Chapter 14

As night began to fall, Raine stretched and slowly opened her eyes. When she saw that the sun was no longer hanging bright in the daytime sky, she sat up quickly, panicked as the events of the night before rushed into her mind. "Bryce!"

"Yes?" a male voice asked behind her.

She turned quickly around, and it was Bryce. "Bryce! You are here? When did you get here? How long have I been sleeping?"

Bryce laughed. "Well, I was about to ask you the same thing. When I came here this morning, you were here, sleeping. Then, your sisters came and I have been standing guard over you since."

"You met my sisters?" Raine asked, trying to gain her bearings. Why was she so tired? She guessed that was part of being human. "Oh, no! They found me."

"Yes. They care very much for you," Bryce said as he sat down on the log beside her.

"What did they say? What did they do?" Raine asked, suddenly panicked. Oh, my gosh! Hard telling what they had told him!

One corner of Bryce's lips curled into a smile. Then, he shook his head and took a deep breath. "They flew to the castle to tell your father."

"They did what?!" she asked, her voice raising three octaves.

"Well, they were concerned about you asking Virtra the Dragon Queen to make you human," Bryce said. "Why did you do that? Why Virtra? There are plenty of other witches and sorcerers. Herman of Cambria would be glad ..."

"Please, let us not waste our time together debating ethics, will you?" Raine asked.

Bryce took a deep breath. "What did you promise her?"

Raine rose to her feet, but swayed a bit and Bryce caught her. "Nothing. I promised her nothing," she said once she had steadied herself.

Bryce thought for a moment, holding onto Raine's arms, not releasing her. "Then, what did you have to do?"

Raine flushed, noticing how good it felt to be in his arms, but quickly brushed the feelings aside. She had never thrown herself at a man before, and she wasn't about to start now. "I do not wish to talk about it. Not now. Please, let us just enjoy the time we have together."

"The time we have?" Bryce asked. "You are not going to remain human?"

Raine took a deep breath. "I cannot. I wish I could, but I have only five days, so let us make the best of them. And like a fool, I just slept one of them away."

Bryce smiled as the sun began to set behind Raine. "So, you will not tell me?"

Raine shook her head. "No. Not yet. Do you mind?"

Bryce shook his head. "No, no. I do not. Reality will catch up with us soon enough." He thought for a moment, and then asked, "I would not normally ask, but may I kiss you?"

Raine nodded her head as her heart pounded within her chest.

Bryce smiled. Then, his lips descended upon hers slowly at first, but she responded with a fierceness unmatched by any other couple in history. Her lips moved with his in familiar ways, even though it was her first kiss. His hand moved down her arm, but she stopped him.

"Bryce, no." It was a small request, but one that carried the weight of the world.

Bryce pulled back to look into her bright blue eyes. "Fear not. I was not going to go farther."

Raine nodded. "This was my first kiss. I just do not want to move too quickly."

Bryce nodded. "Nor do I." Then, he leaned down and brushed his lips gently across hers. "I will wait."

Raine nodded. "Now, for the matter of where I will stay ... I cannot go home. And if I stay here, my father will come and demand that I become my true self again."

"A fairy?"

Raine nodded. "A fairy princess."

Bryce smiled as he shrugged. "Well, I guess that the only choice you have is to come home with me."

"Bryce, I cannot..."

Bryce laughed. "No. Not with me. Home with me ... to my family."

Raine blushed. "Oh. I just thought..."

"Never mind," he said, cutting her off.

She nodded once. Feeling uneasy, she pulled him to a stop. "What if they do not like me?"

"They will love you," Bryce said as he took her hand into his and resumed their walk. "Besides, what is not to love?" He smiled as he gave her a wink.

The sky darkened, replaced with streaks of red, purple, and orange across the dark blue sky. Bryce carefully moved the ancient moss out of the way when needed, careful not to disturb them as they walked through trees of all kinds and shapes. They passed by a cherry tree, and Raine's stomach growled, giving her away. It was amazing that her human body required so much. It would take a while for her to get used to it. The scent of honeysuckle and jasmine filled the forest as they passed. It was as if she was seeing the forest anew.

"Are you hungry?" Bryce asked, breaking her reverie.

"I haven't eaten all day," Raine replied softly as the night descended upon them.

Bryce shook his head and smiled. "Of course you haven't. You've been sleeping all day."

"Well, I was up late last night ..."

Bryce laughed as he playfully touched her nose. "Of course you were. I was only joking."

Raine blushed again and looked down, concealing a smile. "You will have to excuse me. It will take a while to get used to this human body."

Bryce smiled and pulled her close. "Well, I will have to teach you, then."

A frown spread across her face. "Bryce, I have only five days ... now four."

"Then, give me those four days," Bryce said, pulling her to a stop.

Raine looked into his crystal blue eyes. "I will if I can, but I cannot promise you."

"Well, that is good enough for me." A broad smile spread across his face as the forest gave way to a clearing. In the darkness, a little cottage set illuminated with candlelight streaming from the windows, burning brightly within. "This is Colin's cottage, my father for all intents and purposes."

Raine's eyebrows rose. "He is not your real father?"

"No. My real father died when I was young," Bryce replied as a faraway look entered his eyes. "After that, Colin took me in. He is a Knight of Cambria. The bravest of them all."

"He sounds very nice," Raine said, walking by Bryce's side across the field.

"Yes; he is," he replied. "Anyway, after he took me in, I swore my allegiance to Briana and to Cambria, and vowed to protect both at all cost. But no one from the castle must know that she is here."

Raine's eyebrows pulled together in concern. "Then, why are you telling me?"

Bryce's smile turned serious. "Because I know that I can trust you."

Raine nodded, trying to process it all. Everything had happened so fast it made her head spin.

"Shall we?" Bryce asked as they approached the wooden stairs, illuminated in the moonlight, when the heavy cabin door flew open.

"Well, 'tis about time that you graced us with your presence today!" a man with dark brown wavy hair said as he stepped out onto the porch. His broad muscles flexed as he clenched his fists angrily.