of contact. He could feel the steady beat of her heart thrum through him. He relaxed in her embrace until his chin dropped languidly against the top of her head. Distantly, he mused at how she had conquered him, but also found that he didn’t care. Peace and contentment swept through him as he felt accepted and cherished in the simple gesture.
Just that easily, the eons seemed to melt away, and he cleaved to her until he finally forced himself away with a shake of his head. His antlers swung in his peripheral vision, and his tail whipped anxiously behind him. He didn’t know what had gotten into him, but it wasn’t something he could indulge in right now. There was too much at risk.
Diana blinked up at him in confusion, but he turned away from her. He couldn’t bear to look at her right now.
“Come on,” he snarled. “We have wasted enough time. We depart immediately.”
Chapter 11
Diana stepped out of the lucomo’s way as he stormed by her, her brow furrowed in confusion. For a moment there, something seemed to change between them, and she thought she saw something… Then it was gone, and he was like a stranger to her once more.
She welcomed the silence that fell as she followed him out of the palace into the gloom of the forest. Even over the courtyard gardens, the trees were so thick that they only let stray sunbeams pierce through to the gardens below. She was honestly surprised that everything wasn’t dead, but apparently the blooms were shade-loving and, on several plants, their delicate tendrils were covered in dainty heart-shaped leaves. It was quite magical, made even more so by the pixies flitting among them.
Despite the glimpses of beauty, the forest appeared gloomy and dark, though she wondered how much was impeded by her vision. It wasn’t quite menacing, but it was so alien from the woods near her home that it made the hairs on her arms prickle beneath the layers of clothing and armor. As they neared a cluster of trees nearest to the garden walls, a burst of pale lights floated around the trees as if released from the tall sentinels into the air.
The lucomo glanced back at her and noticed the source of her distraction as she stared in awe at the lights, trying to work out what exactly they were.
“It is the hamadryads, the souls of the trees. Those that live near the palace release small lights from their root bases as part of their symbiotic relationship with Arx itself, and as an expression of their ecstasy at being so close to it. Sometimes those near the villages of the Eternal Forest can be coaxed to do likewise.”
“Arx?” she asked softly.
“The name of the palace. It is alive as much as the hamadryads are.”
“They are beautiful,” she said. “As is Arx. I have never seen anything like it.”
“Nor will you,” he agreed. “These things are of the Eternal Forest.”
A tiny gasp left her as a luminous green woman seemed to step out of the heart of the tree and dance along the roots, playing in the light. There was something too sharp and inhuman about the structure of the spirit’s face, and her hair seemed to wave around her head in a way that appeared unnatural. Even her movements seemed to bend and sway in a way that defied nature.
The green spirit stopped moving, and her head turned toward Diana. The movement was so slow that the eeriness made Diana’s heart pound and her mouth go dry as the glowing white eyes seemed to stare right into her. The stillness of the spirit was so absolute that Diana half-believed that it would spring into action.
The hamadryad didn’t move. She watched Diana with her unblinking gaze, her head turning marginally to follow Diana’s movements. Another hamadryad stepped out and another. Soon the entire wood around the garden were filled with them, each one staring at Diana.
“Interesting,” the lucomo muttered in passing but he gave them no more attention than a curious lingering glance as he stalked forward at an even pace without breaking stride.
As the he neared the corner of the garden hedge that marked the border of the labyrinth of flower beds and ornamental bushes, a massive male, easiest the largest troll she had seen yet, stepped into view. The lucomo apparently expected to see him because his pace increased, leaving Diana to catch up.
“Where are we going?” she asked breathlessly as she struggled