Page 16 of Whisper Woods (Legends of the Whisper Woods #3)

Seff

“So, what do you think of our Tathys, eh?” The heavy arm, rough and gritty, lands around my shoulders, pulling me into the mountain of a being next to me in a rough hug. I’m saying mountain of a man in probably the most accurate sense of the word. Not only is the man huge, he also seems to be made of dirt. Like, not dirty, made of dirt. His body creaks with his movements, jostling me in his half hug, making both our beers spill all over the floor of the pub.

Around us, the crowd of beings we’ve attracted cheer and clamour for my answer. Okay, maybe it isn’t Rafe that has attracted the crowd. It’s been like this all day. Well, not exactly like this with sloppy drunk beings falling over each other.

After we left the dragons and made our way back to the city, we stopped by the house to get cleaned up. Brydon had gotten some messages that made him get all weird and anxious, so he stayed behind while Rafe showed me around the city.

Tathys is wild. The sights, the smells, the magic. The food. It feels impossible to put it all into a coherent answer. Now that I’m not half brain dead from exhaustion, I have been able to really take it all in—the good and the bad.

We visited this tiny little bakery; I didn’t even realise the place was there. The being was a tiny little fae who made the most insane sweet treats. I don’t even like cake and I ate like fifteen of the little suckers.

We stopped by a store that sold all kinds of herbs and magical tools—Edith would go nuts over it—and visited another dragonkin who sold the most incredible creations from the dragon shells and glass. There’d even been this cool little orc girl doing tricks to entertain her brothers and sisters. She was doing full on mage style magic, making shapes with fluffy clouds in the air.

It hadn’t all been cute kids with magic tricks and delicious pastries, though. We had a rather hairy encounter—literally—with a really pissed off half-shifted wolf on the streets. It had been an absolute trip to see another wolf here. Wolf was so excited until the guy used magic to shove me to the side while he stalked down the street.

After that incident, and in between the others that followed, Rafe explained to me again about how Tathys’s magic has been failing and the tensions and fear it’s causing in their community.

Which is why wolf-dude wasn’t the only hostile one.

While a lot of Tathissians were wary—warming up to being friendly when they realised I’m not going to eat their babies or anything weird—some were super not cool with me being here.

Some were subtle with their side-eyed glares. Some were passive aggressive in their hostility, giving us the bare minimum service, or muttering under their breath and huffing until we left. Some forgot the passive part altogether, straight up walking into me like I wasn’t there. Or when we tried to enter one shop, I think it was a fabric store or something; the owner refused to let us enter. Rafe looked like he was going to rip the owner to shreds before I dragged him out of there.

I can’t really find it in me to be angry with them for the way they acted. The beings here are scared. The world as they’ve always known it is changing and there is no guarantee it’s going to be for the better.

I may not have been anywhere in the world past Loqueaur City, but even I know Tathys is unique.

When Brydon and Rafe said magic just is here, I didn’t get it. But after seeing the city today, and travelling through the farms on the way back from the dragons, I do.

Tathissians live in balance with the earth and magic here like nothing I’ve ever seen or heard about before. Gods, before Caelan and Tor, I thought bonded mates were an exaggeration. But here, bonded mates, while not as common as regular mates, were definitely an accepted thing. Even Rafe’s parents are bonded— though apparently dragonkin don’t share their powers with their bonded mates. Something about them being “the original shifters”, or something like that anyway.

Magic is integral to who they are. Rafe explained to me that the Orun taught them that the Whisper Woods, and the other sacred sources of magic throughout the world, were the five original Gods who sacrificed themselves so their magic could become one with the earth. I’ve heard similar stories over the years from different sects.

To the Orun, and the Tathissians, their connection to the Gods, specifically the God of the Whisper Woods—Gahimmyar—is their lifeblood.

And it’s disappearing before their eyes. I kind of feel… bad for them.

I mean, I’ve only just got here and already I can feel that connection to the place buzzing beneath my skin. Being here feels like… it feels like for the first time in my life my spirit isn’t too big for my body. Like the energy of this place has pushed my existence back into alignment. Kinda like how I felt at the Black Stump, only… bigger. There is not a single doubt in my mind that Rafe, specifically being here with him, is a big part of that. He just makes everything better.

Which on the one hand is amazing, but on the other, it only makes me feel more guilty about the giant lump of confusion in my guts about everything back home with my family and my pack.

It’s a bit much to just dump on a group of well-meaning strangers, after all. And besides, the beer we’ve been chugging between shots of sweet and spicy liquor have fogged up my brain anyway.

