21

~Vaela

Eyla comes to stand over me, grabbing my book from my hands.

"Hey!" I protest.

"We are going out somewhere today," she announces.

She looks over her shoulder at Hale, who is busy adjusting a newly acquired painting on the far wall of the foyer. She expects him to refuse, but he remains distracted.

I blink. "We are?"

"Yes Vae." She dumps the closed book onto the table beside me. My nose scrunches up irritably at my lost page.

"It's been two weeks, and you're still mourning," she exclaims, propping her hands on her hips.

"You are too," I retort.

A lump immediately gathers in my throat. I've spent far too many nights buried under my pillow, sheets wound around my limbs as I cry in a vicious, soul-wrenching manner.

Eyla is more of a bury it deep kind of mourner. Instead of acknowledging that finding my dead ex in such a state has traumatised her, she remains unshaken and adamant. I'm patiently waiting for it to catch up with her again, so I can be right there for it.

"I know, which is why we all need to get out of this cave and get some fresh air," she announces.

Finally, she has gotten Hale's attention. He turns, a soft frown creasing between his brows as he approaches us.

"What about the risk to Vaela?" He questions.

Eyla rolls her eyes. "You'll be there too, idiot."

"And this isn't about finding me a mate, is it?" Not that I would be opposed, I've just been distracted from this matter since Will's death.

"No, but we do need to be doing more than that," Eyla notes. "I can scout some people for you and Hale can bring them up here."

I glance at Hale. "I'm fine with that, I suppose."

"If it has to be done…" he mutters.

"Excellent. But for now, where shall we go?" Eyla asks. Of course she proposed the idea and has laid no ground work for it. She's lucky Hale has the powers he does.

I turn to him. "Any ideas?"

"I might know a place you two would like."

I hope it's a place with lots of sun and absolutely no snow. I've had enough of blizzards and iciness, and being holed up with a Pureblood because of it.

"It's not another dark, creepy place with no people, is it?" I ask.

He gives a half shrug. "There won't be people, but it won't be dark and creepy."

"I like the sound of that." Anything but here. And right now, some time with just Eyla and I would be nice too, even with Hale lingering near. These past two weeks have been a mix of mourning and avoiding Hale.

As good as it felt, that night, pressed against the counter with Hale behind me, repeating it may not be a good idea.

He steps forward, holding both his hands out toward Eyla and I. "Shall we?"

Glancing at Eyla, we both grab his hand at the same time, no hesitation.

The world falls away, and a sense of joy seizes me. Freedom, just for a moment, grasps me, as my feet touch soft ground, and my eyes open.

"Woods? Seriously Hale?" Eyla grumbles.

Blinking, I look through the dappled light, examining the forest. It's beautiful, so different to where I've spent much of my time. And most importantly, the air is balmy, not glacial.

"It's tranquil," he muses, stepping away from us.

Taking a step, I note the soft forest floor, covered in damp leaves. The trees are impressively tall, stretching their branches out toward the sky, casting shadows across us three.

"Could you be anymore predictable?" Eyla mutters, unimpressed. She would be far more overjoyed by a beach, with other people, where she could strip down and run into the sea with abandon.

"Oh come on, it's nice," Hale encourages, motioning for us to follow. "Come through here."

Eyla drags her feet as we weave through the trunks. Hale holds branches above us, leaves tickling my skin, even as I duck.

My best friend gasps, seeing the sight first.

Blinking through the watery rays of sunlight, I see a lake, stretching out wide, seated below a sprawling mountain. The water is deliciously blue, tempting me to run down along wooden wharf I spot, to dive into it's clutches.

"Okay, I take everything back that I said," Eyla marvels, turning in a circle as she takes in our environment with a new found amazement.

I glance toward Hale, whose hands are pressed into his pockets, as he looks out over the flat lake, admiring it's glassy finish.

"Wow, this is beautiful. I've never seen anything like it," I tell him.

He looks toward me. Under the sunlight, he looks even more otherworldly, his beauty rivalling the lake, the forest and even the mountain. And there's a glisten in those silvery eyes. One contentment.

"Shall I leave you two to swim?" he asks gently, nodding at a stunned Eyla.

"No, you have to join us!" Eyla wines, reaching out to grab Hale's gloved hand, so brazenly even I flinch. "It will be fun."

I step toward the wooden wharf, kicking my shoes off. "I've compromised my dignity far too many times in front of you, Hale. I am not stripping down."

"Suit yourself, friend," Eyla grins.

Both Hale and I watch as she races onto the wharf, the old structure creaking uneasily as she sheds off her shirt, and then her pants, leaving them scattered about randomly, before she launches off the end, and into the water.

When she emerges above the surface, she grins, waving wildly at us.

Hale smiles. "She is quite bold."

"Actually, she is usually the less explorative friend. Me being in that cave has made me weak," I admit sheepishly. Usually it would be me, not hesitating to throw myself into the water, but being a mortal has me second guessing everything.

