The Goodnight Kiss by Gwen Rivers

Author:Gwen Rivers [Rivers, Gwen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elements Unleashed
Published: 2020-01-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

The Needle of the Forest

“His mate?” I shake my head back and forth in incomprehension, sending even more hair across Aiden’s lower jaw so it sticks in the dark stubble growing there. “No.”

“Fool girl, why else would he have gone to the trouble of resurrecting your sorry carcass?” Laufey holds a stick about ten feet long and skinny as the handle of a rake. She plunges it into the water until it hits the bottom. I see it reverberate in her hand. She pushes off, our small craft leaving the safety of the shore.

“Aiden resurrected me? He told me only the giants have the knowledge to do that sort of magic.”

“The giants have the knowledge,” Laufey yanks on her pole until the muddy end breaks the surface, then thrusts it with a barely leashed violence back into the water. “That doesn’t mean any of us have the inclination to interfere. You, little Queen, had been betrayed and murdered. And no one cared, not one wretched soul in your entire court, save for my grandson.”

My gaze falls to Aiden’s still slack face, all the odd things he’s said to me clicking into place. My only wish is to protect you, Nicneven. I hate to see you in pain. As my lady desires.

“What does that even mean?”

“To you? That you can order him about and he will have to obey your every command. That he will fight for you, carve off pieces of himself for you and even find a way to die for you if you will it. For him, it means nothing but endless suffering. Even now, I see it in your expression girl. The avarice for power, the desire to use this latest information to your advantage.”

Even despite the swampy air, my throat is completely dry. “I won’t—”

“You will.” She cuts me off with a steely glare that sees all the way to my blackened soul. “When you want something badly enough, you will use him and discard him, the way you did before.”

I want to know more about before, but it’s clear she doesn’t intend to elaborate. “You don’t like me very much.” I don’t phrase it as a question.

“No,” she agrees. “There’s not much there to like. What he sees in you is unique to him.”

I gesture to the burn on my arm. “Then why bother to help me?”

“Aiden was bringing you here for some reason. He won’t understand if I leave you to rot, the way I want to. Foolish child.” This time there isn’t any doubt that she means Aiden, the harsh words softened by the fond way she looks upon him.

I look down at Aiden. Maybe it’s my imagination, but the tightness of his jaw appears to relax a little and his breathing seems more even than before. His eyes remain closed but at least he looks like he’s sleeping, not dead.

Caretaking isn’t my strong suit. I’ve never had to comfort another person. The Fates never get sick and injuries from animal bites or farm work are patched up and then ignored.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.