I catch Rafe’s eyes where he’s leaning against the bar, with that sexy ass smirk on his face and a spark in his eye. He knows what I’m thinking. I don’t know how he knows, but he does. From across the crowd gathered around us, he winks, the gold in his nose sparkling even under the bar room lights. I hate that he’s so far away, my fingers itching to reach across the circle and haul him to me. But I don’t.

The beings around us are waiting for my answer. We’ve been here for hours now, a local place that Brydon and Rafe said they frequent often. It’s dive-ier than what I expected after the fanciness of their house. But now that we’re in here I can see that it’s just as much them as the fancy-pants finery of Rafe’s incredible house.

I expel a breath, shaking my head, trying to find the words. I scan the pub, spotting a fierce-looking valkyrie tending the bar, two swords strapped to her back, ready to defend her bar to the death. Rafe introduced her as Vansh, and despite giving her my most charming smile—double dimples and everything—she didn’t smile, her eyes flashing bright like a thunderstorm. Rafe had whispered in my ear that that means she likes me, but Wolf and I are still on the fence about her, even if Wolf is mesmerised by the way her long black braids float softly around her as she works.

The bar itself runs along the length of the wall at right angles to the entry. In the middle there are tables and chairs, packed with beings chatting under the dim yellow lights hanging from the exposed beams of the ceiling. At the back of the bar room is a small raised stage with a handful of instruments waiting, and a small, deserted dance floor. Booth-like tables line the long wall opposite the bar.

“Lotta arches.” I say without thinking. “You Tathissians love your arches.”

There is a moment of silence, the beings looking to one another before they explode into laughter. I’m shaken again by the big guy next to me, whose laughter is so booming and loud it vibrates through his arm and tickles my neck.

I look over at Rafe in confusion, because it wasn’t that funny. But he just smiles fondly and shrugs his shoulder, shaking his head. What are you gonna do? He seems to say. So I roll with it.

“Ah, Seff, you’re all right for a Munish ” Munish. Weird word. It’s what they sometimes call beings from the Mundane.

I grin at my new friend, Ain, and clink my nearly empty glass against his.

“Seff!” A small being, only knee high with bright white hair and so many freckles they look tanned, yells, grabbing my attention. They kick the shin of the larger being with greyish-blue skin, a bald head and slightly too long arms next to them. The being looks down slowly, but picks up the smaller being, tucking them onto their wide shoulders so the smaller one is eye level.

Everyone waits patiently, like this is a common occurrence, so I wait too, sipping at my beer. It’s good beer, too. It goes down a treat, without that horrible bloating feeling beer can give. I need to find out who brews it and see if I can hook Roan up for the tavern. The beings there would go nuts for it.

Once the small being is settled, they stab their finger in my direction and continue. “Is it true that vampires keep humans and lesser beings as pets to feed on?”

It’s my own fault for drinking, really. I choke in shock at the question, spluttering my drink all over the cream linen sleeveless shirt and pants Rafe had given me to wear today. Thankfully, they seem to have some sort of glamour over them because despite wearing the clothes all day; they aren’t stained. But still, I look like a dick.

Ain slaps my back while I gasp and choke, trying to recover my breath. Through narrowed, damp eyes I can see Rafe snickering into his glass.

“Really, Jeddy, don’t be rude! You know the Munish aren’t like us. You can’t shock them like that.” I hear someone scold the questioning being. Because that’s the other thing I’ve learnt about Tathissians. They are kind of elitist when it comes to the Mundane and the beings there. Let alone the humans and the vampires.

Brydon explained that they don’t have vampires here in Tathys, because they were banished when Tathys was sealed from the world. Over the centuries they had developed a scary, legendary status used to scare Tathissian children into behaving.

And humans? From what I’ve gathered, they kind of think of humans as being somewhat smarter than the dumbest creatures, despite the Tavishers’ best efforts to dispel the beliefs on both fronts.

If this reunification thing goes through, both sides are gonna be in for a steep learning curve. Because I don’t know if the Mundane is ready for the type of power the beings of Tathys wield. Case in point, the way my drink is refilled without Vansh having batted an eyelid.

Magic just is in Tathys.

I manage to get a hold of myself, wiping the tears from my face with my free hand.

“No. They don’t do that. Like, at all.”

I pause for a second, tipping my head from side to side, actually thinking about it. “Well, not in Carconnois at least. And I’ve never heard of them doing that anywhere else. Not as, like, common practice anyway. I mean, they might do it for fun or whatever but that’s like, a choice. You know?”

“What do you mean?” A being yells from in the crowd. I can’t see them. But before I can answer, another being pipes up.

“He means a sex thing, you idiot!” A rumble ripples through the crowd as people join the dots together. The alcohol must be really getting to me, because a furious blush heats my cheeks.

