Page 20 of The Frog Prince (The GriMM Tales #6)

Before he got lost in a sea of blue, he backed off again to drier land, skittish as he began to lead the way. “Tell me your plan and I’ll do my best to guide us.”

It took a moment before Otto began to follow.

“I hate to admit that I don’t really have one as such,” Otto said. “I don’t have the faintest idea of what was in the vial the magic provided. I’m only assuming it was herbal in nature.”

“Well, that certainly narrows it down.” Alwin found it in him to cautiously tease, glancing over his shoulder.

Otto made a face like Lorenz had often done at his dry wit.

“I know the tales of what can be found in these woods. Both myths and those things that are rarely found and fiercely hoarded. I know the more common plants and where I can find them, but none of them will help me. I need something new. I’ve never seen anything like what was in that vial. ”

“You want things you don’t know exist?” Alwin murmured, casting his mind out.

“If I want to save the people in my village, I think that’s the answer I must seek. The endings to those stories about plants that heal. Mushrooms people swear were blessed by divine forces. Roots imbued with untold magic. Things like—”

“Blue Moons?” Alwin interrupted, going for casual and grinning to himself when he realized the rustling of Otto’s steps behind him had halted.

He smoothed his expression and turned around to see him standing, his mouth open and wide eyes directed at Alwin.

“B-Blue Moons are beyond a myth,” he stuttered. “They’re a fairy tale.”

Alwin widened his eyes in pretend shock. “They are?”

“Aren’t they?”

“Why don’t we find out?” Alwin suggested, linking his hands behind his back and directing them to a spot where he knew a tiny pond was hidden between the trees. He needed water, and they needed to pass through there anyway.

“How do you know where you’re going?” Otto asked, rushing after him as Alwin turned right past a large broken stump. “Everything looks the same.”

“I’ve learned most of the forest by heart. There isn’t much else to do when I’m not granting trades.”

“How long have you been doing so?”

“Just under a decade, I think.” Alwin tried not to let his voice falter. “Time moves strangely when you’re all alone and have very little contact with the outside world.”

“I… Can I ask…” Otto started, then paused.

“You can ask anything you’d like, Otto. If I’m able, I’ll provide you an answer.”

“Where were you before coming here?”

Alwin felt his heart seize at the question. “What makes you think I was anywhere else?”

“The stories. All of a sudden there were people talking about the Frog Prince in the forest, but nothing before that. So either you were well hidden and they didn’t know of you, or you came from somewhere.”

“Brains too.” Alwin smiled in Otto’s direction and saw him frown softly.

“What?”

“You’re right,” he said instead of replying that he thought Otto was the most beautiful thing he’d ever laid eyes upon, inside and out. “I wasn’t always here.”

“Where were you?”

“I was home,” he said, the words tasting bitter on his tongue. “It may be hard to believe, but I wasn’t always alone. I had a family I loved and who loved me. I was happy.”

He forced himself to keep moving forward. To look ahead and not turn to see Otto’s pity. He didn’t need that. He didn’t want it.

“What happened?” Otto asked.

“That’s one of the things I can’t say.”

“Why?”

He grimaced. “And that’s another one. Maybe we can stick to talking about other things?”

“Like what?”

“Like, can you swim?” Alwin asked, smiling when he spotted the pond just ahead of them.

It wasn’t overly large, just a tiny pool of murky water between the bushes and trees. It appeared steady and non-threatening at first glance, covered in lily pads and carrying tiny insects on its smooth surface.

Alwin knew looks were deceiving though.

The water was deeper than it appeared. Almost over Alwin’s head if he tried to stand upright.

Swimming the few strokes from one end to the other was the safest way to go across, other than taking the longer route around the mess of trees that blocked the passage.

Storms had set some trees loose over the years, making whatever pathways existed around that a danger.

Winding through them would add days to their trip.

“Um…I cannot, no,” Otto said. “Why?”

Alwin stood at the edge of the pond and pointed.

“The only way to the other side is across the pond. The route around is blocked, filled with danger, and would take us days to traverse. The weather is holding today, so we should dry before it dips in temperature.”

“I’m tall, surely I can walk rather than swim?” Otto said, glancing over the muddy bank and down.

“It’s much deeper than it looks.”

“Oh.” Otto’s face fell. “And the Blue Moons are there?”

Alwin nodded.

Otto took a few deep breaths before nodding to himself as if coming to a decision.

