privacy if some other travellers stumbled across them in the night.

She slipped off her boots and socks, her shucking knife falling out of one.

“I’m… scared for El,” she admitted. “What if… what if we don’t get her back?”

“We will, Len,” the Merman promised. “We will.”

Helena sniffed and nodded at his assurance, his words seeming to balm her anxieties.

Lance started on the knot at the back of her neck and swept down to her shoulders.

The Merman pressed his palms all over her.

Each hand spread the magic where he touched, easing her pain.

This was his favourite magical talent, his ability to help and heal loved ones.

Lance smiled as she gently sighed, the faint blue glow giving her muscles relief.

“Do you need me to do your legs?” he asked, leaning forward and resting his chin on the spot where her neck dipped down into her clavicle.

Lance watched as Helena wiggled her toes in the soft spring grass.

“No, actually. I do need somewhere else though,” she admitted, biting her lip.

She took Lance’s hand and pressed it to her lower stomach.

“Tomorrow, we will have to stop at an inn. I will need supplies for my bleed. We will also need to buy a second set of clothes, and at least a dagger for you. Hopefully the inn we stop at will have some travelling merchants. They often do.”

Lance instantly understood that Helena felt her monthly painful cramps.

He slipped his hand over her lower belly and poured his glowing, healing waters there.

The Merman thought the cycles of humans to be particularly cruel.

Merwomen had a fertility phase only once a year that inflicted them with similar pains, and yet Helena suffered with it every month.

“Thank you.” She sighed, laying her hand over his. “That’s enough now, love. I know you must be tired, and I want to start off early tomorrow morning. Make sure you drink lots of water tonight,” Helena said, reaching over to the water bag beside her and passing it to him.

Lance pressed it to his lips and gulped, feeling his power replenish as he drank.

Helena was right. Normally, healing muscle aches and bleed cramps would be simple for him, barely touching his vast reserves of magic.

He felt it drain him, exhaustion tugging at his limbs.

The water satiated him and helped refuel his power.

The Merman let out a contented sigh after taking a huge mouthful.

“We should sleep,” Helena said, dropping the strophium next to her on the grass. Lance watched as she pulled on her loose cotton blouse and stood. She spread their cloaks over the ground, forming a makeshift bed.

The Merman shifted himself onto the cloaks.

The spot Helena had picked was surprisingly comfortable as he laid himself down on the cotton material.

His sensitive eyes could see her perfectly as she disappeared into the shadows.

Lance watched Helena as she double-checked the knots of the reins that tied the horses to the sheltering trees, fussing around them as she did so.

She eventually returned to Lance. He reached up and grabbed her wrist, gently enveloping it with his hand. He knew that her need for movement was from her anxieties about Eleanor, but she needed to rest.

“Len, sweetheart. Please, come lay down with me. Like you said, we will start early tomorrow, and we need to sleep.” Lance patted the cloak beside him with his free hand.

Helena’s eyes met his own. She said nothing, but dropped and sat beside his reclined body. The Merman gently tugged her down to him, so that her head rested upon his heart.

“Thank you for coming with me,” she whispered into his bare, tattooed chest.

“Always,” he murmured, heavy eyelids closing.