Guardian of Calandria | ✔️

Chapter Eleven

          Ry tucked his hand behind his head. His yawn stretched his mouth while his other hand scratched his bare chest. Chimes hanging above the hammock jingled as the Wilder rolled herself to a stand, shaking the wagon. His head turned to watch her bare form pull the dress from the floor. She peered over her shoulder as she slipped her head through the fabric.

"That was interesting," she said. Ry propped his head against his hand, holding it up by his elbow, one eyebrow raised. The woman gathered the lengthy braids of her hair and tightened them in a topknot.

"A good interesting or a bad?"

"Just interesting. I've never been with a human before."

"And I've never been with a Wilder." He sat up, keeping the knit blanket over his lower body as he swung his legs over the edge of the hammock. It swung with his weight as he looked for his clothes. He'd come in to the wagon to get hair extension to lengthen his hair, he wasn't prepared for the Wilder woman to pounce on him after she finished. "And first in a hammock was another unique notch to my belt."

"Next time you bed a Wilder," she said. The woman leaned over, the still loose corset exposed her chest. He smiled and grabbed her waist. Her finger traced his lips. "Be sure to have them use magic. You haven't felt pleasure until you've had magic during."

Ry's smiled widened as he tried to pull her back into the hammock. She pushed against his chest, freeing herself from his grasp. He leaned back in the webbed twine, expecting her to join him. Instead she fastened the strings to her corset, one edge of her mouth curled upward.

"Oh sweet human, that wasn't an invitation for seconds. It was good, but not that good." She turned away and swaggered out of the wagon. Ry's mouth hung open. The wooden door slammed shut behind her.

"Huh," he said, running a hand through his lengthened hair. He wasn't sure he'd get used to hair hanging over his shoulders and hoped he could remove the extensions once they reached New Calandria. "So that's what rejection feels like."

Ry tossed off the blanket and collected his undergarments hanging from one of the crossbeams holding up the wagon tarp. The tunic had landed in a barrel of rice and his pants were the only thing to make it close to the hammock. He was still tucking in his tunic and fastening his belt when he left the wagon. Sabina sat against a nearby tree, staring at him as he exited. She stood up, crossing her arms under her breasts. Her pointed eyes glared at Ry.

"You were supposed to be getting extensions," she said.

Ry winked. "Oh, I got an extension all right."

"Three days. It took you three days to fall into bed with a Wilder . . ."

"I know I'm getting rusty traveling with you."

"You disgust me."

"Is there something you needed or did you just want to hang out outside the wagon and hear my fun?"

"The seer wants to see us. She says we're within a week of New Calandria but there's something she wants to talk to us about before we get there. About me, I think."

"Well it certainly wouldn't be about me, I'm not a Wilder." Ry pulled his hair back and tied it off with a string he'd grabbed from the wagon. Fairies floated in glowing glints of light, dancing around them on a gentle wind. When the traders in Halden had rejoined the tribe they journeyed toward New Calandria.

Fairy magic kept them tucked in a bubble of spring time, instead of the raging winter in the real world. Though the Wilders stressed there was no real or false world. They were the same world, the same time, but the fairies used their magic to alter the space to create perfect traveling weather. When traveling to human villages on their own, Wilders had to weather the storms as the humans did—fairies rarely revealed themselves to humans unless trying to mate with them. But with the tribe they lived in comfort during all seasons.