Page 13

CHAPTER 13

ROSALYN

I ’d never been afraid of storms, per se, but the storm raging outside felt different.

In Spring Haven, my mother used to say that pixies were made of rainwater, pollen, and magic.

Apparently, my father had some skill with weather charms, but that gift had bypassed me entirely.

The weather outside felt wild and untamed, like the chaotic magic affecting the unicorns.

A deafening crack of lightning jolted me awake.

The cabin shook with the force of it, and without thinking, I let out a startled squeak and pressed myself closer to Bjorn.

“Rosalyn?” His voice was thick with sleep, but his arm instinctively wrapped around me.

“Sorry,” I whispered, embarrassed.

“The lightning?—”

Another crash interrupted me, this one accompanied by a flash of lightning so bright it illuminated the entire cabin for a breathless moment.

The wind howled, rattling the windowpanes like an angry spirit demanding entrance.

“It’s all right,” Bjorn murmured, pulling me closer.

“I’ve got you.”

I looked up at him, his face shadowed but his eyes gleaming in the firelight.

My heart fluttered, but not from fear this time.

“I’ve never heard a storm like this,” I said softly.

“We get them in the Frozen Isles. Magic-infused storms,” he replied, his thumb absently tracing circles on my arm.

“They blow in from the sea, bringing ice and howling wind.”

“Is this one magical, do you think? I don’t remember a storm like this in Moonshine Hollow before.”

He was quiet for a moment, considering.

“Maybe. It came on so suddenly.”

Our faces were inches apart.

The thin barrier of space between us seemed to crackle with the same electric tension as the storm outside.

“Bjorn,” I whispered, unsure what I wanted to say.

He didn’t let me finish.

His mouth found mine in the darkness, gentle at first, then with growing urgency as I responded.

My hands slid to the back of his neck, gently pulling him closer.

The oversized shirt I wore hiked up as I shifted, and his hand found my bare leg, his touch setting my skin ablaze.

“Is this okay?” he asked against my lips, his voice husky.

“More than okay,” I breathed, my wings fluttering under the long shift with anticipation.

His hand traveled higher, and I gasped when his fingers found the sensitive skin of my inner thigh.

I arched into his touch, my body already humming with desire.

“I want you,” I whispered, feeling the words coming from my heart.

This did not feel like my usual flirtations.

Something different was happening here.

I wanted Bjorn, but for more than just one night.

I wanted him, all of him, heart and soul.

“I have since the first moment I saw you,” I confessed.

Bjorn groaned, the sound sending a delicious shiver down my spine.

He pulled back just enough to tug his shirt off, revealing his muscled chest and the intricate blue runes that decorated his arms and torso.

In the dim light, they seemed to pulse with a soft glow that matched the rhythm of his heartbeat.

I touched them with wandering fingers, tracing the patterns.

“They’re beautiful.”

“They’re reacting to you,” he said in a tone of wonder.

“They don’t glow unless…”

I didn’t have time to ask what he meant before his mouth was on mine again, more demanding this time.

His hands pushed the borrowed shirt up further, and I helped him pull it over my head entirely, leaving me bare.

The cool air made my skin rise in gooseflesh, but Bjorn’s gaze smoldered as he took me in, looking over my naked body.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered, his hands stroking my soft belly.

“Like ivory and roses,” he whispered, then began to trail kisses down my neck, collarbone, and lower still.

When his mouth closed around my nipple, I cried out, my back arching off the bed.

My wings fluttered wildly, lifting me slightly.

“The advantages of a pixie lover,” I said with a breathless laugh.

Bjorn looked up at me, a wicked glint in his eye.

“Show me.”

With a surge of confidence, I lay him gently on the bed.

Straddling him, I let my wings work just enough to hover above him, my core brushing tantalizingly against the obvious bulge in his trousers.

“These need to go,” I said, tugging at the fabric.

Bjorn lifted his hips, helping me slide the garment down his powerful thighs and off entirely.

When he was fully nude before me, I couldn’t help but stare appreciatively.

He was magnificently built, all muscle and strength, and his arousal stood proud between us.

“Rosalyn,” he said softly, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

He reached out and gently stroked my breasts, his fingers gently playing with my nipples.

He paused and met my gaze.

“You want me ? Are you certain?”

“Yes. Very certain,” I reassured him, lowering myself to press a searing kiss to his lips.

I trailed kisses down his chest, enjoying the way his muscles tensed under my touch.

When I reached his navel, I looked up at him, making sure he was watching as I took his hard member in hand.

His breath became quick.

“Rosalyn,” he groaned as I stroked him, his hands gripping the sheets.

“Yes?” I asked innocently, my wings keeping me hovering just above him.

“Please,” he whispered, his eyes pleading rather than commanding.

“I need you. Please.” He reached for me, his touch tentative despite his apparent desire.