What if I drown? Plants at the bottom of the lake could wind around my ankle and pin me under the surface, or lake-dwelling creatures could take a bite from my flesh, leaving me to bleed out helplessly.

Hale's gaze is soft as it tracks me. "You're not weak. You're unwell."

"I feel better, you know. Around you," I murmur, watching Eyla lay on her back, sunlight glistening on her wet front.

"What are you two waiting for? It's delightful in here!" She yells.

"I don't know about you, but I could do with a swim." Hale tugs his shirt off first, dropping it on the smooth stones that line the lake.

Stepping away from him, I can't control my gaze as it roves over his shirtless figure. The sharp lines of his muscled torso has my throat drying, and those deep silver tattoos...I wish I knew what they depicted.

"Hale!" I admonish, tugging his shoes and pants off next.

"I'm not fully naked." He grins, motioning to his underwear, which I refuse to look at. "Not that you haven't seen me unclothed before."

He winks as I gape at him, before striding onto the wharf, giving me a chance to chase him.

"You're the worst, you know that?" I call out after him.

He doesn't stop, diving into the water with Eyla. She screams, shielding her face against the splash of water before erupting into laughter. They look so joyous, so easy going.

Hale emerges from the water, showering Eyla in droplets of water as he shakes his head. I can't just sit here and feel sorry for myself, letting them have all the fun.

So, against my better judgment, I tear off my dress, letting it slip to the ground. I feel uncomfortable, with the sunlight glaring down on me, in just my undergarments.

And I can feel Hale watching me, as I wander down the wharf.

Instead of throwing myself into the water, I simply glide in, bracing my hands against the wharf. The water has a bitter cold to it, either from the ice melt from the mountain, or from the chill within me.

"See, mortals can have fun too," Hale notes, as I sink deeper into the water, paddling to keep myself afloat.

"You should be reprimanding me for putting myself in danger. You are awfully good at that," I say through chattering teeth.

"I think you losing your mind to boredom is more dangerous." He looks back toward Eyla, who is in her own world, dipping under and above the surface.

I close my eyes, leaning my head back. "All I know is this water is amazing."

It's cold, but it feels good to feel something physically, even if it's edged in pain. And I can get lost in the water, in the quiet stillness of the forest surrounding it.

"I agree," Hale murmurs.

We swim for hours, it seems.

Sometimes, Eyla would forget I'm mortal and hold me under the surface for longer than I can handle, causing me to emerge already splashing her. But we have fun, talking, swimming and sinking deeper into the water, before I get too cold, and have to wade back to the edge.

Eyla and I sit now under the sun, basking in the grass as we let it dry us. My blood is still cold, despite the heat of the sun, reminding me of what I am.

"You two need to sort out this tension between you," Eyla says after a while, nodding down to where Hale sits on the wharf.

"Eyla, you can't just say that," I mutter, cheeks flushing. Usually I confide in everything with her, but this doesn't feel like something I should divulge.

Wanting Hale is wrong. It can't happen.

"Sure I can. It's true, isn't it?" she prompts.

I pull my hair over my shoulder, squeezing as much water from it as I can. "I don't know...I think it's because we are locked in that cave together, but I think there is something going on."

Eyla looks at me like I'm crazed. "Touch him!"

"I'm sure I have, at some point, right?" I say mindlessly. I'm sure after all the times we have been together, handing each other books, walking past each other in the hallway, that we must have brushed skin at one time at least...

That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

"You're certain?"

"No," I sigh. "But it doesn't matter. He's a Pureblood, he isn't my mate."

"Even if he isn't, can it really be that bad to admire him?" She exhales wistfully, examining Hale and his naked torso with as much scrutiny as I do.

"He's attractive, I'm not doubting that," I murmur. "I mean it's not like I don't have thoughts when he looks at me in this certain way."

Bad thoughts. One's that leave me breathless at all the wrong times, and make me fumble with what to say when he stares at me too long.

It's not fair. He doesn't seem to be inflicted with the same state of mind as me.

"Have sex with him," Eyla says blatantly.

"Shh," I hush, hoping he can't hear us. He is a decent distance away from us. "Not happening."

Eyla digs her elbows into my ribs. "Why not?"

"He's a Pureblood," I remind her.

"He's not going to kill you during sex...as far as I know," she draws off, squinting her eyes as if doubting her own logic. I roll my eyes. "There's nothing wrong with casual."

"I know that. But it's different when it's him," I admit.

If I allow myself a moment of weakness with Hale, then it will be that much harder to leave that cave when I become a mortal again. How could someone compare to him? And there's always the possibility that he doesn't want me in that way, even with his admission from that night, all those weeks ago.

"At least consider it, right?" Eyla muses, leaning back on her elbows.

My eyes trace over Hale. "I have nothing better to do than consider it."