Page 11 of The Zagorath (Shadowed Dreams #3)

Chapter

Eleven

L iv followed Dahtao through his home, her hand dwarfed within his hand.

Despite his size and how easily his hand could crush hers, he led her gently, rumbling quiet warnings as if she were really anywhere near his size and needed to watch her head when it came to certain fixtures and peculiarities about his home such as a root that suddenly jutted out to twist in the air or some low slope of the ceiling.

It was sweet really and before long had her lips inching upward with amusement as she took the opportunity to get a good look at her surroundings.

She hadn’t been lying about her admiration.

It bore such exquisite detailing that she could have sworn it was a giant version of a hobbit hole with all of its carefully crafted wood fixtures and moorings—all of which were perfectly polished without a speck of dust which didn’t quite fit with the image she had of him.

Unless it somehow magically kept itself perfectly clean.

If that was the case, then she wanted that damn spell.

Dusting was her bane. Well, any housework really.

What witch wanted to toil over chores when toiling over a cauldron or some bit of enchantment was far more interesting?

Aside from the woodwork, there was also plenty of intentionally shaped stones that added a touch more artistry, though it was just as frequently also made into functional load-bearing things.

Tables and shelves bore crudely fashioned candles and bookcases were loaded with books that looked nearly ancient.

That was saying nothing of the massive hearth that dominated the main room.

The fire, she recalled, had sprung to life when they had entered and still cheerfully burned, illuminating the wooden walls and casting shadows on the thick roots, including those that dangled bizarrely from the bare ceiling.

The entire abode, the ceiling aside, spoke of luxury and comfort that seemed out of place for—what did he call himself?

—a blood guardian of the forest. A Zagorath.

Liv resisted the urge to shiver as unwelcome images sprung to her mind of how she had first seen him.

It was so difficult to reconcile that image with the one of the gentle male who was now in front of her, holding her hand.

But his words also made sense. Could she say that he was evil or hold it against him for doing what was necessary that was beyond her understanding?

He certainly wasn’t some brute bent solely on bloodshed and destruction.

The woodwork alone attested to the sort of patience he had to possess.

Aside from the carefully carved furnishings, the wood paneling on the walls was not only smooth as silk and buffed to a luminous shine, but was fitted around the massive roots with such exquisite care and precision that she would have sworn that it couldn’t have been accomplished by anyone but a master carver.

Surely not by such brutish hands. And yet the pride on his face had told the tale.

She had no doubt that he had fashioned every bit of his home.

And without help if she didn’t miss her guess.

The fond way he looked up at the ever-silent gargoyles was enough to make her believe that they were his only friends.

The door gave her a pause, however. It was stained a dark red in contrast to the softer hues in the rest of his home and the back of her neck prickled with forewarning.

Dahtao put his free hand on it and glanced back at her with a smile as he turned the knob and swung it open to a fantasy world riot with color.

Liv choked back a gasp, her eyes going wide as she stepped outside.

It was like a paradise from every seven-year-old girl’s dream.

There was nothing ordinary about these woods.

Tall sturdy tree trunks of familiar hues of browns and grays towered above her, but the leaves varied like colors of the rainbow.

Soft pink, lavender, deeper shades of purple, burgundy, blue and orange.

Several trees dripped with flowers in lighter shades than their leaves or in contrasting hues as shimmering lights danced among them the swaying blooms.

Dahtao leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Pixies. They are busy pollinating as they gather nectar—a primary food for them, among other things.”

“Other things?” she queried absently.

He shrugged. “I understand that they hunt and roast large beetles.”

Her nose wrinkled faintly but she laughed. That wasn’t quite as magical as what she’d had in mind.

Dahtao’s eyes glittered with amusement as he grinned at her. “Did I shock you?”

She shook her head, her lips twitching with her silent laughter. “Not exactly, though I can say that beetles aren’t something I would have considered to be on the menu for anything as pretty as pixie.”

“Pretty but mean,” he replied with a snort. “Just be careful. They are a menace and will bite if you have the misfortune of one landing on you. They will try to eat anything. Anything,” he emphasized, his eyes dropping to bared arms and legs.

She glanced down at herself curiously. “Is there something wrong with what I’m wearing? You’re the one who gave me this sheet to wear,” she teased.

With her clothing completely ruined and discarded, he had been quite abashed and discovering that he suddenly had a woman in his bed with absolutely nothing to wear.

The sheet was more of a large rectangle of linen cloth that he wound around her and belted in place with a surprising amount of skill.

But now he seemed to regret that decision as he looked morosely at her bare skin.

She shook her head in amusement. Well, it wasn’t like there had been much else to be had.

He shook his head in reply, muttering to himself about nasty little flesh eaters as he led her deeper into the woods.

Foxes scurried beneath bushes, rabbits leaping out of their path.

They seemed ordinary enough but, given where she was, she was certain that they were far more than the usual beasts she was accustomed to.

Everything was different. Incredibly beautiful, too, but also likely very dangerous for someone unaccustomed to that world.

“What do you think?” he asked after a time, his eyes following her as she stood beside him on an elegant bridge overlooking a river.

She stared down at the water and shook her head as her gaze lifted to stare at the impossible beauty that surrounded her.