I smiled at his endearing shyness and floated up to meet his lips for another kiss.

His hands roamed my body, finding every sensitive spot like he’d known me for years.

When his fingers slipped between my thighs, finding me already slick with desire, I moaned into his mouth.

“Rosalyn,” he whispered.

“I want you.”

“Yes,” I groaned against his lips.

“Yes.”

That was all the encouragement he needed.

Moving gently and with surprising strength, he lifted me as he stood from the bed, turning us so his back was against the cabin wall.

My legs wrapped around his waist naturally, my wings fluttering to help support my weight.

“Is this okay?” he asked again, his eyes darkened with lust.

“Perfect. You’re perfect,” I assured him, already guiding him to my entrance.

When he pushed inside me, the stretch was exquisite, bordering on too much but exactly what I needed.

I gasped, and a shimmering pink blush spread across my skin, starting at my chest and flowing outward like a blossoming flower.

“By the Nine Gods,” he breathed, his forehead pressed against mine, eyes wide with wonder at the transformation of my skin.

“You’re so beautiful. You feel incredible.”

For a moment, neither of us moved, savoring the sensation of our bodies joined so intimately.

Then, with a roll of my hips, I urged him into motion.

Bjorn didn’t need further encouragement.

He held me securely as he began to thrust, establishing a rhythm that had me seeing stars.

My wings worked instinctively, the magical glimmer from them bathing us both in a soft blue light that seemed to intensify where it met the glow of Bjorn’s runes.

Our bodies were illuminated by magic that responded to our passion.

“Bjorn,” I moaned as he hit a particularly sensitive spot.

“Right there.”

He obeyed, holding my waist and helping bob me up and down, focusing his thrusts to make me cry out again and again.

My hands on his shoulders, my wings working in tandem, I pumped hard, feeling my climax building.

“You’re so good,” I whispered.

“You feel so amazing. Harder, Bjorn. I’m so close.”

He quickened his thrusts.

“Bjorn,” I cried out.

“Oh, Bjorn.” Reaching my pinnacle, waves of pleasure crashed over me.

Bjorn held me through it, his movements never faltering even as I clenched around him.

When I came back to myself, I found him watching me with an expression of awe, his own release clearly not far off.

With a mischievous smile, I whispered, “Let’s go back to bed.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes, and he carried me back to the bed, lying down without breaking our connection.

I braced my hands on his chest, my wings spreading wide as I moved above him.

Using my wings to control my movements, I lifted almost completely off him before sinking back down, setting a pace that had us both panting.

The glittering pink blush on my skin intensified, pulsing with each wave of pleasure.

My wings glowed brighter too, beating faster and leaving trails of shimmering dust in the air around us.

The look of wonder on Bjorn’s face was intoxicating.

He’d clearly never experienced anything like this before, but truth be told, neither had I.

It was magical.

And for the first time, it truly felt like something beyond sex, something more, something…

destined.

My wings beat faster as my pleasure built again, creating a vortex of magical energy around us.

I tightened my inner muscles, squeezing him, and to my delight, the motion lifted us both several inches off the bed.

Bjorn’s eyes widened in surprise before darkening with renewed hunger.

His hands gripped my hips, guiding my movements as we hovered.

“Rosalyn,” he groaned, his control clearly slipping.

“Give me all of you. I want you, Bjorn,” I whispered.

That was all it took.

With a deep moan, he found release, his hands clutching me to him as he pulsed inside me.

The intensity of his climax caused spasms of pleasure to wash through me in a way I’d never experienced before.

It was dreamlike.

When I collapsed against his chest, my wings finally slowed and stilled, lowering us back onto the mattress.

We lay tangled together for several moments, catching our breath as the storm continued to rage outside.

Bjorn’s hand stroked my back lazily, careful of my sensitive wings.

“That was...” he began, seeming at a loss for words.

“Magical?” I suggested with a smile.

He laughed softly.

“Definitely magical.”

We stayed like that, exchanging lazy kisses and gentle touches as our bodies cooled.

Eventually, Bjorn pulled the blanket over us and tucked me against his side, his arm around my shoulders.

“I never expected this when I came to Moonshine Hollow,” he said quietly, his fingers playing with a strand of my hair.

I propped myself up on an elbow to look at him.

“Expected what?”

He met my gaze, and there was something vulnerable in his eyes.

“You. Us. This.”

My heart swelled.

“Well, I never expected a handsome Rune elf to ride into town and sweep me off my feet, either. Sometimes, the best magic is the unexpected kind.”

Bjorn smiled, but there was a shadow behind his eyes that I couldn’t quite read.

Before I could ask about it, he pulled me in for another kiss, closed his eyes, and pressed his cheek against my head.

Nestled in his arms, I felt more content than I could remember being in a very long time.

