The Morning Wood Tree by Shade Siggy

Author:Shade, Siggy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The next few days pass in a flurry of sex, with Ash eager to find different ways of giving me pleasure and me too aroused to turn down his advances.

We spend hours talking, mostly about what it was like thousands of years ago before the Norse gods destroyed each other and the people forsook them for modern civilization.

I learn stories of Odin, Thor, and Loki, and the creatures who inhabited the nine worlds. Now that I’m no longer spinning bullshit to keep myself alive, I tell him the truth about airplanes and the tiny group of humans who may or may not have traveled to the moon.

One night, we watch the starlit sky at the highest pinnacle of the tree on a loveseat made of branches and moss. A warm breeze meanders through the leaves, carrying the scent of the forest.

A lone eagle cries out in the distance, seeming to call out for its mate.

“You must have been so lonely when everyone left,” I murmur.

He takes my hand and traces his rough fingertips across my knuckles. I gaze up into his handsome features, meeting shining amber irises. He looks almost human in the soft light, save for the hairless face, but the effect is breathtakingly beautiful.

“Ragnarök may have been the end of the gods, but it destroyed me too,” he murmurs. “I lay in splinters for centuries, with just a few seeds buried deep within the earth.”

“How did you come back to life?” I ask.

“This forest was the scene of a battle where hundreds of warriors fell. My seeds germinated with the offering of their blood, and their flesh rotted into the ground to provide nutrients.”

I lean into his side. “Is that why you need to eat people?”

“Correct,” he says. “This time I have spent with you is the longest I have stayed awake. Taking your blood is a new beginning.”

He reaches out, his calloused fingers ghosting along my jawline. Tingles skitter across my skin and race toward my heart. My breath catches as he leans closer, his breath warming my flesh. I straighten in the love seat, my pulse quickening in anticipation of his kiss.

His lips are softer than his hands, without a trace of woodgrain. I can’t tell if that’s because he deliberately made them smooth or if he’s becoming more human.

I moan into the kiss, and his tongue slides into my mouth, bringing with it the gentle taste of maple syrup. Ash pulls me onto his lap, and I place both hands on his chest, desperate to feel the pounding of his heart. His skin is now butter soft, almost like suede. Power thrums beneath my palms, reminding me once more that he’s a creature made of magic and wood.

“You make me feel so alive,” he whispers against my lips. “I have never felt this kind of joy.”

My heart swells, and I kiss back, my body melting into the warmth of his embrace. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know I have to leave but the thought is too painful.

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