“It’s lovely but it’s not anything like what I’m accustomed to,” she observed as she looked around in fascination, taking it all in.

“It would take some getting used to but I can say that I doubt I would ever get bored here. How do you not just spend your days out here?” she asked, her head swiveling to peer at him.

Dahtao shrugged, his expression flat. “It is beautiful. It is my home and the most exquisite place in all the realms that even elven kings would envy, but it has not been enough for a long time. It just made me feel more alone every time I came out here.”

“I can’t even imagine,” she murmured. “I’m not saying I would never get homesick, but this is wild.”

“You do not have to miss your home,” he remarked, drawing her attention from some really uniquely fuzzy neon-colored butterflies to look over at him. “There is a way.”

“A way?” she echoed, and he nodded, a smile stretching slowly across his face, boyishly endearing despite the sharp teeth and pronounced fangs that filled it.

“This way,” he said, and he led through the forest until they arrived at a clearing.

The sun shimmered down from its height directly overhead and just in front of her, framed in thick masses of tangled roots and vines, a mirror glowed with swirling silver mist caught in its depths.

“It is a portal mirror,” he murmured as he drew her with him to stand directly in front of it. “It can take you where you want to go—or need to go,” he added with a grimace, clarifying for her exactly how he had used the mirror previously, “and it can show you any place that you wish to see.”

“That’s one hell of a scrying mirror.” She took a step closer watching raptly as he passed his hand before the mirror.

The mist shifted and then began to glow brighter until she found that she was staring at her apartment—except that it looked different somehow.

“That’s quite the trick. Very Beauty and the Beast.”

Dahtao gave her a confused but amused look, and she shook her head with a private smile. “Never mind. A useless pop culture reference here. Which reminds me that I don’t know what I would do here long-term without streaming at my fingertips.”

A deep chuckle rumbled from him, making her toes curl. “Are you truly imagining that you will get bored so quickly now?”

She shook her head. “No way.” Her brow furrowed as she watched someone walk through her apartment.

“Wait, is someone in my house?” She squinted at the figure hurrying toward the door.

“Jessie? What is she doing—” Her voice caught in her throat, breaking off as she watched her mother step inside, her hands clasped tightly in front of her as she looked around.

“Mom?” For the first time she noticed that her apartment was practically bare, and several boxes were stacked in one corner.

Her eyes lifted to the male beside her. “Just how much time has passed there?”

Dahtao shook his head. “Time never runs the same between all the realms. It is impossible to estimate. Days? Weeks? Perhaps even months?”

Liv swallowed, her eyes turning back to them. “They think I am dead, don’t they?”

“Perhaps. Probably,” he amended after a heartbeat. “Most definitely.”

She glared up at him peevishly. “Not even going to try to go for the softer answer are you?”

“Is that what you desire?” He looked genuinely surprised, and she huffed reluctantly.

“No,” she muttered. “How do I get back? I need to get home and explain to them that I’m okay.”

He stared at her for a long moment, and something shifted in his gaze.

Stretching his finger toward the mirror, the tip of his claw penetrated the mist, and it shifted, glowing as it rapidly began to spin again, forming a liquid vortex.

He nodded toward the portal, his expression blank except for the understanding and warmth she saw in his eyes.

“Just step through and you will be home.”

Liv turned eagerly toward it and was ready to step through it when her excitement to see her mother and best friend again suddenly waned. She looked back at Dahtao, her heart constricting uncomfortably.

“Will you be okay?”

His lips curled and he inclined his head. “I am eternal.”

And alone.

Liv ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

She wanted—no needed—to reassure her loved ones that she was well, but she didn’t really want to leave Dahtao either.

She wanted to explore more of this world, learn from the book piled in his home, practice her magic in a place that hummed with power beyond her wildest dreams. She wanted to wake up in Dahtao’s arms again and sharing many more days with him not only for herself but so that he would no longer be tormented by the forest. She was the one who silenced that for him.

How much less destruction would come from his hands if she was there with him?

She couldn’t halt it all, she was only human, but the idea of leaving him there alone with nothing but the forest for company did not set right with her.

“Is… is there a way I can come back?” she asked.

A look of surprise registered on his face. “You wish to come back?”

“Of course,” she retorted with a small laugh, “but I don’t think that this thing is going to cooperate much from the other side. Or how I would even find it.”

He nodded and before she could get another word out, he lifted his hands and bit hard on one of his claws.

The sound of it breaking was surprisingly loud and she cringed a little as he spat it into his hand.

His fingers closed tightly around it and when they opened again the claw had reshaped itself into a gold key.

He held it out for her, and she took it with nervous fingers.

“You do not find the portal. It finds you,” he rumbled. “With this key you can summon it to you. Simply go to a tree and slide the key into its wood. All trees belong to the forest, and it will answer your call. By this key, the portal shall arrive and open for you.”

“That’s all?” she whispered.

He inclined his head, his eyes following her movements as she removed her chain and quickly struck the key onto it so that it wouldn’t get lost.

“That is all.” He turned away, giving his back to her, his shoulder stiff with pride despite the sorrow that she could clearly discern for some reason. “Go if you must.”

She nodded even though she knew that he didn’t see it. “I will be back. I promise,” she whispered, and slipped through the portal, never seeing the way his shoulders slumped as she disappeared from the woods and returned home.