Page 25 of Whisper Woods (Legends of the Whisper Woods #3)

Seff

“What involvement did you have with the uprising?”

From across the long table, the being asks in their dull, monotonous drone. They’ve asked us that same fucking question a hundred and ten thousand different ways, always expecting a different answer.

My leg itches to bounce as I squirm in my seat, bumping into Caelan seated beside me. Tor is on his other side, with Theo, Roan, and Seldon all lined up on my left. There are a dozen beings at the table across from us. And I seriously don’t think they think we were genuinely a part of “the uprising” as they are calling it.

For one, we aren’t handcuffed or bound, and the beings across from us may be powerful in that Tathissian super-magic way, but they aren’t exactly able to take us on physically. From the smell of them, at least three of them are small prey shifters. I’m going to say rabbit, squirrel, and maybe a deer? The one who insists on talking the most, even though they have the most irritatingly boring voice, is definitely not a shifter. Nope, they are a fae of some kind with soft blue skin and thick ropes of midnight blue hair.

“We’ve explained, again and again. We weren’t there for the uprising. We were bringing Seff back to Tathys to be with Rafe.” Roan growls, rapping on the table to release some of his frustration and to punctuate his words, before folding his arms over his chest and sliding down in his chair.

“This is despite knowing Tathys was closed to the Mundane? You chose to breach our lands?” My jaw clenches at the accusation, anger bubbling up until I can’t hold it in any longer.

“Are you kidding me? ” I explode, launching myself out of my chair. It scrapes at the floor and falls back with a loud clatter that has everyone wincing. Leaning over the table, I get in the faces of the jackasses keeping us here. I can feel Theo’s hand on my back, trying to get me to pull my head in, but I can’t. “You sound exactly like Heylor and his merry band of dickbags.”

There is a gasp from everyone in the room. The beings across from us, I think they called themselves the Tribunal of Okar or something earlier, but I don’t care, react to the insult. My friends react because they think I’m gonna get us killed.

But I’ve had enough. I need to get back to Rafe. And I’m done with these dillweeds getting in my way.

“Your council was more than happy to have me here only days ago before Heylor fucked around and booted me out. My friends put themselves in the middle of insane danger because I saw your fucking queen tied to a stake to be sacrificed to the Gods. They tried to save her! And now you hold them hostage—in an unknown fucking land—and accuse them of absolute bullshit? To what end? What are you hoping to accomplish? I saw the size of that fucking crowd following Heylor and Edris. You have much bigger problems than us right now.”

My breath is coming in angry snorts, my face hot with my angry flush, and I know Wolf is a little too close to the surface, but fuck these guys. The Tribunal doesn't react at all to my outburst, the room deadly silent. I slam my ass back in my seat and scrub my hands through my hair angrily. I have no idea where Eldin and Sed are; they were separated from us when we were brought in. No doubt because Maeve betrayed Rafe by aligning with Heylor.

Those two should be treated like the fucking heroes they are, not placed under arrest in their home like fucking criminals. They told us everything, how after Rafe had gone to find Heylor and Brydon, they went to the palace to alert them, only to discover a monstrous clusterfuck. The queen had been kidnapped, and they strolled right up to the palace. It hadn’t gone well, and they were detained until someone actually listened to them.

Which was why the cavalry didn’t arrive until Heylor went kablooey.

Or I wish he went kablooey. The details of what happened when he tried to perform the ritual and everything went dark are sketchy at best. All anyone can remember is the earthquake and then… nothing. The guards who came to rescue the High Eminence could only see the black covering everything before it finally lifted. They arrested Heylor and Edris and everyone else involved. The fucker is locked away here somewhere.

Along with Brydon.

They keep saying he was in on it. But I just can’t see it. The guy was so chill. And his dad was such a giant fucking dickbag.

One of the beings, the one I would put hard money on being a deer—they smell really fucking good—looks me up and down. His features may be soft and sweet, but his eyes are hard when he looks at me. He’s been the least involved in the questioning. Actually—I don’t think he’s spoken at all. Just sat back and watched with a quiet intensity.

“You’re right.” His voice is just as hard as his stare, but he leans back in his chair, throwing the pen he’s been tapping against his chin to the table. I can hear more than one sigh of relief on either side of me. He casts a look at his other tribunal members, daring them to challenge him. “We thank you all for your time. I believe that we have achieved everything we can in this meeting. You are free to return to your lodgings before returning to the Mundane.”

More than one tribunal member looks as if they wish to argue, but he quells them with a glare. “We will not force you, but we recommend you do so. Soon.”

He turns, stalking from the room, forcing his eleven co-members to race to follow suit. I look down the table at Seldon, who stares back wide-eyed. And then my mouth acts before my brain can catch on.

“Wait!” I yell, staggering to my feet. The council members crash into each other as they pile through the exit. “What about Brydon? And Rafe?”

