These Vicious Thorns by Candace Robinson

Author:Candace Robinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dark fantasy fae romance horror, horror dark fantasy short stories friends to lovers, demons mermaids aliens peter pan retellings retelling, horror romance shifters gargoyles mardi gras hea happily ever after, dark fae short stories story royalty
Publisher: Candace Robinson
Published: 2023-02-05T00:00:00+00:00

THORNA

“That was a dark treat.” Pyrka folded the story in half and placed it on her table.

“Why thank you, Pyrka.” Thorna knelt in front of him. “We may have vicious things here but, thankfully, not strange alien children to take over our bodies.

He shuddered and made a rumbling noise in his throat.

Thorna laughed. The butterflies swirled around her, their movements growing frenzied, hungry. “For now, the pixies seem to have learned their lesson, so the butterflies will have to drink the blood from the thorns. Can you gather the other beasties to help you squeeze the crimson out?”

“Of course, my queen.” Pyrka bowed and lifted one of the empty buckets from the dirt ground. The blood in the thorns wasn’t as sweet as a pixie’s, but it was delicious all the same.

“I’ll return in a little while,” Thorna said before transforming and breaking through the water barrier. She wouldn’t go home straight away this time—she would circle the forest for a bit after leaving Asher’s. To think. She hadn’t been to the antique store in days and she missed seeing him, talking to him. Did he wonder when she would come back?

Thorna thought about the story she was going to give him tonight—this tale was close to her heart, one that she could relate to in a way. Even now she wondered if what she was doing was foolish. Perhaps she should leave the mortal alone, let him be. But fae were selfish creatures too, just as humans could be.

As she dipped down toward Asher’s home, a familiar scent washed over Thorna, her heart a ravenous organ as it pounded away inside her. On the porch with his back against the door, his feet flat on the ground, his legs open, sat Asher. One hand gripped his hair while the other studied his phone. He looked positively perfect, and in that moment, she wanted to shift to her fae form, remove her clothing, let him peel down his, feel their bodies, flesh to flesh, warm against one another. But she didn’t know what to do now since she was still in her moth form. Should she wait, go home, or show herself?

Flapping her wings, Thorna lowered herself onto a green fern in the garden, still able to see Asher. She lingered there and waited for him to go inside, but he remained where he was. Eventually his eyes closed, his breathing growing even.

Thorna swooped up from the bush and drew closer to Asher, so close that her moth legs almost brushed his face. She wanted to—she wanted to feel every inch of him.

Instead, she shifted, peering down at him. Her heart quickened as she rested the new scroll and twig beside him. Thorna then traced his lips with her fingertip, and his breathing hitched, even in sleep. Smiling, she tapped his cheek, then transformed back into the moth just before Asher cracked open his eyes.

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