Bewitching Monsters

Hamadryad - Part 5

Before parting with the leshen in Feldberg Forest, I asked about the spell cast over the woods. I only knew gossip and fables about it, so it had me curious. They told me it was an intricate co-location spell. This might be the spell he owed me.

I told him about Vérus.

Hearing about his situation, they agreed a co-location spell could work. I would have to figure out how to tailor it to the hamadryad and his tree, but the leshen was willing to give me the framework I needed.

So after a relaxed, unproductive holiday, I was swimming in books, researching. It felt like I was in school again. Nothing I worked on in school compared to this level of complexity, though. There was so much guess work in crafting this spell. Honestly, I wasn't even sure I'd be able to cast it, even if I managed to construct it.

Every school of magic has unique casting structures and restrictions. This spell was unique to the fae. In theory, a witch like me shouldn't be able to cast it. However, I was banking on a few technicalities to allow me to tap into their craftwork. Fae were renowned for their linguistic trivialities, so my thinking wasn't unfounded. Still. The Universe might not permit such a loophole.

"Vérus!" I called into the woods. It was a couple of days after Brumal and I was buzzing with excitement. The spell was ready.

When he appeared from the woods, I couldn't help but smile when his eyes moved from me to clearing and filled with questions. "Your home?"

"Is still there." I willed the spell to shift. In order to cast the spell for Vérus, I needed to be on the same plane as his tree. I doubted he could take me to the pocket dimension it resided in, so I'd have to bring it here. So to protect my home—and to test the spell—I cast on my home first. "Are you ready?" I asked him. "I'll have to break the old spell first."

He dragged his eyes back to me, regarded me moment, then nodded. I offered a small prayer to the Grand Scales for this to work. Then I got casting.

At its root, it was the same spell I just performed on my own house. However, I could already feel that much more power was required for this casting. "I need your help." I held out my hands to Vérus. I channeled his energy through me, feeling a familiar viscosity. I demanded the spell to continue and weave and take root. I heard and felt a snap. Flinching, I glanced down and watched a wisp of energy escape the leshen's favor I still wore.

The spell wouldn't settle.

"I need another component," I said to myself. I worked through the steps in my head and analyzed the energy weaving restlessly around us. What was missing?

Then I felt a tug. The answer. I didn't have this trouble before when I cast the spell on my house because I was the one who would control the spell. But for this one, it'd be Vérus. It needed to be linked to him. And there was no link stronger than...

"I'm sorry to ask this of you," I began. I couldn't meet his eyes but I felt the glare growing as I continued. "But to finish it off, I'll need... I'll need your true name." The request felt like acid on my tongue. He was definitely of the nature to view this request as the foulest insult against him. My nerves made me ramble. "I swear not to use it against you, or share it, or anything. It's just for the spell. I can even take a memory wipe potion after this to make—"

"Very well," he cut me off.

Time stood still as he leaned down and whispered in my ear. As soon as he told me his name, it whisked away into the spell. The favor snapped again and crumbled to the ground. Finally, I felt the spell settling. The energy stilled.

I looked over and still saw the tree. "The spell responds to your will. Forbid me to see your tree." A beat passed before his massive tree wavered from my vision, leaving nothing but the empty field. I laughed as tears stung my eyes. "I actually did it."

Vérus let go of my hands and cupped my cheek, turning my face towards him. My excitement slammed into a wall, leaving me tingling. The last time we were this close, his tongue was down my throat. I wonder how different it'd be to actually kiss him¸ my thoughts betrayed. My thoughts continued down that rabbit hole as we stared at each other.

Then I kissed him.

If he protested, I'd blame the high from the spell. But he didn't. He pressed himself to me as the kiss deepened. He picked me up and I felt the world shift. I pulled away enough to look around; we were in the boughs of his tree. He lay down and pulled me down on top of him. Things were going further and quicker than I expected—not that I was complaining.

"You're an odd one, Witch," he murmured. "Truly... fascinating."

"You're perplexing yourself." My mind grew hazing as I let the scene unfold and take me over. But my own words caught in my mind. I cursed as I pushed off him and scooted away. "I'm so sorry," I blurted. "I think I might be projecting onto you."

He pushed up onto his elbows. "Why is that?"

I tucked my hair behind my ear and bit my lips. "Because you honestly seem interested in me right now. And I know your name now, and might have been thinking about some things just before I kissed you, so..."

"You aren't mesmering me," he assured.

"Then why...?" I trailed off, unable to put form to the questions I had.

"Are you going to question me all night?" he bit, smiling and bearing his fangs in soft threat. There was the fae I knew. I shook my head and let him pull me back onto him.

One by one, he stripped me of every garment I had been wearing. The chill of winter teased across the skin he bared. I shuddered and writhed. This was definitely one way to do temperature play. His touch—which was surprisingly warm considering his bark-like skin—heightened the contrast, making me shift around more. He enjoyed watching me squirm. And that turned me on more.

Lavender flowers began blooming in his hair. It gave him such a soft air, I almost laughed at the sight. I smiled and said, "What lovely flowers."

If he could blush I was sure he would be doing so, given how he refused to look at me in that moment. "I did promise ichor."

I hadn't forgotten that part, but what did flowers—

He was a hamadryad, not a dryad...

He was the tree. The flowers contained his sacral organs. Flowers were how he reproduced, not copulation. The "sacral" ichor he had offered me hadn't been semen, like I had thought. No. It was pollen. Even if he could take on a physical form that had a penis, it wouldn't expel ichor. A part of me was disappointed by this revelation.

My mood was thoroughly killed. I sat up and gently ran my fingers around the flowers in his hair. "Guess I should collect my pay and get on that memory potion."

"It's not necessary."

"Huh?"

"I trust you with it."

That... I was not expecting such a white elephant—he certainly knew how to fuck with me. I was better off not worrying about his ulterior motives, though. He was old fae. Instead of questioning, I nodded and began collecting his flowers.