Page 14 of Mushy Stuff (Guardian Mates #1)

My heart breaks at Lydia’s tears.

I want to keep her. I want her bound to me as my mate. I want to spend my days with her like we have spent the past few days.

No matter how much I want to, I cannot keep her. It’s just not safe. What if she stayed and one of the Elven took her? I could not live knowing she was trapped like that, bending to the whim of some arrogant Elven master.

My father and the other male Guardians that my birth mother imprisoned could not even keep themselves safe. Once one of the Elven decides they want something, they will stop at nothing to get it. If they knew a human was here with me…I would not be able to keep them away .

I ache at this thought. I want her to stay with me with every piece of my soul. I know deep down inside that she was meant for me.

I hold her as she falls asleep. Tomorrow we will harvest mushrooms to sell, then we will buy the ingredients for the spell. Tomorrow, we will send her home.

***

The next morning, I wake earlier than normal because I know I have much work to do. I am in a terrible mood. I do not look forward to anything today. The sun is still up, but the whole world just seems dark. It feels like those first days after my nursemaid left me; those first years alone.

I wake Lydia beside me. She seems to be much more subdued today too. She has none of that happiness that normally radiates from her.

I tell her the plan for today. It is mid-afternoon so we will have extra time, but we still have a lot to do before the market tonight.

I hunt for us and check on my mushrooms as the rabbits cook.

Lydia accompanies me just the way she has on the other days, but I can see that instead of excitement, she has only sadness.

She does not gasp in surprise and wonder at mushrooms. Today, she sniffles and wipes her eyes.

I stop and hold her several times throughout my work.

Once I am done caring for the mushrooms and we eat our food, I weave a bag out of my vines.

I leave the vines attached to my head so I can make it bigger if I need.

Then I begin harvesting the mushrooms that I can sell.

I take a lot of them. I don’t really know how much the ingredients are going to cost.

If I thought Lydia was sad before, harvesting my precious mushrooms has made it even worse. She helps hold the bag for me, but sniffles and whimpers the whole time.

It is getting dark as I finish harvesting all of the mushrooms I will need. By this point my bag is huge, and has turned into more of a sack. I cut the ends of the vines with my claws and tie off the sack.

I look at Lydia’s sad face, then I hug her to me. She presses her face to my chest, and I can hear her muffled crying. I pet her hair. “Shhh, my little sprite. You will see. It will be okay.”

She sniffs and wipes her tears. “Wold, it won’t be okay. I want to be with you. How will it be okay if I am not with you?”

“Because you will be safe.” I tell her, and I hear her sigh.

“It doesn’t matter if I am safe if I am broken.

Wold, it’s going to break me to leave you.

I’m meant to be here with you, and I think you know that.

The wall let me through so that I could be with you.

How else do you explain this force that draws us to each other?

The spell that binds you to this land also let me live.

It didn’t make you kill me. I am supposed to be here with you.

Please don’t send me away. You feel like home to me.

” Tears are running down her cheeks again.

Seeing her pain nearly breaks me. What she says makes sense, but none of that matters if the Elven gets her.

I have to keep her safe, even if it means sending her back to the human world.

I remember the Guardians that my birth mother kept captive.

They were big; bigger than me. They were strong, and they were powerful.

But none of that helped them. None of that kept them safe in the end.

My magic and strength will not be enough to keep her safe.

There is nothing I can say to ease her pain.

I feel the same pain. So I just hold her instead.

We stand there for a few minutes holding each other, then I say, “We should get ready to leave for the fae market.” She looks heartbroken, so I continue.

“I think you will love the market. There are going to be so many things for you to see.”

She gives me a small, sad smile. “Have you been many times?”

“When I was younger. Not in recent years, though. I gave up most comforts a long time ago,” I reply. “I enjoyed going to them when I was young though. It was the only time I got to see others. It allowed me to feel normal for a day.”

Before we leave, I take Lydia to a back corner of the cave. There are bunches of small mushrooms that glow faintly. I pick a handful of them. I eat one and then give her another. She looks at me curiously as she chews it up.

“It doesn’t taste like much. Is this mushroom for eating?”

“No, this mushroom will protect you from anyone that tries to cast a glamour on you. Some of the Elven are able to do that, and that is how they kidnap people.” I explain as I hand the rest to her, “You just eat one a day, and it will break any glamour spells that anyone tries to use on you. If something happens and you need this, you will need to take one at about the same time every day to keep yourself protected.”

“Oh…okay. I will. Is it really that dangerous there?” she asks as she digs in her bag. She pulls out a tiny bag and drops the mushrooms into it. Then she tucks the tiny bag into the piece of clothing that she calls a bra .

“Yes, it can be. Anytime I need to leave my territory, I always take some with me, just in case.” I say. We leave the cave and begin walking toward the inside edge of my territory. “It will take us a while to walk there. ”

She just nods. She seems distracted and lost in thought. I’m sure I know what is consuming her mind, because it’s consuming my mind too.

I don’t want her to leave.