A Dawn with the Wolf Knight (Married to Magic, #5)

by Elise Kova

Then…there’s me. She who maintains the protective charms that keep one from the other and preserve the fragile peace of both.

I’m the witch in the cottage.

Labradorite, to protect me from the knowing of the elves. Dangling from my ears are tiny chandeliers, crafted by the finest glassworkers down the rivers and across the distant seas. A suitable gift for negotiating with any clever fae who might cross my path. There is always fresh blood in my veins for a rogue vampir, should such an offering be needed… The sirens I need not fear in the woods, and the roar of dragons has not been heard in the eternal mist that clouds the lands to the north for more than a thousand years. A long enough time that stories of them have been almost entirely forgotten by the people who once feared them.

It is the oldest tree in the woods and was said to have been planted by the hands of a long-ago human queen who married the king of the elves in exchange for all our lives and safety. No one alive is quite sure any longer if it was meant to be a gift to the lykin, or a boon to the dwindling bloodline of witches. So it has become a neutral territory for both our kinds.

Immense power…no wonder the forest seemed to heed me more than it ever had before… “‘Immense power’ is worth little if taken by force. I only want what is freely offered, and won’t have it any other way.”

“Do not speak to me of deals and promises and oaths.” Aurora is on her feet. She strains against the rope holding her to the tree. Evander continues to linger, just beyond her reach, as her eyes dig daggers into him. “I have kept oaths from long before your parents were even pups, suckling at their mothers’ teats. So I will not be reminded by a man-child of what oaths I must and must not keep.” Her voice is as cold as the darkest winter’s night.

“You don’t have to tell us. We know. You never failed to ensure Folost had enough charcoal, or that my soil was properly watered.” The vines shift into what I think is a smile. “You might not see us often in these forms, here, as they take great effort for us to maintain. But we will be with you. You know how to call upon us, whenever you need.”

“We are honored to be bound to a witch such as you. Never hesitate to call upon us whenever you need.” With those last words, Folost’s flames wrap in on himself and sputter out of existence with a puff of smoke.

“When you’re ready,” I reiterate. Aurora shrugs, as if that is a small matter. It is not, and I would have her know it. “You have endured too much and have had too much forced upon you. I will not be another person making demands for things that you’re not ready to share, or do not wish to give.”

“You. Let me. Go. Before my patience and kindness wears thin.” He bares his teeth at me. “I have no idea where this ‘kindness’ of which you speak has been.” I narrow my eyes and don’t move. “You’re breathing, aren’t you?” “Careful, the bar is so low you might trip.”

else. “So no more of telling me to go. We leave together and I free you, or we stay. There are no separate futures for us now.”

I inhale deeply and exhale any traces of shame. “I need to relieve myself.” He blinks. “The camp latrines are⁠—” “No, you dense man, I need to satisfy myself in a carnal way to remove some of the temptation of Conri’s charm.” I lock eyes with his and say the words slowly and clearly, refusing to allow for any misconceptions.

“Worthy?” Aurora finishes for me. I can hear the slight grin to her voice. “Faelyn, you are most worthy. You are bound with the spirit of the moon, someone equally grand.” “Your might is not my own.” I look over my shoulder and back at her. “I would never presume to take credit for your greatness; I am merely its temporary steward.”

But I need to focus on myself and Aurora foremost. Evander’s motivations for hating Conri are his own, and I can use them to our advantage. They’re worth considering and keeping in mind.

“Hoping for reason and seeing the best in people are hallmarks of a good heart. They’re not a reason to be upset with yourself.”

was that type of relationship?” “If I am completely honest with you, Faelyn, the warmth of a woman next to me is more satisfaction than the act of having her,” Evander says. “But to answer you directly, yes, I want to hold you. I want to know a different kind of intimacy with you.”

“But now…now I am grateful for every breath. Every gnarled scar on my flesh and heart is like a map that led me to here, now, with you. I wouldn’t change any second of pain because forsaking it would also mean forsaking the pleasure of your company, your smiles, your body.” He speaks every word so plainly. So earnestly. He’s so suddenly laid his soul bare before me and I’ve no idea what to do with it.

Tonight, we are not quiet. The sound of our bodies moving, our moans and ragged breaths, fills the woods with shameless abandon. Tonight, we have nothing to hide, and nothing to pretend to be other than each other’s.

“Why…” I stare up at Evander, his silver eyes shining as if he, too, wept. “Why did you come?” “You called.” Two words. So simple. Somehow better than every “I love you” that could’ve ever been said.

“So long as you want me at your side.” The sentiment reminds me of what I told him earlier, the harsh words I used to push him away when my heart was breaking for what will be the final time in my life. My face relaxes into a smile that it hasn’t made in years. One that only he can bring out in me. “Always, Evander. Stay by my side, forever and always.”

Evander’s brows tip up slightly in the middle, and his mouth parts with a smile that can only be described as relief. I return the expression wholeheartedly. You don’t need to worry about me falling prey to him, I say without words. I am yours, and yours alone.

She gives me one more look, wearing a smile I have never seen her have before. Brighter than any I could imagine her to make. As pure as the moon itself.