“I’ll try,” he said. “Just kick your legs and arms, right? How hard can it be?”

Alwin tilted his head.

“You’re made to swim, of course it’s easy for you,” he grumbled, and it really should not have been so attractive. “I don’t suppose you have a raft stashed somewhere?”

“I don’t, no.” Alwin hesitated for a second before deciding to be brave. “But I can carry you across?”

“What?” Otto took a step back.

Alwin tried not to let it feel like rejection or disgust from Otto. It was shock…and something else he couldn’t put a name to.

“You can climb on my back and I can carry you across,” he said again, forcing his body not to react to the idea of Otto so close. “It is like you said, I’m made to swim so it will not be hard. I’ll keep you safe.”

“I’m fairly heavy,” Otto said, pointing down at the expanse of his rather large body.

Alwin tried not to react. He had most certainly noticed the bulk of Otto’s body. The strength and beauty of it. The sheer power compared to how fragile and breakable Alwin looked in this form, all gangly limbs and weak joints.

He watched Otto debate with himself for a long moment, eyes opening and closing, fists clenching and unclenching, lips moving as if he were talking to himself.

Alwin thought he caught him saying “for the Blue Moons” as if preparing for battle, which was too adorable for his poor heart to handle, before he finally looked up again.

“Okay.”

Alwin felt his stomach swoop. “Are you certain?”

“I’ll change my mind if you keep questioning me,” he said with a self-deprecating smile. “So go ahead. Show me your great frog prowess.”

“Frog prowess.” Alwin was startled into a chuckle, shaking his head. “You can be surprisingly amusing.”

“Lovely,” Otto said. “All I ever wanted.”

Alwin croaked out another laugh, feeling how foreign it was for his body to make that sound. He hadn’t had a reason to laugh in years, and now this man was making him want to remember how.

Turning to the water, he let the tiny ripple lick at his toes, promising blessed relief.

“Store your shoes and cloak in your satchel and walk after me until you can’t anymore,” Alwin instructed, “then let me carry you.”

He waded into the water first, shivering at the first touch on his feet. It felt so good, soothing every irritation, his skin drinking it up greedily.

He went farther in, listening to the soft splashing of Otto’s steps behind him as the water reached his thighs.

His clothes soaked through, clinging to his body, and he had to look down to make sure nothing was visible, anxiety making him pull the fabric away from his skin and hold every tucked-in seam in place.

He closed his eyes as the water rose to his waist, feeling his skin loosen, the irritation lessening as it started to feel like it fit him again. He lifted his hands to touch his forehead with his wet fingers, dripping water over his cheeks and neck. It wasn’t enough.

He waded farther in and bent his knees to submerge his head. The green-grey water closed over him, muffling the sounds and cutting him off from the rest of the world.

Peace.

He allowed himself a moment to float, everything cast from his mind but the pleasure of feeling before he turned himself around and caught sight of Otto’s legs just a few steps behind him.

His entire body was in the water other than his shoulders and head, and his shirt had gone completely see-through, a glimpse of pink nipples making Alwin release a gulp of bubbles.

Like everything else, water looked stunning on him.

Pushing up, he reappeared on the surface, mouth bobbing in and out of the water but the rest of him safely hidden underneath. Otto found him immediately, looking as fascinated as he had been earlier.

“You like this,” Otto said.

“Frogs enjoy water.” Alwin risked swimming a little closer. “More than that, actually. They need it to live.”

Otto’s eyes traced every new inch of skin that was revealed, and Alwin fought the urge to dive deeper again. “You’re shining,” he said softly.

Alwin looked down at his own arm and tried not to grimace, pushing the sleeve back down and clamping his fingers around it. “Yes.”

He turned his back to Otto, feeling safer this way. “Hop up.”

“You’re sure?” Otto asked.

Alwin nodded.

Otto shuffled forward, and a heartbeat later, Alwin felt questing fingers brush across his back. He barely controlled his shudder.

“How should I…”

Alwin reached back and grasped Otto’s thick waist without turning the rest of his body around. He gave Otto a small tug until his chest was glued to Alwin’s back and a staggered breath was fluttering right into his ear.

He prayed for strength. Not to lift him, but to survive.

“Wrap your arms around my neck,” he whispered over the soft lapping of the water, the anticipation of warmth encircling him near his most sensitive and hidden place both sweet and nerve-racking.