“Have you ever fucked a vampire?” The little being asks, still perched on the bigger being's shoulder. A blue-grey hand on his thigh keeps him steady, the extra long fingers stroking casually. The pair seem to be together, and my brain skips a beat trying to imagine what that looks like.

“Falyuk, Jeddy.” A being with red, almost translucent skin and a strangely disembodied voice shakes her head, rubbing her temples.

Falyook . That’s another one of the words. There’s another, vilooshkeva or something—Rafe says it a lot, too. And kooshinavya . I don’t know what it means, but I really fucking like the way it feels when Rafe says it to me.

“You cannot just ask that.”

Jeddy rolls their eyes, stroking the bald head of the blue-grey being, and mutters something under their breath.

I think it was a spell or something because the red being jumps and sparks a brighter red, obviously furious and ready to go . I watch the exchange with a lot more anxiety than the Tathissians, who take the magic pinging through the air in their stride. It doesn’t even seem to phase them.

Red glows brighter and brighter and I shoot a worried look at Rafe. His glass is covering most of his face, but I can see the flicker of amusement in his eyes. He fucking loves showing me this, I can see it.

With a subtle movement he tips his head back towards Vansh at the bar. She’s stopped wiping down various items, and is glaring at our group. She coughs, and it’s so quiet I don’t know how anyone can hear it over the noise of the packed bar. But they do. Everything becomes deathly silent, even the magic free-floating in the air seems to drop to the ground. All eyes in the bar turn to Vansh. She doesn’t show a scrap of emotion as she locks eyes on Jeddy and Red, reaching behind her broad shoulders to touch one of the blades strapped there.

One dark eyebrow arches, her black lips pursed together. Do we have a problem ? She asks wordlessly.

“Shit, sorry Vansh. We’ll be good. Promise.” Jeddy holds their hands up in surrender and Red rushes out the same promises, her glowing light dimming rapidly. Her disturbing voice sounds enough like Marieth’s that it makes the muscles around my spine clench uncomfortably.

Vansh nods and the moment passes, the bar returning to its same chaotic energy. As soon as the noise picks up, Jeddy looks at me, leaning so far forward they almost fall off their perch.

“Well?” They ask and the group groans. Even though I know what he means, I decide to play dumb—the lure of the spotlight too much to resist.

“Have you fucked a vampire?” Jeddy almost screeches in frustration.

I run my hand through my hair, and then hook my thumb into the waistband of my pants, letting a hint of skin flash. Big dumb himbo is a role I was born to play, and I know my audience. They gobble it up, everyone waiting for my answer. Even Red. Because at the end of the day, beings, humans, creatures, animals, sex is one of the things that connects us all.

Just not like, literally, or whatever.

Rafe’s white knuckle grip on his glass doesn’t escape my notice. It makes me hesitate and indecision punches into my guts. Our past and our present blur together for a moment. Despite the intensity of how I feel about him now, how intensely I have always felt about him, we’ve never been exclusive. How could we, when our meetings have been random, fantastic occurrences like they have been? But just because it’s been that way… It doesn't mean I want to give Rafe the impression that I want to go on like that. And bragging about fucking around might give him the wrong impression.

Rafe sees my anxiety, with the same spirit-penetrating sight he’s always had. He says that white eye isn’t magically enhanced or whatever, but I swear it is. How else can he see through me like he does?

But I can see him, too. And even though he’s tense, there is straight up lust in his eyes, too. Dark and sexy as shit. A promise that we’ll work this out later. Together. With orgasms .

Maybe I could get him to show me his slit again? Fuck, that was hot.

Thankfully, one of my superpowers is overthinking, and all my practice over the years means that even under the stupefying effects of the beer, I still manage to jump through my thirty-thousand mental hoops with lightning speed.

It’s a gift.

I clear my throat and wink at Jeddy. “Nah, I didn’t fuck a vampire.” There is an audible groan as I wave a hand dismissively. Jeddy’s eyes sparkle mischievously. A natural show pony himself, he knows I’m just playing the crowd. And so I bite my lip, and give a subtle body roll, letting my hand drag across my belly to flash my lower abs and the V of my hips. “He fucked me.”

Hoots and hollers explode, while beings clamour to yell their questions at me. Fuzzy warmth fills my chest, bubbling out as a laugh. Ain tries to wrap his arm around me again, but he’s intercepted by Rafe, who’s sliced through the crowd to claim me as his own. He slides around me with his deadly grace, to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and propping his chin on my shoulder.

His beard scrapes behind my ear, sending a thrill up my spine. With his body pressed against me, his smokey-sweet scent torturing me, I send a quick prayer to the Gods that I don’t get hard in these flimsy-ass pants. There would be absolutely no hiding it.

Despite being in the valley of the Gods or whatever, they don’t listen. Or Rafe doesn’t. He brushes his mouth over my ear and I bite hard on my lip to hold in my whimper.

