"I never should've left you alone in these woods." Guilt washed over him, and he looked down at the water. She'd nearly been killed because he hadn't stayed with her. He thought she'd be better without him, but the only way he could protect her was if he was with her.

"How did you find me?" Lily asked, daring to look at him from the corner of her eyes.

"I heard the canu." Lux only half-lied.

He tracked the canu using another one of his tricks. A benefit of his job was being able to use the canu, and he could psychically link with them. He could see what they saw, but so could any of the other peccati or even Valefor, if they chose to check in with this pack. Anyone of them could find out that he'd intervened to save Lily.

They really ought to start moving, but she was too exhausted to go on the run right now. She needed to rest, and he'd worry about what Valefor made of everything when the time came. For now, her safety was his top priority.

"What are the canu?" Lily looked at him curiously.

"Demon dogs," Lux replied vaguely. He didn't want to explain them to her, how they served his master, and even Lux himself. The canu tracked and hunted anything the peccati or Valefor wanted, and canu protected them from their enemies.

"How did you chase them away?" Lily asked.

"Magic," Lux smiled at her, hoping to distract her from realizing he hadn't really answered the question. "How are you feeling?"

"Much, much better. Thank you." She smiled then looked away. "I must look frightful."

"No, you look beautiful," Lux said seriously.

"I doubt that!" Lily laughed, a wonderful sound that sent warm shivers all through him. She knelt down at the brook's edge, splashing cold water on her face to clean herself up.

"Do you feel well enough to walk?" Lux asked once she'd finished washing her face and arms.

"I think so," she nodded.

Lux stood up first and held his hand out to her to help her up. As soon as she touched him, that same wonderful feeling rolled through him. She stood in front of him, staring up at him with her dark blue eyes. Her skin always felt so cool against his warm hands. A strand of hair stuck to her damp cheek, and he brushed it back, letting his hand linger there. He wanted to kiss her more than anything, but he was afraid if he started, he'd never stop.

"We should get going." He dropped his hand from her cheek and stepped away from her. He still held her hand so he could help her up the embankment, but he had to put some distance between the two of them. He'd never utilized restraint before, and he didn't know how well he'd do with it.

"Yes, of course," Lily said, like she understood what he meant.

She slipped a few times climbing up the embankment, but Lux blamed it on the muddy incline. When she got to the top, he started walking forward, and she nearly collapsed, falling heavily into his arms. Her knees just gave out underneath her.

"Sorry," Lily whispered, leaning against him. She smelled of flowers and fresh spring water, and Lux held her in his arms for a moment before steadying her and helping her stand on her own.

"You need to rest," Lux said, and looked up.

The moon sat high in the sky, so it was still several hours before dawn. He'd bought them some time by chasing the canu away. It'd be a few hours before they got back to Valefor, and then he'd have to mount a counterattack. They could use the time to get a jumpstart, but Lily was too weak, and he had to do what was best for her.

"Come on." Lux kept his arm around her waist and led her over to a ma.s.sive tree. "You need to get some sleep before we can continue."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Lily looked around.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Lux a.s.sured her, and he meant it.

"I know." Lily smiled at him in a way that melted his heart. Sleeping in the Necrosilvam in the middle of the night sounded deadly, but somehow, she felt safe with Lux.

The roots of the tree sprung out of the ground, creating a perfect little nook. Lux took off Lily's cloak and spread it over the dirt like a blanket. He slipped off his jacket, then sat down on the ground, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. Lily curled up next to him, laying her head on his chest and draping her arm over him. He took his jacket and covered her up with it. When he wrapped his arm around her, she nestled into him.

In that moment, Lux felt complete for the first time. He hadn't even realized anything was missing until he met her, but now, with her curled up in his arms, her hair tickling against his chin, he couldn't imagine existing without her.

Within moments, Lily fell sound asleep, comforted and content in the safety of his embrace. Lux forced himself to stay awake for much longer, savoring every second with her.

9.

His neck hurt from the way he'd been sleeping, and he yawned and stretched out his arms. It wasn't until he felt the empty s.p.a.ce beside him that he realized something terribly important was missing. Lux opened his eyes to the morning sun, and she was gone.

"Lily?" His heart had already beat itself into a frenzy. He jumped to his feet and looked around, but he didn't see anything. No sign of her, of canu, of anything. "Lily?"

His mouth felt dry, and his stomach twisted in knots. He ran a hand through his hair and tried not to think the worst. He never should've slept. He never should've closed his eyes. Lily had become the most important thing in his life, and he fell asleep while Valefor had come and stolen her.

"Lily!" Lux didn't even trying to hide the panic in his voice.