It’s not deer-guy that answers. But a vivid green fae with leaves for hair who answers, her voice floating across the room like music. “Your worry for your Tavisher and his ward is endearing. Rafe shall be released soon. As for his ward… Time will tell.”

Well, fuck.

** *

Despite my friends receiving their marching orders—because I’m sure as shit not leaving anytime soon—we take our time arranging for them to leave. Unable to resist spending one last night together, we gather in the informal lounge room hidden in the back of the house, feasting on whatever we manage to scrounge up from the kitchens. After the day Sed and Eldrid had, it’s not like we were going to ask them to make it for us.

Come the morning though, everyone is more than keen to make their way back to their real lives and their responsibilities. After a light breakfast—which features those delicious tiny little pastries after they appeared on our doorstep overnight—we make our way to the portal. With a small detour along the way.

Red, Ain, Jeddy, and Brin have agreed to help us. It’s a kind of surreal moment, standing in the hall of Rafe’s home introducing the Tathissian beings to my friends from home. Overwhelming, too. The last week has been fucking crazy and there is so much still in the air that we haven’t spoken about.

Brydon being held prisoner.

The future of Tathys.

The future for Rafe and I.

He was too exhausted to do anything other than lie wrapped up together in bed when we returned last night.

“Are you sure this is safe?” Seldon asks, chewing on his nail. He’s been skittish the past few days, stuck here. He had a big upset a few days ago, about how we’ve left Mauvy and Woodsy in the lurch and is generally panicking. We loved on him as hard as we could, but it was obvious that while, yeah, us being stuck here has fucked things up for the Black Stump, he was having a delayed reaction to everything that happened on the cliffs.

If anyone is gonna understand that, it’s us. So we gathered up all the blankets and cushions we could find and piled them up in the library to create a nest where we’d stayed all day. Except when I needed to check on Rafe, of course.

“You mean leaving the house or the dragons?” Ain asks, their rough voice rumbling with a laugh, clapping Seldon on the shoulder and pulling him in for a one-armed hug. “Because the answer to both is no.”

A big laugh booms out of him when Seldon’s already pale face turns grey.

Rafe shoots his friend an unappreciative glare, especially when the other Tathissians snicker.

“Don’t be unhelpful, Ain.” Rafe already sounds tired, which worries me more than anything else. I can feel his steady resolve and the fatigue he’s trying to squash. “You will be perfectly safe so long as you follow my advice and stay away from the pups and the males.”

Tor and Roan share doubtful looks but keep their mouths shut, considering how excited Theo and Caelan are. Edith is even more subdued than usual. She has been ever since we got called in for questioning. Though she and Rafe have grown strangely close.

It’s like your mum being best friends with your boyfriend. Weird.

I have a strange pang at the thought of mums. For a moment I wish… I wish this was all something that I could share with my family. Tathys, the dragons. That they weren’t so disconnected from this part of my life.

That the line between pack and family and the rest of my life wasn't so harsh.

I swallow down the hard emotions forming a lump in my throat and feel Rafe’s fingers thread through mine, sealing our hands together. He gives me a squeeze and I look over at him, face pulled into a frown. You okay? He asks wordlessly. I nod, a half smile tugging at my lips and squeeze his hand back. Then I turn to my friends, my smile growing so large it takes over my whole face, my energy building.

“Right, who’s ready to go pat some fucking dragons?”

***

“This is crazy.” Theo’s voice shakes as he strokes Estella’s snout. She’s still the only dragon Rafe trusts enough to allow close to us. He switched to his dragonkin form after we crossed the farmland. The transformation seems to have given him more energy .

Estella snorts in appreciation, her yellow eyes closed, tail flipping lazily behind her, thoroughly enjoying the attention. Everyone is crowded around her giant head, giving her awe-inspired pats. I’m standing back with Rafe, who is keeping a careful eye on the dragons sunning themselves in the scraps of sunshine poking through the heavy clouds.

“She’s like a queen with her adoring public.” I murmur to Rafe, edging closer to stand behind him and wrap my arms around his waist. He leans back with a hum of agreement. It rumbles out in the gruffness of his voice in this form.

“As it should be.” His arms come up to cross over mine, pinning me to him. I rest my chin on his shoulder and watch the scene. I swear if she could roll over for belly scratches, she would. And like, I get it. Belly scratches are the shit . Seriously, one of the top five perks of letting Wolf take over.

Contentment radiates through me. Even though absolutely nothing is okay. The High Eminence woke yesterday while we were being questioned, but everything in Tathys is still in the air. Not that that’s my issue, I guess, but I know it’s weighing on Rafe.

And Brydon is still under watch of the guards at the palace. The last we heard is his father was testifying against him, that he was acting as a willing sacrifice, that he was working secretly with Heylor to seal Tathys off forever. The Orun are poring over the book and all of Brydon’s research, but until they are done, Brydon can’t come home.