“You, my kushinavya, are in for trouble when we get home.”

Fuck these linen pants. I don’t know what’s hotter, the way he arches his hips into my ass, or the rumble of his “threat” as it vibrates down my spine straight to my balls .

“Promise?” I whisper back, dropping my head onto his shoulder so I can turn my face into his neck and inhale his scent. It layers on top of the beer I’ve been drinking, flooding my system with a heavy, pounding heat. My hips roll naturally with the rhythm of it, teasing us both.

Rafe chuckles darkly, nipping at my neck like an absolute dick. I whimper, and his hand slides under my shirt to stroke the skin under the low-slung waistband of these dumb pants.

“Oh, I promise.”

My knees shake with the effort of not collapsing entirely into him—especially when his other hand comes up to run his fingers through my hair. A really embarrassing sound passes through my lips when his strong fingers knead at my scalp. I melt faster than an ice cream in the sun. Rafe's oomph and soft laugh when he has to catch my weight makes my heart skip a beat.

“Oi, you two. Knock it off. Band’s about to start.” Red’s creepy disembodied voice is just the boner killer I need, especially with the double-whammy of the electric shock of her elbow hitting my guts.

My eyes open just enough to glare at her, but she just smirks, letting the current of the crowd swarming to the dance floor swallow her up.

“You’ll like this, I think.” Rafe whispers in my ear. “The band, they are friends of Brydon’s and are rather influenced by the Mundane. They are pretty good.” Rafe mutters next to my ear, gently prodding me to stand under my own weight.

I concede with an exaggerated groan when he lets go of his delicious grip on me to take my hand.

“Ugh, fine .” I pout playfully, struggling to keep the grin from my face as I let him drag me onto the dance floor. The band—a group of dudes with long shaggy hair and much more Mundane influenced fashion than most in Tathys seem to favour—take to the stage.

They pick up their instrument—including a weird variation of a guitar, a set of drums that have been heavily modified and an old keytar held together with duct tape—and I give Rafe a confused side eye. He’s wrapped around my back again, his hands playing at my hips. He just grins that dark smirk at me and winks. This is either gonna be amazing or amazingly terrible. I have no idea which one.

“Thank you! We are Mundane Madness!” The lead singer yells, flipping his long hair back over his shoulders. There’s no microphone, but his voice projects over the crowd anyway. There is a rumble from the crowd, some enthusiastic shouts and some grumbles too, but the band doesn’t care. They start smashing at their instruments anyway.

Their music is loud, with a strange mishmash of styles that boils together into a bluesy, pop rock sound, with a surprising hint of country which is easy to dance to. It helps that the lead singer’s gravelly, soulful voice has a hypnotic, erotic quality. I swear if they don’t have siren blood in them, I’m a virgin.

Either way, Rafe’s right. I’m into it. Unlike the rest of the crowd, I don’t know the words to any of the songs, but it doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know them to dance along, and we do.

Well, I do. I spend the first song in his arms watching the band play, but as the crowd starts moving and the energy picks up, he kisses my neck and leaves me with Jeddy, the big guy—who’s name I finally find out is Brin, Ain, and Red who’ve all decided that I’m their new bestie.

Rafe’s eyes don’t leave me for a single moment from where he watches while talking to another group of beings. The conversation looks pretty intense, at one point one being jabs a finger into Rafe’s shoulder, getting in his face about something. I want to go and intervene, but Ain holds me back, shaking his head.

“You getting involved ain’t gonna help none.” He yells with a rough grip on my arm.

Red stops dancing too, casting a quick eye over to Rafe and then back to me. She moves closer, pressing her lips to my ear so I can hear over the music. “There are a lot of angry beings right now, Munish—your presence will not help. Angry beings do stupid things. Rafe can handle himself.”

Thankfully, the vibrations of the music offset the distortion of her voice. My new buds hold firm until they are satisfied I’m not going to cause trouble. And sure enough Rafe fronts up to the being, puffing up his chest as scales erupt over his skin. He doesn’t change his face, but the threat is still there when he lays a clawed hand on the other being’s chest and subtly pushes them back .

It probably shouldn’t be as hot as it is. But then, I’m weak for the man. He could butter toast and I’d think it was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

By the time that Rafe swoops onto the dance floor, stealing me away with a feral growl, I’m on fire with need for him. Black claws grip my wrist, tight enough to leave bruises, but each little pin prick only makes me hotter. Rafe’s beast self is taking control, his midnight scales peeking out his collar. He doesn’t even give me time to say goodbye to my new friends, just hauls me out of the bar with his rough, dominating grip.

Fuck yeah . I think as I follow him into the dark streets of Tathys. Take me home baby. Make me yours.