Page 24 of Finding Her (Lore of the Fields #1)

Graysen directed my attention to different types of dragons as we strolled through the shade of otherworldly trees.

The experience felt like an exhilarating twist on bird-watching.

Amidst the subtle rustling of leaves, the noises of the island inhabitants announced their presence even when out of sight.

Many species chirped, some trilled, and several rumbled in a near purr.

The pitch varied significantly by the creature’s size, composing a pleasing otherworldly symphony.

Dragons consistently turned to stare at us with curiosity as we passed, likely not used to two-legged fleshy creatures in their territory.

Although their chiseled features were intense, their expressions reminded me of baby deer seeing people for the first time.

They cautiously watched from a distance as if ready to run, some ultimately fleeing, while others dismissed us as a non-threat and resumed their activities.

The purple-leafed trees surrounding us had a uniquely soft bark, almost fuzzy.

The wood split around the trunks, creating holes to nest the small “ Tree Dragons ”, as Graysen had called them.

They were about the size of a cat, with rough brown or gray skin covering their thin bodies.

Their beaked snouts would regularly emerge from the hollows of the tree as we passed, one individual braving a snip at the end of my hair with a fascinated chirp.

“So, tell me,” Graysen started, his hands clasping behind his back. “Did Earth have dragons?”

“In storybooks and fairy tales,” I answered. “But they were traditionally the bad guys.”

“The bad guys?”

“They would burn down villages and trap princesses in towers,” I elaborated, thinking it sounded quite silly as I watched the local fauna scamper around as harmless as a damn squirrel.

“Oh.” He raised his brows. “I wonder where they got that from. Why would a dragon want to trap a princess?”

“I don’t know,” I muttered. “It’s just kind of part of the damsel in distress experience. You know—a trope.”

“Ah.” He nodded his head acceptingly. “I wasn’t aware there was a literary trope for women in difficult situations.”

A laugh escaped my lips. He was, after all, currently walking with a living, breathing damsel in distress.

“It’s the most common type. A witch casts a curse or locks her in a tower… or both. The princess has a fairy godmother to make her pretty, so that a handsome knight on a white steed is inclined to slay the dragon and rescue her. They share true love’s first kiss and live happily ever after.”

His lips twisted to the side in disapproval. “Is it rude of me to say that sounds like a rather patronizing plot for children to consume?”

I cackled louder than intended. “When you put it like that, it would have been nice to see the princess pick up a sword at some point.” Or use her own magic.

Or tell the villain to go fuck themselves.

Or do anything other than be a passive recipient of others’ actions.

“What kind of stories were you told as a child?”

“Stories like the one about how the ocean came to be. There’s a good deal of mythology here.

The pink-flowered trees surrounding us supposedly came from the uterus of Mother Nature.

And the dragons come from her laying with the bravest warrior to ever exist. That’s why where you find dragons, you will also find these trees, and vice versa. They share a mother.”

I tilted my face against a ray of daylight breaking through the treetops. “I could listen to you tell me these stories for hours.”

“Happy to indulge upon request.”

We walked in comfortable silence for some time.

Graysen’s eyes were glowing with a gentle delight.

His lips were turned up ever so slightly.

Since coming here, his shoulders had left their permanent residence by his ears to slope in relaxation.

He walked in evenly paced steps with a composed posture.

I wish I could say my own behaviors were so cool and collected.

My head whipped around, trying to catch every detail of my surroundings.

I hopped loudly over branches while his long strides barely noticed them when they broke beneath his arches.

My movements were inconsistent and flowed with my mood and interests.

Graysen was nothing if not predictable in his movements, unperturbed by obstacles and distractions.

It struck me just how differently we navigated our expedition despite being similarly enthralled with the environment.

“I’m grateful you accompanied me on this trip.” His gaze stayed locked on the path ahead as I turned to face him. “I enjoy teaching you about things. You appreciate them so much.”

“How could I not? Everything is new to me. Besides, I don’t think anything on Earth compares to this island.

