The Forest Witch's Home for Magical Creatures

Chapter 35: Summer

The stones were warm against her skin. In the blink of an eye, it was the start of summer. She spent the day freckling in the sun and the nights wrapped up in Wren. The boys ran wild through the forest trying to make friends with the animals that made the woods their home.

Wren called it uncanny seeing young werewolves chirping up at squirrels. She found it endearing that they wanted to be friends of the forest.

They were currently enjoying themselves at the river. The water was still cold as it flowed from the mountains but the boys ran hot and didn't seem to mind the chill. They had spent some time floating down the river on small rafts, hitting the bend of the river and running back to do it again.

They were currently looking for salamanders in the mud.

Looking was a strong word. They were playing in the mud and hoping a salamander would toddle past.

Wren paced in a way Massie assumed only dragons did. Every so often he would wander down the river or take off into the trees.

He was very stoic about the whole thing.

"We can't let our guard down little witch or did you forget our run-in with the Katshituasku?"

"The katshituasku has moved on. You're the scariest thing here."

He grumbled something about grizzly bears and took off into the woods.

She was amused by the whole thing. Especially since the Katshituasku hasn't moved on. It moved deeper into the forest towards the mountain.

According to a sparrow, it fed on the dead and generally terrified any creature it came upon, which wasn't unlike Wren himself.

She let it be and asked the birds to let her know if the situation changed.

The whole affair had Ursa in a tizzy. As long as it stayed on the uninhabited side of the forest and didn't kill indiscriminately, it was welcome here.

A shadow blocked the sun and she squinted up at Wren. His wings were flared out, an ebony wall of feathers that glimmered gloriously as they stole the sun from her.

He was wearing one of her favorite shirts, the tank top that fell loose along his clavicle and was cut deep down the sides.

He spent as much time in the sun as her but his skin never darkened or freckled like her or the boys. He stayed fair. The only thing the sun brought out was the dazzling colors in his wings and scales. He was a kaleidoscope of irradiance shimmer.

He sat next to her with a graceful bend to his leg she could never hope to recreate.

Her dragon was quite bendy.

His eyes were the blue of calm water as they roamed her body. He had become more affectionate as time went on. His eyes always lingered on her. She is a little embarrassed to admit the rush it gave her, to have his attention so wholly.

He turned to look at the boys before leaning over her. His nose brushed her cheek and he rumbled deep in his throat.

She ran her fingers through this hair. It was getting long and he showed no desire to cut it. The ends curled around his shoulders in obsidian waves.

"Hello, birdie." She teased.

His rumble turned to a growl. He nipped the apple of her cheek.

She tugged his head to where she wanted it and kissed across the glittering consolations that lay on his cheekbones.

He went limp against her. She thought back to their first meeting. The defiance that shrouded every movement Wren made. The distrust that wormed its way into his bones, hating her was as easy as breathing. Now he laid tucked into her body, drowsy with content.

Her magic hummed beneath her skin, elevated with her emotions. She ran her hands over his wings and down his back, her magic soothing any ache or pain she found. His innate magic flared up to meet hers, like waves meeting the shore. So unlike the hostile thrashing greeting that they used to share.

She hasn't said it yet. Not to him. She's said it to herself, to Ursa. She sang it out with her magic, seeped it into the soil, and spilled it into the rivers and lakes. Every creature that borrowed in the dirt, swam in the waters, climbed the trees, or flew free knew of her love for Wren. She was so unequivocally in love with Wren that it changed her at her core. She would never be able to untangle herself from him.

Even if he severed the cords that bound them together. Even if he ripped their magic apart, she would never be the witch she was before Wren. She will always and forever be in love with him.

She couldn't possibly be anything else.

Massie wouldn't tell him, not until he was ready. Love is a big burden to carry when you're used to pain and fear.

She tried not to think of the things her brother mentioned, of matings and feathers.

Anything Wren gave her would always be enough for her.

Loving Wren will always be enough.

When everything decayed and returned to the Earth, her love for him would endure.

***

Massie rolled and tangled herself further in the sheets. She squirmed then kicked the sheets off her legs and settled in.

For a second. Then she grabbed the sheets and pulled them back over her legs.

Her magic crashed and swirled under her skin, wild like unbroken horses.

She rolled over into the spot Wren had left behind. She breathed deeply and tried to settle. She focused on trying to pick up any trace of Wren left in the sheets.

She pressed her face deeper into the sheets. She pulled her magic in and tried to force its calamity down.

It worked for a minute. The static frenzy that had been running over her bones and under her skin stopped. It was a moment of peace. A moment she hadn't had since she woke up in the middle of the night.

Her magic flared again and the peace was gone. Her body itched to do something but she didn't know what.

Something was going to happen today. She just didn't know what.