"I'm right here," Lily said, sounding like a beautiful melody to his ears.

Her head appeared over the embankment as she climbed up it, her arms full of red berries. As soon as he saw her, Lux started to run toward her, but realizing he looked like a maniac, he settled for a brisk walk. She wore his jacket, with the sleeves rolled up to keep them from drowning her hands. She had tied her long dark waves in a loose braid and wound small white flowers through it.

"I went to collect berries for breakfast." Lily gave him a perplexed look when he reached her. "Why do you look so frightened?"

"I don't know." He smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. He put his hand on her shoulder, just to make sure she was real. "I couldn't find you."

"Well, I'm right here." She smiled at his concern, looking so beautiful and sweet and happy, his heart seemed to swell and grow.

"So you are," Lux said quietly, and she laughed.

He couldn't contain himself any longer. He put his hand on her waist and pulled her to him, then pressed his lips to hers. Her mouth tasted of cold berries, and her body felt soft against his. She dropped the fruit and wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her hungrily, fighting to keep himself in check.

Lily could actually feel his restraint, the way his muscles tensed, but she felt no control herself. She kissed him fervently, standing on her tiptoes to taste him more deeply. A fire burned inside, spreading a fresh wonderful heat all through her.

Her hand found the curls on the back of his neck, and she wrapped them around her finger. It was something she did, almost without thought. She just wanted to pull herself closer to him, but it made Lux weak. It was like he felt too much too much happiness, too much pleasure and he could hardly stand.

Lux stopped kissing her, but he held her in his arms still. She untwined her fingers from his hair and rested her hands against his chest, staring up at him as they both struggled to catch their breath. His skin trembled.

"You're shaking," Lily said, sounding concerned.

"So I am." Lux smiled at her.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm better than I've ever been," he a.s.sured her, and she smiled up at him.

He pulled away from her before he couldn't resist kissing her again. They had wasted enough time sleeping. She had needed it, but he had to get her somewhere safe soon, not that he even knew where somewhere safe might be. But keeping her on the move was his best for now. He didn't know of anywhere that Valefor couldn't go if he wanted to, but Lux knew staying in the same place would make them easy targets.

"I've dropped all the berries." Lily's cheeks flushed with embarra.s.sment, and she bent to pick them up.

"It's alright. I'm not very hungry anyway," Lux said. He surveyed the area around them, trying to decide which way to go, but it was hard to think clearly after that kiss.

"Are you certain?" Still crouched on the ground, she looked up at him. "Because I could find something other than berries, if you don't want any of them."

"No, I'm fine, but we need to get moving."

"Oh." Lily looked hurt, afraid she'd done something to offend him, so he held out his hand to her. She took it, and he helped her to her feet, but he didn't let go of her hand.

"This way." Lux gestured to the west. The palace lay to the east of them, and Valefor's lair to the south.

"Are we going somewhere?" Lily asked as they started walking, and then realizing how silly her question sounded, fumbled to clarify. "I know that we're going somewhere, but is it somewhere in particular?"

"I'm not sure yet," Lux said honestly.

"Because I have a friend in the woods, or at least I think I still do." Her face crumpled when she thought about Wick. "I don't know what became of her last night."

"What happened?" Lux asked, looking over at her.

"Wick sensed something coming. She's a witch, but a good witch, and she knew something was after me. So I left out the window, and she stayed behind. Then the canu chased after me, and you found me." Things started occurring to Lily, and she stopped walking so she could look at Lux straight on. "What are we running from? Why didn't you want me to go back to the palace?"

Lux avoided her gaze. "It was just a gut feeling I had."

"No, it wasn't. It was more than that," Lily insisted. "You were trying to protect me. From what?"

"I don't know." He swallowed hard and wouldn't look at her.

He couldn't tell Lily what he knew because he'd have to tell her how he knew. And it was more than just being a part of her kidnapping. He'd have to explain exactly what he was, and he knew he'd lose her forever. She'd be disgusted and hate him.

"You took me out to the woods on a whim?" Lily looked at him with disbelief. "You abandoned me here in the middle of the night only to come rescue me the next night, and you don't know why?"

"Your friend Wick, she senses things?" Lux grasped at anything, looking for any explanation that would keep her from discovering the truth. "I can do that too. I sensed something horrible and..." He trailed off, knowing how empty his words sounded. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," Lily said.

"Everything I've done has been to protect you," Lux said, and he felt better knowing he was being honest. "Since I've met you, I've only tried to make sure that you were safe and happy. And I can't explain the things that are happening, but... I need you to just trust me."

"I believe you," Lily looked up at him, her eyes searching his. "But why can't you tell me? If something dangerous is going on, I should know about it."

