you. You need the Eternal Forest as much as it needs you. You know that you are inexplicably linked, and have known for ages, even if you have forgotten as mists of time clouded these memories.”
He nodded as she drew away, her hand slipping down his arm to grip his hand in hers. Thera tugged him forward, leading to the fountainhead of the spring. She gazed up at him, a soft humming sound starting up in her throat. Standing so close to her, he could hear a second strain that had a beat to it like the song of frogs. The fall of water filled his vision as she stepped away, the silver streams inviting him to be embraced and renewed, to release that which had weighed him down for centuries.
The water called to him even as the song of the nymph lulled his mind into peace. As her fingers unwound from his arm, he stepped forward, his hands raising in supplication. He thought of his mother, her soft smile, the first face he saw when he came into existence. Silvas saw it again as he submerged.
It didn’t feel like water. That was his first thought. It felt like a rush of light around him. It swept over him with such force that his back bowed. Ice pricked at his skin as the water drove into him until it pervaded every part of him, stripping away that which obscured him into the form of the lucomo who held court amid the woods, washing away his memories.
Images flashed by him, one after the other, picking up speed as power welled up within him. As the last vestiges pulled away, Selvans threw back his head and roared monstrously… and his pearl white eyes opened. The gold tumbled from his antlers, splashing into the water lapping at his hips. He stared at it blankly. There was something he should remember about that glimmer, a golden bond connecting to his soul, brighter and lovelier than any other. The thought made him wary, so he reinforced the block between him and that soul. There was a reason for it, even if he couldn’t recall it.
The wind stirred, and he shivered.
He needed to return to Arx.
Rushing out of the pool, the water raised and parted before him as he charged to the shore. He bent midstride to pluck Nocis from its nest and slung it over his shoulder, its familiar weight remembered by his body. He took to the air on massive wings that sprouted at his will, no longer contained to mimicking the creatures of the forest like a silvanus.
He was Selvans, the first of silvani, god of the wood. May the gods have mercy on whomever threatened his forest.
Chapter 33
Diana stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the garden. The perfume of the flowers below filled the air, and she drew in a deep breath. If she wasn’t mistaken, her sense of smell had improved. She could make out numerous notes from the strange flowers in the garden beds. In the moonlight, she could see the pale petals of the nightblooms.
It was peaceful there, but she hadn’t been bothered by a soul since she heard the commotion of Alseida being dragged from the palace grounds. She was exiled, Diana had learned from a naiad who was tasked with bringing her meals.
She found herself unable to rouse any sympathy for Alseida. Her field of fucks was fallow.
The dryad hadn’t taken her exile well. By some feat, she had broken free of her escort in a final attempt to get to Diana, unaware. The sound of her body slamming against the door had been startling enough, but that was only the beginning. Alseida had clawed and pounded at the door as she fought off the guards. Diana heard every disturbing sound through the door, but they stopped abruptly when, presumably, the dryad had been hauled away.
Diana assumed as much, judging by what she had witnessed from the balcony. The mussed nymph had been a sight as she raged and fought every step of the way, screaming as she was hauled into the trees. It had given her no pleasure, but she had felt relieved knowing that threat had been removed. That was a small gift in the face of the turmoil gnawing at her.
She caressed the balcony rail with one hand, gazing at the thick vines that made the railing. The garden was the only thing that preserved her sanity over the few days since she had