Despite it all, for once my anxiety is completely quiet. It would be easy to say that it’s all Rafe. But it’s not. I think… I think that after everything I’ve been through in these past few months I know, for the first time in my life, I know, with absolute certainty, no matter what happens—the good, the bad, the deadly—I don’t have to face it alone.

I’m going to miss my friends. After we leave here, we are taking them to the portal to return home. They need to get back to their lives, which I understand. Just like they understand I’m going to stick around here. I don’t know for how long, or what’s coming next. But that’s okay. Rafe and I will figure it out.

They’ve promised to talk to my parents. And now that the walls have dropped, I even have the tiniest scrap of mobile service. I’m going to try to call my folks later from the top of the hill.

“What are you thinking about?” Rafe whispers, laughing when Estella nudges Roan a little too hard, pushing him over in her enthusiasm for more pats.

“Just… happy. I know that’s probably fucked with everything. But…”

“I understand,” he says. There is a warm throb in my chest, right in that spot that I’m always seeing Caelan and Tor rub whenever they look at each all mushy eyed. “I feel it, too.” Rafe understands. He always understands. Always has.

A wind whips past us, the chill in the air getting biting as the weather turns.

“I love you, Rafe.” I whisper, and his claws clench on my arm. I can feel his breathing stop, a tingling anticipation in that connection between us. “I just… I needed to say it.”

His breath whooshes out of him and he spins roughly in my arms. The air feels fuzzy around us as he quickly changes back to his human face, the smooth, olive skin of his neck blending with the midnight blue scales on his chest.

One clawed hand cups my cheek, his calloused thumb stroking gently. His eyes are so intense, even the milky white one feels hyper focused on me. “I love you, too, Seff. With everything in my spirit. I love you.”

“Woah.” I breathe, just before his fingers wrap around the nape of my neck to pull me in, crashing our lips together in a breath-stealing kiss.

My mouth opens on a whimper, arms tightening around his waist to haul him against me—chest to chest, toe to toe. His tongue sweeps inside my mouth, claiming, seeking, tasting—making my knees weak with the heat rampaging through me.

Rafe’s claws tighten on my neck, and he snarls, angrily pulling back to suck in a breath before diving on me again. He nips at my lower lip with teeth still too sharp to be human, then moves along my jaw, snorting animalistic little grunts that drive me crazy and make my cock ache. Roughly using my hair as a tether, he yanks my head to the side, to suck at the pulse in my neck. His free hand skates down my side to grip my ass as he grinds into me.

“Oh fuck,” I moan a little too loudly, completely forgetting myself.

My friends remind me. Laughing and wolf whistling like a pack of idiots. It’s like a bucket of ice being thrown on the fire Rafe was igniting. In my pants.

He stiffens against me. I can feel the predatory anger he’s wrestling with inside. His horny for sex instantly switching to horny for the blood of those who interrupted. It’s funny to see. Well, it would be, if I wasn’t the one about to get dicked down by my hot beast mate. It’s been fucking days and I feel like I’m dying. How the fuck did I manage to go literally months before all this?

“Yeah, Seffy-baby! Get it!” Seldon hollers. With a frustrated groan, Rafe withdraws, gnashing his teeth like he still has his fearsome dragon face. It’s fucking adorable.

Unfortunately, we’re further interrupted by the sound of hoofbeats. Everyone’s hollering, sobering quickly as we watch the rider in their palace guard uniform approach.

“What the fuck?” I hear the angry whisper behind us.

“Vylushkiva.” That was definitely one of the Tathissian guards. They curse and mutter, leaving Estella to stand with Rafe and I who are waiting shoulder to shoulder for the rider.

The guard eyes Estella warily, their horse pawing the ground nervously under them. I try not to be cocky about their nerves about the dragon. I was shitting bricks when I came here last time.

“Rafe Miyares, I have been sent by the High Eminence.” He ignores the rest of us. Rafe nods in acknowledgement, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at the guard imperiously. Sometimes I forget that he’s, like, a big deal here with a family legacy dating back forever or whatever. But then there are moments like this and it’s like… woah.

“Yes?” His voice is completely emotionless, and it’s scary as fuck. The guard eyes the dragon nervously and then the dangerous claws on Rafe’s feet.

He swallows deeply and regains his composure. “An audience has been requested. Immediately.”

Well shit.

Rafe doesn’t show a flicker of anything on his face. “We are seeing our friends to the portal. Seff and I will attend after we have seen them safely there.”

“The order is—" Rafe cuts him off with a snarl.

“I will be there after our friends are safely gone.” And then he turns his back on the guard, stalking over to Estella to give her a final pat. I shoot a wide eyed look at Edith and Theo, who just shrug and go to join Rafe with the dragon. After another moment of hesitation, the guard leaves and I enjoy the last moments with my friends before they return home.