"Please," he pleaded with her. "Just trust me for now. I promise you'll understand everything later. But for now, can you just trust me?"

"Fine," Lily relented, but only because he looked so pained. "But we should go to the cottage to see if Wick is alright." Lux looked in the direction she pointed and shook his head.

Wick's cottage was closer to the palace, and Lux didn't want to head that way. He wasn't sure how powerful Scelestus really was, but he didn't want to deal with her. More importantly, something had found her at the cottage last night, and while he wasn't certain it was Valefor or another of the peccati, the canu had found her too. They needed to get away from here, fast.

"We need to keep going," Lux looked at her apologetically.

"But she helped me survive until you got here," Lily insisted, and guilt stung through him. He never should've left her alone, and he'd never forgive himself for that. "The least I can do is make sure she's fine or see if she needs any help."

"She sent you away last night while she stayed behind to fight?" Lux asked, and she nodded. "She didn't sacrifice herself so you could go back and get yourself killed today. Whatever happened back there, it's not safe for you, and she'd want you to go on."

"Maybe," Lily said, her face scrunching up. "But I don't feel right leaving her like that."

"We need to go, Lily." Lux looked at her seriously and squeezed her hand. "Please."

"Once you're sure we're safe and this whatever this is is over, I'm going back to repay my debt to her," Lily said firmly.

"I will be more than happy to take you," Lux said, but he wasn't sure that this would all be over. He didn't know if Lily could ever be truly safe.

Once they started walking again, Lux felt better. Moving quickly through the trees felt like he was actually doing something, although he wasn't sure how much it would really accomplish. At first, Lily seemed upset. She felt guilty for abandoning her friend, but her mood lightened the longer they walked. He couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling it had to do with him holding her hand.

They walked most of the morning saying very little. Lux would've loved to talk with her, but he was afraid she'd press him for information. The Necrosilvam seemed to stretch on forever, but soon they'd be reaching the edge of it.

A swamp lay just on the other side of the forest, called the Weeping Waters. A mixture of filthy water and thick mud like quicksand, it was filled with sea dragons and flesh eating fish. Unlike land animals, the fish did not listen to anyone, even peccati like Lux.

A log had fallen across their path, and Lux helped Lily over it. His thoughts were on how they would get past the swamp, not on the log, and the rotted wood gave out under Lily's foot. He caught her just before she fell to the ground, and he held her in his arms for a second before setting her gently on her feet.

"Sorry," Lily said.

Lux shook his head. "I should've been paying more attention."

"I'm not a complete invalid, you know." Lily smiled demurely at him. "I can manage walking without a guide." She amended her statement with a laugh. "Usually."

Lux laughed and took her hand, preparing to lead her forward, but she stopped short. He heard a mewing sound, similar to a kitten or a frightened rabbit, and Lily had heard it too. He tried to keep going, but she pulled away from him and went back to the log, to the source of the sound.

"Oh my!" Lily gasped, peering into the fragmented wood.

Lux looked over her shoulder and saw what he'd already suspected. A giant furball surrounded by three smaller furb.a.l.l.s sat inside the rotted log. They were almost perfectly round and covered in plush, golden fur with small round ears like a squirrel, a tuft of a tail like a rabbit, big sad eyes like a puppy, and a pink nose like a chipmunk. Their feet were hidden entirely under their fluff, pressed close to their chubby bellies.

"Auratus," Lux sighed.

"It's a mama and her babies," Lily said.

The auratus had made a nest in blue moss inside the log, until they'd come along and disrupted it. The mother tried to stand in front of her babies, but they kept running around her, mewing. Lily reached in and scooped up a baby in her hands. The mother barked but didn't bite or snap at her.

"What are you doing?" Lux asked and watched as Lily sat down on the st.u.r.dier part of the log, cradling the baby auratus in her hand.

"Checking to make sure they're alright." Lily carefully petted and inspected the baby. "It's my fault if any of them are hurt."

"So you just stick your hand in a tree filled with wild animals?" Lux tried to sound exasperated, but watching her coddle the auratus made it hard for him to be.

"You wouldn't let me do anything to get hurt," Lily said, then held the baby out to him. "They're so soft! Feel!" Lux reached out and tentatively petted the top of its head, and its fur did feel like downy silk under his hand.

"They sure are," he said. They also tasted really good, but he didn't think that was the kind of information Lily would want to hear. "Are they checking out okay?"

"I think so." She put that one back in the log and picked up another. This one sat timidly in her hand, not moving around like the first one, and it didn't seem to be mewing at all. She stroked its back, hoping to illicit some kind of response, but it just sat quietly in her hand. "Oh no. I think something's wrong with this one."