Page 35 of Finding Her (Lore of the Fields #1)

He nodded his head. “As with the majority of tragic legends, it begins with love.” He pulled the pan from the fire and set it on the ground, using his freed hands to rake his hair back from his forehead.

“There was a female who was quite the striking debutante.

Every male on Trebianna wanted her for themselves.

She was curvy with long, curly red hair.

A male called Pyro chanced upon running into her at a party and became obsessed. He had to have her.

“He promised her whatever she wanted in exchange for her hand in marriage. He tirelessly wrote love letters and showered her with gifts. But she had already received these things from countless men, so they didn’t hold her interest. When asked what it would take to have her, she replied that she wanted nothing more than for him to prove his devotion beyond the other suitors.

“Driven mad by his love, he prayed to the gods to gift him with something he could use to show how much he worshiped her. The god of love saw how his heart broke and took pity on him. He sent the male the ability to summon fire. The flame’s intensity would synchronize with his passion, creating a powerful indicator of his feelings.

“He went to the woman’s home and told her he could prove his affections; a simple kiss was all he’d need.

She obliged with nothing more than a peck on the lips, stepped back, and waited.

Fire ignited in his hands, filling the throne room with a dazzling glow.

Infatuated by his power, her search for a mate had come to an end.

“She allowed him to claim her. It was everything he had dreamt of. But, the flames he created during their love-making grew out of control. The bedroom burned to the ground, and with it went the two lovers.

“The next morning, the town gathered around where her home once stood. While many searched through the ashes—claiming her jewelry and riches that had survived the arson—one heard a cry. They followed the sound and dug until they felt something move. Grasping a squishy arm, they pulled a baby from the carnage. The infant was born of the couple and gifted with not only the ability to summon fire, but also the ability to survive and control it. When it grew to create its own lineage, the species of the Pyrans began.”

My eyes were fixated on the dancing flames before us, imagining I could see it come to life within the wisps. “So, you’re a descendant of the most beautiful woman to exist.”

He chuckled. “Some say I have my thousandth great-grandmother’s good looks.” He winked at me, a forked tongue tracing across his sharp teeth playfully.

“Hm, no,” I hummed, eyes scanning him. “You’re missing the curves. And the red hair.”

He cupped each pectoral muscle and squeezed them together to form a cleavage line up to his neck. “The potential is there. Don’t you think?” An eyebrow wiggled flirtatiously.

I was surprised by the crass joke coming from somebody who was normally so poised.

The possibility of Graysen being childish hadn’t crossed my mind, but he seemed surprisingly comfortable with his attempt at faux breasts.

He arched his back to mimic a suggestively feminine posture.

A curled black strand of hair hung into his eyes, which squinted with amusement.

He seemed to be waiting for my response to the gesture, his confidence waning the longer I took.

“Apologies, m’lady.” I bowed my head in false chivalry. “I have clearly misspoken.”

He relaxed back into his typical posture, a playful smile on his lips. Brick by brick, I was dismantling his wall, determined to find what was hidden behind it. I knew it would be dark. My own history was dark in a different way, but maybe we could sit in our darkness together.

I looked around our little camp. At our fire, our tree, the pelt hanging off our branch.

I yearned to live in a snapshot of this bliss.

I would be happy here. Maybe I could keep that invasive voice calling me back on a tight leash if I never left the island.

But to stay here, I would need to abandon my quest for Earth, for what I thought was my home.

My heart beat in my chest, reminding me of the real terror I felt in my dreams, the desperate longing to return.

There was no denying the Eitrea had been a wonderful distraction, but was it all about to come crashing back?

Was I healing, or just on vacation? I was afraid to find out.

The two large stars in the sky were disappearing as galaxies faded into view. For the first time, I noticed that the “ starset ” here kissed hints of pink and blue into the purple heavens. The hues were short-lived, but combined beautifully with the soft lavender of day and deep violet of night.

The evening air was becoming cold rapidly, and I shivered involuntarily. Graysen’s eyes snapped to me, registering the cold. He stood wordlessly and got to work on the fire, moving its fuel, letting it ignite untouched branches.

“I’m going to go grab our blanket from the tree.” I rose to my feet, wondering why I still hadn’t donned a jacket. Maybe I wanted him to pull me close again.

“Alright.” He looked up from where he was focused on shifting branches around with bare hands.

“It’s fine,” I smiled softly. “Really, you don’t need to work on it more. I’m sure I just need another layer.”

We took a break from the conversation so I could climb up the tree and retrieve the blanket.

In my haste, I missed a loop of the vines on the way down and swallowed a yelp, catching myself before I fell the entire way to the ground.

The bark scratched up my front side. I scowled.

I was already hurt again after having just healed from the woods Graysen found me in.

Road rash aside, I made it back to the fire which, in my absence, he’d tended to a size I wasn’t sure was entirely necessary, nor containable. Didn’t they have fire safety in this world?

“I made it better,” he stated factually.

“So I see.” I settled into the soft fur pelt, noting it was in the same place as it had been this morning.

Was that really only this morning ? It didn’t feel so recent.

The days were long and involved; I was getting a crash course on an eternity of history, culture, and natural experience.

Not to mention the days were literally longer, at a whopping forty hours.

“What was your favorite part of our trip?” Graysen snapped me out of my daze with the question as he served our dinner into two small wooden bowls and poured me a cup of tea.

“That’s tough.” I looked up at the swirling glitter of galaxies in thought. “Dragons have really blown my mind, but there was something special in that meadow. I suppose it depends on whether you’re asking my head or my heart.”

