Love’s Eternal Fire

Chapter 11: Running

Kesiray’s POV

Solaris disappeared into the trees, leaving me standing in the evening air, giddy and unable to believe what had just happened. I had told Gwena I wanted to be with him, but initially, I wanted to move slowly to see how things worked together. That wasn’t at all the case now that we’d had s*x and agreed to run away together. It is surprising what can change in a few hours. I left the area feeling light and excited for our next meeting tomorrow evening. Hopefully, planning this party with Thazel won’t take too long. I could always fake being sick and go home and meet with Solaris. I felt like a child all over again, excited and giggling at the secret we shared.

As I flew home, I thought about leaving my family. Whether I went on my own or not, it would still end up with the same result the second I told my family I wanted to be with Solaris. My father would never allow it and would demand I leave if that was what I wanted or lock me up against my will. I wasn’t telling them what was happening because I was worried that would add more fuel to the fire of the feud. Maybe my leaving would do that already, but this was something I had to do. Gwena was right; I had spent most of my life trying to fit into what my family wanted for me—trying to make them happy and not ruffle feathers. It was time I thought of myself and what I wanted: a life with Solaris.

Landing by Gwena’s door, I knocked softly, intending to tell her everything that happened. She didn’t answer, and judging by how empty the land seemed, she was most likely at dinner. Creeping through the dining hall, I tried to avoid the wondering eyes of my parents and sister. No doubt they had questions about where I had been today. Sliding into the seat next to her, everyone else at the table looked at me strangely. Gwena was eating with her parents and two young siblings.

“Hi,” I said as she pressed her lips together, an excited look in her eyes.

“Hey,” she replied.

“Did you just start eating? I’m not hungry, and I thought maybe we could go for a walk,” I said.

“Sure, I was just finishing anyway,” Gwena replied. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Bye, sweetheart,” her mom said, smiling at me. We left the dining hall, and Gwena linked her arm to mine. Neither of us said anything until we were in the safety of one of the study rooms our main house provided.

"Okay, tell me everything!" Gwena squealed, plopping down in one of the oversized brown leather chairs.

"Well," I replied, sitting right next to her. "I went in expecting to tell him we needed to take things slowly. See how we fit together after all these years."

"And?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"When I got there, I saw him, and he had this entire picnic set up for us, with food and wine he'd made himself. It was absolutely perfect," I told her. "We talked, and he asked me about my family, and he told me what happened to him after we got separated."

"And..." she pushed, leaning forward like she knew what I was about to say.

"We sort of, I mean, talking didn't last that long," I told her, feeling my cheeks turning red.

"I knew he'd like the dress," Gwena laughed. "I'm happy for you; you deserve this."

"Thanks, we did agree we're going to leave our homes together," I replied.

"When?" Gwena questioned, looking sad at the thought.

"I have no idea, but I'm supposed to see him again tomorrow evening, so maybe we can talk more about it then," I explained.

"Sure, talk," she laughed.

"It's not like we only did it once," I told her.

"I'm surprised. When I found Galeoin, we didn't leave my bedroom for a week," she winked. Gwena had been mated to the head warrior's son.

"When does he get back from his trip?" I asked.

"I'm about a week," she replied. "I wish it didn't take so long to visit all the other fairy tribes." Galeoin was tasked with traveling to all the other tribes and helping with their training programs. Although the other tribes had different leaders than we did, we were all serving one queen, and she decided to implement this program.

"Maybe one-day Galeoin and Solaris could meet," I told her.

"I hope I can meet him one day," she replied. "Are you hungry? Should we go back in?"

"No, Solaris and I ate a ton of food. I think I'm just going to head home and avoid my parents and Thazel for a little longer," I said.

"Okay, suit yourself, but you're missing a delicious chicken pot pie," she told me.

Gwena and I parted ways; she returned to dinner, and I made my way back to my house. I liked how still and quiet it was with my parents at dinner. Usually, my mom cooked for us, but she was too busy at night sometimes, so we ate in the main house. Changing out of my slinky tight dress, I lay on my bed, thinking about Solaris and our time together. His lips had molded perfectly to mine, caressing my skin so gently and tenderly. His tongue moved so skillfully, knowing the rhythm of my body without even trying. It had been perfect and something I couldn't wait to do again. I drifted to sleep to the image of his eyes staring lovingly into mine, his muscular arms holding me tightly.

Without warning, I felt myself being shaken awake—not violently, like something was wrong, but almost in a panic. Opening my eyes, I expected to see the shining green of my mom or dad, but instead, I was shocked to see blue hazel eyes staring at me. This couldn't be real; this had to be a dream—some manifestation from thinking about him as I fell asleep. There was no way Solaris was in my room right now.

"Kesi..." he whispered, trying to shake me more gently now that my eyes were half open.

"Solaris?" I asked sleepily.

"Shh, I don't want to wake your parents," he hushed.

"What's going on?" I asked, sitting up. The gravity of the situation finally hit me. If he was here, they could catch him. How did he get past the patrol groups and find my house?

"Listen, there's not much time to explain, but my dad is forcing me to choose a mate in a few days. If we're going to go, we have to go now," he said in a hushed whisper.

"What?" I questioned, throwing back the cover.

"He knows about us, I'm sure of it. He's trying to break our bond by making me mark someone else, and that won't happen. I know we didn't discuss this too much, but it's now or never," Solaris explained.

"Okay, just let me get dressed quickly," I told him, tiptoeing around my room so I didn't wake my parents. "How did you get past the patrol groups? And how did you find me?"

"I may have set a small fire to distract them," he explained. "Don't worry, it was only a couple of trees." The expression on my face must not have been happy. "I knew where your lands were, and it was easy to follow your scent once I got inside. I came in through the window. It won't take them long to extinguish the fire, so we have to hurry." Quickly, I threw on a black T-shirt and jeans. Black seemed appropriate so that we would blend into the darkness. Sneakers also seemed like a good idea in case we had to run. Solaris helped me run around and pack a small bag to take.

Once we forced the zipper shut, I went to the still-open window. Solaris went first, jumping the short two stories, before I dropped the bag to him and jumped out myself. Solaris caught me and set me on my feet. We tried to stay in the shadows of the houses as we crept closer and closer to the tree line. Hand in hand, we made the final dash into the trees, continuing to run until we were sure no one was following us. Solaris was leading the way, and I wasn't sure where he was taking us.

"Okay, I don't think we're being followed," he said, finally stopping.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked, bracing myself against a tree and panting. Now that I had wings, I usually flew everywhere, but we didn't because that would be easier to spot.

"To the werewolf realm, I think," Solaris told me. "First, we have to go pick someone up."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused if he was being metaphoric or not. He took my hand and led me further into the dark woods, only peaks and slivers of moonlight shining through. "Where are we going? And what time is it?" I wondered.

"It's two in the morning, and there's someone I want you to meet," he told me, turning around to smile encouragingly at me; at least, I think he was smiling; it was too dark to tell. Solaris took me into an area where the trees began to thin, and I could make out another figure standing nearby. Usually, I would have been worried, but I knew Solaris wouldn't take me anywhere dangerous. The thin trees allowed more light in, and I could make out this man's long blonde hair and blue eyes wrinkled at the sides as he smiled kindly at me. He was just as muscular as Solaris and stood a foot taller than me; his broad shoulders and square jaw gave him an intimidating look.

"Kesi, this is Savion Ashborne. He's been my best friend for years and insisted that he come with me on our adventure," Solaris told me.

"Hello, Kesiray," Savion said, sticking out a hand to me. "It's nice to finally meet the woman who stole my friend's heart all those years ago."