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So she’s known about that the whole time. I guess she was more chill with it than I thought. “Yeah, sorry I never told you before. I wasn’t sure how you’d take it. And really, like all the others around here, I am mostly human. I just had a dryad grandma several generations back.”
“Sorry I made you doubt me,” she says ruefully. “But going back to the troll thing…what’s your plan? Just move up the mountain and live with a band of trolls?”
I shake my head. “No way. I’m not giving up my life here. But I do have an idea that I want to run by you.” I tell her about the last two stops I made this afternoon, and she grins.
“Am I nuts?” I ask.
“Not at all. I actually think that sounds reasonable.”
“Now I just have to get my husband on board,” I say, and we both cackle. The idea that I have a husband is ludicrous enough, and the fact that he’s a troll? Icing on a very weird cake. And yet…somehow, calling Bradoc my husband feels pretty natural. Like the intensity of the past several days helped me adapt to the situation much more quickly than I would have otherwise.
“I’m not saying we’ll be together forever,” I tell her. “After all, I’ve known him less than a week, which is just absurd. But, I dunno, I feel something when I’m with him. I at least want to give myself the chance to find out what this thing between us really is.”
“Oaklyn, life is short, and the existence of magical and monstrous folk is one of your lifelong interests. You absolutely need to see this through. If there’s even a chance that you’ve found your, you know, person, you need to know.”
I lean over and squeeze her hand. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: You’re the best, Adria Shah.”
She laughs and finishes off her wine. “Never forget it.”
* * *
OAKLYN
I set off again the next morning, hiking as fast as I can. Without a pack or tent, I’m unencumbered and pretty speedy, but all the same, it until late afternoon.
When I reach the troll village, everything is silent and still. Whatever Bradoc and Rokahn have been doing, it doesn’t seem like they’ve been successful at finding their missing people. Since I have no idea where they are, I take the only path available to me: I go to Bradoc’s cabin to wait.
I get the fire going and curl up on the fur in front of it, planning to nap while I wait. I may be fit and good at navigating the mountain, but it’s still an exhausting endeavor.
It’s dark when I wake, with a tired-looking Bradoc looming above me. I sit up and knuckle the sleep crusties out of my eyes. “You’re home,” I say. “I was waiting for you.”
He lowers himself onto the rug with me. “I was not certain you would return.”
“Honestly, neither was I. But I told you I would help. So here I am.”
He meets my gaze for a moment, as if trying to read my thoughts. “That is the only reason? Because you said you would?”
Oh, how the tables have turned. Just as I wondered if the only reason he married me was to pay me back for saving him, now he wonders if I’m only here to keep my word. I smile at him, a little shyly. “There may have been another reason.”
“Tell me.”
“Well, I would have felt bad if I hadn’t kept my word. But I also didn’t want to leave without telling you.”
“So you’ve come to say goodbye?”
“If I have?” I ask. “Would you let me go?”
He pauses a moment, still staring into my eyes. “Yes,” he finally says. “Even a day ago, my answer would have been different. But I cannot be the one who makes you unhappy. So, if that’s what you want...” he trails off and shrugs.
Warmth suffuses me. It seems we’ve both changed: he’s willing to let me go, and I’m willing to stay. “It’s not what I want. I came back because I missed you. You’re my husband,” I say with a little laugh.
“That is good,” he says, looking relieved.
“But,” I warn. “I can’t just stay here in your cabin for the rest of my life. I have my own goals, my friends, my job. I’m not willing to give those things up either.”
His calm expression morphs into one of concern. “But I cannot live among the humans. Surely you know this. Besides, my people need me.”
“I do know those things,” I say, covering his hand with mine. “And I think I have an idea about how to solve both our problems. But first, we have a village to save.” I stand and gather the supplies I brought, laying them out on the furry hide and explaining my thinking.