The steady rise and fall of his chest, the warmth of his skin against mine, and the way his arm held me close even as he drifted off to sleep all felt right.

Safe.

Like coming home to a place I’d never been before.

The storm outside quieted somewhat, though rain still pattered against the roof.

Merry and Smoke had curled up beside one another, Merry playing the part of an opportunist and Smoke the unwitting bedwarmer.

I saw Merry’s tail twitching occasionally in his sleep, and I smiled.

Even my fickle caticorn seemed at peace here.

I was just drifting back to sleep when I heard a faint, melodic humming coming from outside.

At first, I thought it was just the wind through the trees, but the sound was too organized, too purposeful.

Carefully slipping from Bjorn’s embrace, I pulled on the oversized shirt and padded to the window.

The rain had slowed to a gentle drizzle, more mist than rain, and in the faint pre-dawn light, I could make out tiny points of brightness hovering near the edge of the fields.

Fairies.

But not the kind that tended gardens in Moonshine Hollow.

These were wild fairies, rare, royal, and notoriously mischievous.

And they were…

singing?

I watched, transfixed, as they seemed to troupe in a line toward the forest, carrying small lanterns as they went.

This wasn’t normal fairy behavior, especially not for wild fairies who usually kept away from human habitation.

“Bjorn,” I called softly, turning back to the bed.

“I’m so sorry to wake you, but you must see this.”

He stirred, blinking at me in confusion before awareness returned.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes,” I said, my heart warming that his first thought was toward my comfort.

“Come see.”

“What is it?”

“Fairies. Wild ones. And they’re acting strangely.”

That got his attention.

He rose from the bed, pulling on his trousers before joining me at the window.

His arm slipped around my waist naturally, as if we’d been doing this for years rather than hours.

“I’ve never seen them behave like this,” I said, gesturing.

“These are wild fairies. They never come this close to town. Should we… Maybe they know something about the magic.”

Bjorn hesitated only a moment before nodding.

“Let me get dressed.”

We quickly donned our now-dry clothes and slipped out into the misty dawn, following the fairy procession.

They trouped through the forest to a circle-shaped opening in the woods.

There, we found a single standing stone covered in white flowers.

The stone was ancient, carved in spiraling patterns that reminded me of Bjorn’s runes.

Around the base of the stone, wildflowers were blooming, rare, magical varieties that I’d only ever seen in herbalist shops.

Silver bellflowers, moon poppies, and the elusive starshatter lily, its petals changing color with each shift of the light, grew in abundance.

The fairies circled the stone, their song growing more urgent.

As we watched, several broke from the formation and flew directly to us.

One tiny fairy, no bigger than my finger, hovered before me, its delicate features pinched with concern.

“Pray thee, have you come to help us attend to our plight?” the male fairy asked, his voice like a tiny bell.

“For the ancient veins of magic doth twist and writhe beneath the soil.”

I blinked in surprise.

Wild fairies rarely spoke to humans or other magical folk.

“I…”

“Why hast thou come?” the female fairy asked, studying us.

She turned to her male companion.

“They doth be a pixie and a Rune elf. Make haste. Inform the queen.”

The male fairy nodded, then zipped off, joining the others.

Bjorn looked at me, a confused expression on his face.

A moment later, a luminescent fairy with long, golden hair and shimmering green robes flew with two attendants toward us.

She wore a tall, golden crown on her head.

When she approached, I curtsied.

Bjorn set his hand on his waist and gave her a short bow.

The fairy queen studied him, gave him a curtsy, then said, “Greetings, fair friends. Hast thou observed the odd magic about?”

“We have,” Bjorn told her.

“The unicorns are particularly afflicted. I’ve come to help.”

The fairy queen nodded.

“The magical balance hath been most grievously disturbed,” she said, gesturing to the standing stone.

“That which should be channeled through the stones has gone astray.”

“Channeled through the stones?” I asked, confused.

“Aye, Mistress. The lines of magic in our realms doth require tending. This one hath been pulled from its course.”

“Ley lines,” Bjorn said softly.

“The magical currents that run beneath the earth?”

“Indeed, Charmed elf,” the fairy queen said.

“As Midsummer approacheth, the sacred lines shift most unnaturally. We humbly implore thee to render aid. We have endeavored with our own magic to make the adjustments, but we are not strong enough.”

“But how? How is the adjustment done?” I asked.

“The vessel needed lies before you,” she replied, gesturing to the stone.

“We can use the stone to realign the magic?” Bjorn asked.

“It is possible, Charmed elf, but our efforts hath been in vain. We require your assistance,” she said, gesturing to both of us.

“A pixie and a Charmed elf.”

Charmed elf?

What did she mean?

“Why us?” I asked.

“Observe, Mistress.” The fairy pointed to me, then to Bjorn.

