I looked toward the trees and the glimpses of the moon shining through the canopy overhead. The shock of amber eyes studying me from the branches made my slow steps falter, freezing me in place to stare back into the too-intelligent eyes of the blight watching me.
Similar to the crows that were common during the daylight hours, the blight were nocturnal birds said to be crafted from the magic of the Court of Shadows itself. Born from the darkness, they were spies for the beings who could no longer cross over the Veil.
I swallowed as it cocked its head to the side while it watched me, shifting so its talons got a better grip on the branch before it blinked with a nearly-translucent eyelid, which added a misty quality to the eye that never left me. Launching into the sky, it flew back toward the Veil at the edge of the Mist, lending evidence to the rumor of its purpose.
Even though the Veil was believed to be impenetrable by any form of life, chills broke out over my skin and goosebumps raised at the very thought of a spy reporting about me to the monsters on the other side. There was no reason to believe the Fae cared in the slightest about my existence, but nothing could stop the ominous feeling from spreading through me.
Shaking my head, I continued my walk down the path even though a part of me wanted to return home. Knowing that, while I might be able to prolong the inevitable visit with Lord Byron, I couldn't escape it altogether. It had been such a small encounter, a bird watching me in the night, but some legends were better left as whispers meant to scare children.
In my father's words, some secrets were better left in the dark.
Through the trees to my right, the gardens next to the barrier between realms were illuminated by the shimmering Veil as it swayed in the breeze. The Mist on the other side disguised whatever lay beyond, casting shadows on the space between our lands.
I turned to the left, against the pull I felt toward the Veil, determined not to tempt fate by wandering too closely when my life seemed dominated by upheaval and change as of late. I'd hardly taken a few steps forward when an arm wrapped around my chest from behind.
It pulled me back into the hard, unforgiving body of a man that I could not see. My blood raced with the sudden shock of adrenaline in my veins. My neck stung with the cold press of a blade to my skin. Another pulse of fear coursed through me.
Any number of Lord Byron's men would have been angry to discover me gallivanting through the night once again, at least, until they discovered he'd summoned me.
"Now what have you been told about sneaking about in the night? I'm likely to mistake you for a Fae lover," the man said, ducking his head lower to softly murmur the words in my ear. I relaxed, my body sagging in relief the moment I recognized the familiar voice and the fact that he wouldn't report me.
With my initial fear of being caught gone, I sprung as quickly as he'd taught me, reaching up with both hands to grasp his wrist at the same moment I dropped my weight to the ground and spun. He grunted when his arm twisted with me, extending out behind him as I hooked a foot behind his knees and forced them to collapse beneath him.
"What was I thinking when I taught you that?" he asked, narrowing his warm brown eyes on my face as he looked up at me. His stare focused on the light bruise on my cheek, the spot of skin that was just a bit too dark after Byron’s strike earlier, but he clenched his jaw and ignored it as his duty demanded.
I smiled, releasing his arm and letting him shake out the pain before he sheathed his dagger. Loris's leather chest piece was secured at his side with clasps that clinked together as he moved, rising to his feet until he once again towered over me. He grinned, thin lips tipping up and taking away some of the harshness that was such an inherent part of his features.
As a Mist Guard, kindness had been trained and beaten out of him. He was a minion of his purpose, driven by the need to protect the Veil and keep the Fae on the other side of it at all costs. Nothing could matter so much as that duty.
It came first, even when that meant taking part in the sacrifice of innocent people.
"Perhaps you like being the only one to—"
Loris interrupted my response, leaning forward to crush his lips to mine urgently. His brown eyes drifted closed the moment he touched me, as if some part of him settled when I didn’t speak any words to demean what we'd become to one another.
It wasn't love, but it was as close as the two of us would ever come; a rebellion against the life chosen for us where his duty demanded he never marry and mine condemned me to it.
Gentle hands raised to touch my waist, tugging me closer as I returned his kiss and leaned into his warmth. I knew it would be our last, that after I confessed Lord Byron knew about our tryst, he wouldn't want anything to do with me again.
He kissed me sweetly, making me believe for just a moment I might be worth something to a man in our world. I might be something special, if even only to one person. When he pulled away, he looked down at me with heavy eyes and a condescending twist of his lips. "You know you shouldn't be in the woods at night," he mumbled, tucking a runaway strand of my dark, wavy hair behind my ear and holding my green eyes captive with his.
"I like it out here at night," I returned, tugging back and raising my chin in defiance. Every moment I spent delaying my confession felt like a lie by omission.
"Only the Ladies of the Night are out at this hour. Even if a cave beast doesn't find you and make a snack out of you, do you want one of the travelers visiting Mistfell for the celebration to mistake you for one of them?" Loris asked, pulling me back into his chest and teasing the corner of my mouth with his. The temptation to give in rolled over me, but I shoved it away with two hands at his chest.
"Then I suppose it would be a terrible idea for them to see me wrapped in your arms, wouldn't it?" I asked with a saccharine smile, turning on my heel and continuing toward the manor.
Until the day I had an official master, I wouldn't be owned in the night.
"Estrella, wait!" Loris called, hurrying up behind me and grasping my wrist. He tugged, pulling me back into his chest as that confident smile consumed his face. "You know I just worry about you." He kissed me again, this one deeper and holding the heat of a single moment of passion that he knew I couldn't say no to.
"I'm not yours to worry over anymore," I said with a sigh, murmuring the harsh reminder of what we both knew was coming. He just didn't know it had likely already arrived. "Lord Byron knows about us."
Loris pulled back, his brow furrowing as he stared down at me. “What?”