I swear I can feel the air vibrating with life.

” Honestly, I had considered more than once that I would miss this if—no, when —I returned to Earth.

The pesky desire to never leave had been tingling in the back of my mind since I set foot on Eitrea.

Ahead of us, I saw shining silver water refracting starshine through the trees, casting beams of light into the otherwise dim shadows of the forest. As we drew closer, I was able to take in the full scale of the lake.

Its perimeter was far more expansive than I had expected, the shoreline disappearing in the distance.

Purple petals floated in the still current, blotches of their color bleeding into the liquid mirror below them.

When a tree dragon knocked some debris into the pool from a hovering branch, all the lilac hues bled together in the resulting waves.

I hurried ahead of Graysen to the edge of the water and dipped my toe in.

Ripples shot from my intrusion and traveled out of view before settling the surface back into complete stillness.

It was difficult to imagine a single creature living inside this lake in its eerily dormant state.

I wondered if the water dragons had left since Graysen was last here.

Hopefully not, I wanted to experience something that was special to him, together.

My toes sank into cool mud as I took another step forward.

I could clearly see the tops of my feet through the glistening surface.

The water was somewhat chilly, which I should have expected given that spring was hardly swimming season.

I didn’t mind; the goosebumps made me feel alive and present.

They ripped me from the constant feeling of transient experience that I fought against. One point redacted from my “ coma ” theory.

The hem of my dress began to float on the surface as I walked in past my knees.

I knew that my body would only acclimate to the temperature once fully submerged.

And I intended to be fully submerged. If I could breathe underwater—as he had implied on the carriage ride here—there was no stopping me from getting lost within these depths.

I paused once I was waist deep and looked back at Graysen, beaming from land as he began to unbutton his shirt. “Go ahead!” He waved me on. “I’ll be in in a moment.”

My steps absentmindedly carried me until the water reached my chest. I could sense the ground beginning to slope rapidly, and knew it was time to dive below the surface. I took one more look at the pastel sky above me, took a deep breath, and dove.

Once below the surface, my eyes darted around in curiosity.

As with the shallower ocean, my vision was surprisingly clear.

The distance faded into an abyss of cool gray shadows.

I pushed off the mud to propel myself deeper, approaching a forest of seaweed-like vegetation.

It was sparse enough that I could weave my way through, realizing as the floor disappeared into darkness that each blade was the height of a skyscraper.

I used my hands to brush slippery green strands to the side as I looked for life.

It was much plainer than the ocean, but I was sure there had to be more biodiversity than just kelp. After all, an abyss lurked below me.

I looked up to avoid thinking about the black depths; I was several meters beneath the surface.

The sky cast a lavender haze above my head.

My body didn’t attempt to float up, and I realized as I weightlessly rested in place that I had been breathing comfortably for some time.

It felt unnatural not to experience even the faintest apprehension of drowning, as if some instinct I remembered from Earth was null and void here.

The pressure of water stopped in my throat, diffusing into a comfortable gas.

One point added back to my “ coma ” theory.

There was a tap on my shoulder, and I turned my head to see Graysen’s welcoming grin.

His dark hair framed his features with wisps of charcoal.

I nearly choked. Not from the water, but from him .

He’d taken his shirt off. Of course he had, why would he keep it on?

I’d been avoiding the indulgence of imagining what he looked like in the absence of clothing.

I knew at that moment, I’d never be able to resist the temptation again.

His pectorals wrapped around a broad rib cage with brown nipples dotting where the muscle was thickest. His core was an appetizing balance of soft and shaped, the muscular V of his groin rising above his loosely fit waistband.

A soft line of dark hair ran down the bottom of his abdomen, thickening right before the denim hem concealed my view.

His arms didn’t tread the water; they instead relaxed comfortably by his sides, causing his traps to flex beside his neck.

I want to lick him.

“How are you feeling?” he asked me, his muffled voice barely snapping me out of my lustful daze.