Ruins of Sea and Souls: A Steamy Fae Fantasy Romance (Fae Isles Book 3) by Lisette Marshall

Author:Lisette Marshall [Marshall, Lisette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

The doves arrived as evening fell.

I was sitting in the open doorway, gobbling up a plate of mashed potatoes and grilled chestnuts dripping with herb oil, when the loud flapping of wings broke the peaceful silence. Zera, who had eaten perhaps a third of the serving she’d given me, was already back in the garden, dragging her unwieldy bag with her wherever she went.

She looked up just in time to watch them soar down from the peach- and purple-flecked sky – three chubby birds, cooing excitedly as they landed in the grass.

I forgot for a moment how hungry I was.

The doves only vaguely resembled the grubby brown specimens that lived on the islands of my youth, the birds that had filled my waking dreams for months until I finally gave up on that blessing I was chasing. These were larger than the scrawny birds I knew – not as monstrous as Sizzle the dragon, but large enough to prove they too had been subjected to a generous dose of divine magic. Their sounds were sweet and low, nothing like the shrill cooing of the doves I was used to.

And they were white. A flawless, snowy white, not a speck of dirt staining their feathers.

A full day of weeding and relocating slugs may have left me ravenous, but not ravenous enough to prioritise dinner over more myths come to life. I shoved my plate aside, jumped to my feet, and hurried over to where Zera was tickling the largest bird in the back of its neck.

‘So they’re real?’

The doves looked affronted.

‘Of course they’re real,’ Zera said, turning to face me with a chuckle. ‘And so are the blessings, before you ask. As I said, I’m not entirely useless even without my powers.’

I ran a hand through my hair, which was a little sticky with sand and sweat. I would have to take a bath in the lake soon, if Sizzle didn’t try to eat me. ‘How do you bless people if you no longer have your powers?’

‘Oh, I let the recipients do the work for me,’ she said dryly.

‘What?’

‘The blessings were never more than a confirmation. The doves don’t change anything. They just tell the people they visit they’re on the right track to happiness.’ The corners of her lips quirked up into a conspiratorial smile. ‘Interestingly, that is usually the only thing they need to stay on that track for the rest of their lives.’

I blinked at the largest dove, which glared back at me as if I was an idiot. ‘That … that sounds like cheating, somehow.’

‘Goddesses don’t cheat,’ Zera said lightly. ‘They just change the rules.’

I huffed a laugh. ‘So there’s little sense in asking you to send my friends a few doves to fix their messy love lives, then?’

‘Your friends?’ She sounded genuinely surprised as she rose to her feet.

‘No need to sound so shocked about me having friends,’ I said sourly.

She laughed. ‘Not at all, dear. But most visitors I’ve had over the centuries asked for their own blessings, not for help for others.

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