“I thought you might enjoy experiencing the field. Although I am tickled you appreciate the creatures here as much as I do. They’re quite important to me.” He placed my dinner bowl into my hands.

“So you haven’t been able to introduce Mykie to them?” I felt somewhat guilty for how satisfying that felt. I was his only riding partner; other than the mystery individual he wasn’t ready to talk about. Given he was largely my sole companion, I was grateful to have an exclusive role in his world.

“The scales of her kind seem to cause confusion in the dragons; they look like their prey. It made it difficult for my species to befriend hers during The Redevelopment. Pyran dragons caused some trust issues after preying on Arielna townspeople.”

“The Redevelopment ?” I cocked a brow, absent mindedly spooning food to my mouth.

“Are you not growing tired from so much learning?” He grimaced sheepishly before taking his first bite.

“Learning new things is all I have,” I muttered with a shrug. “Otherwise, I’d remain a na?ve blank slate.”

He nodded, resting his bowl on his thigh. “The Redevelopment was a movement that began millennia ago. As you know, there are many species on Trebianna. Some look like us, while others don’t.”

I recalled the seven species: Pyrans, Arielnas, Mercurians, Lychan, Thornians, Sirens, and Quadmos . Each one existed on varying levels of the human-looking spectrum, with Pyrans and Lychan occupying either polar end.

“During The Redevelopment, standards were set on how to cohabitate multiple intelligent species safely within a region. With all of us being traditionally predatory, some species learned how to mask the ‘ scary ’ features to express docility. Treaties had to be made to take each other off the menu. Neutral lands were formed, and slowly, they formed the society you see now. My people were early converts who attempted to spread the word of the movement. As I said, this created an unfortunate introduction when they flew into Arielna territory.”

“Is that why your body changes?” I tried not to remember the way his bronze eyes had burned into me this morning too vividly, lest my smell announce my reminiscing .

“Yes. Sometimes the natural features slip.” He watched me closely.

“I don’t mind. I’m not scared if that’s why you’re still hiding them.

” I wanted to remove another brick from his wall, and knew I could be comfortable with the fangs, glowing eyes, and any other anomalies.

If it was more authentic for him to let those features show, then I was team predatory Graysen.

“That’s very kind.”

“No really,” I insisted. “I’d rather you be comfortable.”

He grinned, flashing his fangs. “I appreciate your reassurance more than you know, but I don’t feel the desire to change forms. If somebody told you to stop wearing clothing, you’d still cover up, yes?

Once etiquette is established, it’s somewhat unnatural to unlearn.

” His teeth were already returned to their rounded state.

“But it slips when your focus does?” I tried to read between the lines. I couldn’t imagine where to begin transfiguring myself into a new shape, much less how to have control over its maintenance and removal.

His head tilted side to side uncertainly. “Something like that. You eat with a fork, but you might use your hands if you were starving. I mask being feral, but it happens when the situation demands.”

“ Feral ?”

“Feral is when your features slip without your control.”

“Is Mykie always in her… feral state?” I laughed but quickly cut my voice off to measure his response.

Hopefully that wasn’t an offensive question.

The term “ feral ” in this context felt gross on my tongue.

Was there a negative connotation if it was associated with losing control and primitiveness?

I assumed with relief that my intentions were clear when Graysen cackled.

“ Mykie is always feral, but Arielna s are not,” he joked.

“Arielnas didn’t agree to mask their features, so there’s no real slipping up to happen.

Same with Lychans who haven’t figured it out despite their efforts, and Sirens who are separated enough from the rest of us to not bother.

But Pyrans, Mercurians, Thornians, and Quadmos did learn to change themselves to one degree or another in the name of intermingling. ”

“I like that Mykie is so unique. I think the scales suit her.” I tossed a twig into the flames, lazily contributing to its burn.

“She’s an unexpected best friend to see with you.

” Mykie had been blunt, unapologetically herself, and bold since I met her.

It was a stark contrast from Graysen’s calculated demeanor of outward calmness and presumed inner chaos.

He shrugged in agreement, taking his last bite of dinner. “Nobody’s perfect. We just have different demons.”

“What are yours?” The words left my lips before I could second-guess them.

I had intended to be more discreet with my personal prodding, but it was out there now.

The best I could do was attempt to appear casual, like it was any other conversation.

Like I wasn’t holding my breath for a piece of his puzzle to be handed to me.

As I feared, neutrality washed away his engaged expression immediately. He wasn’t going to let me read anything in his eyes. “I’d rather not discuss the past. It distracts from what’s right in front of me.”

“If you ever want to talk about it—” I softly smiled with arched eyebrows, hoping my genuine desire to support him was evident. It was the least I could do to repay him.

He remained stone-faced, but I faintly heard the strike of his finger against his palm in his lap. “Let’s just say that I wasn’t a very happy person for a while. The chaos in Mykie’s life complemented my own.”

I nodded deeply, hoping to express I was listening and trying to understand. Hell, I was trying to read between the lines desperately. “Are you feeling better these days?”

“Slowly, but surely, my dear.”

“Between Mykie and me, you seem to have a taste for drama.” I tried to lighten the mood—anything to crack the returned facade.

“You aren’t drama.” His brows lowered.

“I don’t consider picking up a random girl on the side of the road a normal way of selecting friends,” I smirked.

His laugh was half-hearted, but enough to bring life back to his eyes. “Something told me it was the right thing to do.”