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“Come on,” I said. “It’s better if we get you inside.”
“In… there?” She gestured to the cabin.
I nodded. “You’re not going anywhere at this time of night. It’s dark out, and I’m sure those guys are going to be around here looking for you for a while.”
She swallowed hard, weighing her options. She knew I was right, but she still wanted to get away. I watched her battle with herself and couldn’t help but admire her strength. She’d just been running from tyrants, and she’d been dragged through the forest by a stranger. She wasn’t falling apart. She wasn’t a crying, whimpering mess.
She kept it together, and it looked like she was thinking rationally.
“Okay,” she finally said. “Will you let me leave tomorrow?”
I nodded. “You can go at first light.”
She tilted her head slightly at me, her brows knitting together.
I turned and walked up the two steps that led to the porch and pushed my hands against the wooden door. I pulsed magic into the wood that was once a part of the forest around me, and the lock clicked open.
She followed me up the steps, but hesitated at the door. I found matches in the kitchen drawer and lit the candles in the room until warmth pulsed from the flickering flames.
I glanced around the small log cabin. It had been three hundred years since I’d been here. Dust hung in the air, glittering in the light, and memories whispered in the corners of the room.
When I turned, she was right behind me. I nearly bumped into her.
“Sorry,” she said, but she didn’t take a step back. She stood right in front of me, and I had a chance to look into her eyes.
Evergreen, the color of the forest, and filled with emotion.
Gods, I could fall into those eyes forever.
Her eyes were locked on mine. My power flared up around me. I hadn’t thought about doing it, but it did anyway. I knew what I could do.
My magic drew her in. She swayed lightly on her feet, and her eyes lowered to my lips. I lifted a hand to touch her cheek. I ached to feel her skin under my fingertips. I wanted to kiss her, to taste what her lips would be like.
What was I doing?
I wasn’t supposed to seduce her. I wasn’t supposed to charm her. I’d told myself I wouldn’t get involved with a human again.
I turned off my magic, flipping the switch.
But it wasn’t just my magic clinging to us, pulling us together. Something about her was intoxicating. My magic wasn’t at play now. I wasn’t trying to reel her in, but I was mesmerized by her. She had a strange power over me, drawing me to her.
“Thank you for saving me,” she said in a breathy voice.
“You’re welcome,” I answered, then cleared my throat. “You’re welcome to stay here for a while. However long you need.”
“I won’t be here long. I have to get home.”
I nodded curtly and forced myself to turn away from her.
“There’s a room through there,” I said, pointing.
“Where will you be?” she asked, her voice small.
“I’m going back out there.” I nodded toward the door, toward the vale I was supposed to protect.
“Oh.” Her fear flared up again, the scent acrid in my nose.
“Do you want me to stay?” I asked.