Small flecks of magic flew from us to her hands, one an ice-blue sparkle and the other a vibrant pink sparkle.

When she held them across from one another, they sparked, sending bolts of magic from one to the other.

“’Tis the union of thy magics that holds the key,” the fairy queen continued.

“The magic of the North meets the warm and wild spirit of the Summerlands.”

“Our magic together,” Bjorn said quietly, glancing at me.

“Pixie magic and Rune elf magic.”

“But… But I’m just a baker. I’m not that powerful. I can bake enchanted scones and make teacups float, but this…” I said, gesturing to her hands.

“This is big magic.”

“Underestimate not thy gifts, gentle pixie,” the fairy queen replied.

“For ‘tis not the volume of magic, but its nature that we require. Summer and winter magic doth the pair of you have. Together, it will restore balance. We leave the matter in your good hands and thank thee.”

The fairy queen smiled, giving me a brief nod. “Mistress,” she said then turned to Bjorn. “Charmed elf,” she added, curtseying briefly to Bjorn before turning and fluttering back to her court.

My brow furrowed with confusion.

“You’re right, Rosalyn. This is big magic. I know she is confident, but I’m not sure we can do this alone.”

I nodded. “We’ll need help.”

“Kellen, the dryad, maybe? I can send him a message,” Bjorn said.

“A message box can’t reach him, but his fiancée, Tansy, can. She has a workshop above Thistle and Thyme, Juniper’s herbalist shop. Help… My magic is for baking, but I know someone who can do big magic. There is a wizard in Moonshine Hollow. He will know what to do.”

Bjorn nodded. “Okay, let’s work together. I can go seek out the dryad.”

“And I’ll talk to the wizard. We can meet at Elder Thornberry’s later.”

The sun was awake now. A rosy pink light spread across the horizon, shading everything in a gold hue.

Having completed what work they could, the fairies zipped back into the shadows of the forest.

“Shall we?” Bjorn asked, gesturing back to the cottage.

I nodded.

As Bjorn and I walked back, I could feel his emotions stirring. Suddenly, he seemed tense and not because of the Ley lines.

“Rosalyn,” he said as we reached the cabin, his voice oddly formal. “About last night?—”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” I said softly, echoing my previous words.

He smiled, but the humor didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I wasn’t going to.

I just…

I need you to know that it meant something to me.

You mean something to me.

”

Relief flooded through me but was quickly followed by concern at his serious tone.

“But?”

“No but,” he said, taking my hand.

“Just… There are things about me you don’t know. Things I need to sort through.”

I studied his face, trying to read the struggle I saw there.

“Whatever it is, Bjorn, you can tell me.”

Oh, no .

He’s married.

That has to be it.

At the very least, he has a girlfriend.

I’m a girl’s girl.

If that’s the case, I will never forgive myself—or him.

I’d never do that to another woman…

Ugh!

Bjorn looked pained.

“I want to. I will. Just not yet. Let’s see to the Ley lines before something bad happens. The rest… Please just know, no one has ever made me feel seen the way you have. No one. Thank you, Rosalyn,” he said, a sad tone in his voice.

Okay, so maybe not a girlfriend.

I didn’t understand his meaning, but I nodded anyway.

“I love being with you, Bjorn. Whatever it is, take the time you need.”

The relief in his eyes was palpable.

He pulled me close and set a tender kiss on my lips.

I could feel the shift in his energy.

His confidence was gone.

Now, I sensed fear.

He kissed me deeply, soaking me in, his kiss almost desperate, as if he feared it might be our last.

When we finally pulled back, he pressed his forehead against mine.

“Rosalyn,” he whispered, uttering my name like it was something precious.

He gently touched my chin.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll find you,” I assured him, trying to ignore the knot of worry forming in my stomach.

He nodded.

Slipping into the cabin, I gathered Merry, who was thoroughly unimpressed with being awake so early, and prepared for my journey back to Moonshine Hollow.

As I left, I looked back to see Bjorn standing on the porch, watching me go.

His expression was unreadable, but the slump of his shoulders spoke volumes.

Whatever secret he was keeping, it weighed on him heavily.

Charmed elf.

That was what the fairy queen had called him.

Did that mean something I didn’t understand?

What was I missing?

I sighed.

Despite the magic we’d shared the previous night, I couldn’t shake the feeling that when daylight came again, it might have swept away the connection we’d found in darkness.

As I spread my wings and lifted into the air, I made a silent promise—both to him and myself—that whatever stood between us, I wouldn’t let it end our story.

After all, I was Rosalyn Hartwood, baker extraordinaire and notorious romantic.

And I didn’t give up easily on the people who mattered to me.

And right now, no one mattered more to me than Bjorn Runeson.

A meow called from the basket hanging on the crook of my arm, as if Merry had read my thoughts and protested.

“And you, Merry. That goes without saying. Always you.”