is the key.”
Silvas growled, his hand rubbing at the base of his antler, the rattle of the ornaments hanging from it loud in the cavern. “Retrieving her from the ancient strix, Mora, is going to be difficult.”
“It shall,” Dorinda agreed solemnly.
That did not bode well.
Chapter 8
Diana lay in the bed, her mouth dry as she heard the heavy steps in the room beside her own. The strange sentience of the room had dimmed the lights to a faint glow as soon as she settled down into the bed. Unfortunately, she had been lying there unable to sleep for the last few hours, listening for any sign of the strange male returning.
If she concentrated, she was sure that she could hear his harsh breaths as he stalked back and forth. She was certain that it was him and not one of the others. His footsteps, while heavy, echoed in precise steps across the floor rather than the scuffing, rambling walk of the males who had brought in her furnishings. It sounded like he was prowling back and forth in front of her door, every pass making her skin tighten and shiver with awareness.
The tension that rolled over her was terrible. She wanted to shout out her frustration. Anything to end the twisting dance of uncertainty. The fire in her room had died down long ago, shrouding her in darkness. At the time, she hadn’t minded, hoping that being sightless would settle her nerves instead of staring out at her strange surroundings.
At last, the door swung open, banging against the wall. In the gloom of the room, she could only just barely make out the dark shadow filling the doorway, his antlers breaching her room. Diana saw little more than the brilliant white glow of his eyes.
Pulling her blanket tighter around her, she edged toward the head of her bed as he approached, his steps ending at the footboard. His eyes moved, and she had the sense that he was raking them over her. She stared right back at him, her body curling in on itself as she drew her knees up to her chest beneath the bedding. His eyes narrowed in response, and Diana had no doubt that he could clearly see her every movement. He wasn’t impeded by the low light like she was.
“You are a puzzle to me,” he whispered, his voice caressing her like velvet. Without being able to see him, the words seemed to surround her. His eyes slanted at angle as if he cocked his head curiously at her. “Why would such a small, insignificant thing such as you be transported to the heart of the Eternal Forest? Your kind normally end up among the aelves or one of the courts that have closer connection to your world along the edges of the forest. I do not understand how this came to be, or this fascination I have,” he purred.
The sound skated over her nerves, sending a tingling sensation shooting through her.
Nervously, she licked her lips. “Unlucky break? Look, I just want to go home… Please.”
The jingle of small bells sounded in the room, and she knew that he shook his head. “Even if I could, I would not. Our destinies are entwined, it seems. The vegoia has seen it, and I feel it in my blood. Do you not?” he hissed the words seductively in her ear.
“I don’t know,” she choked out. “I feel so many different things that I cannot unwind one from the other. It’s like I have this huge knot inside of me of many different feelings. What I feel is… confusing, to say the least. When it comes right down to it… I’m scared.”
“It is instinct,” he replied with a satisfied note in his voice. “You fight it and yourself, trying to dance out of the way from that which calls you. You try to escape. And now you are confused and lost. You fear this.”
“Yes,” she breathed. “I am lost.”
“Then allow me to lend some clarity to the situation,” he growled abruptly, and she felt the bed shake as his foot made contact audibly with the footboard as he climbed over the edge. “Together we will discover the purpose of your presence here, this strange connection between us and the events that shall come. We will unravel the mystery of you as the events unfold. When we are finished, and there is no purpose for you here any longer, I will personally drop you back into your simple human existence.”
He