Page 14 of Dweller of the Mists

She blushed with pleasure, but a laugh startled from her when he suddenly grabbed her hand and tugged her along with him as large butterfly-like insects with multiple petal-like wings exploded from a nearby bush, their poison-green wings shimmering as they caught the sunlight. He chuckled happily as he led her along the root systems surefootedly as if following a well-worn and familiar path.

The Shoowilp territory was beautiful. While the swamp around the camp had possessed an aethereal presence amid its deep fog and all manner of bioluminescent plants and lifeforms, the swamp here was brighter as the daytime fog lightened up enough to turn golden with its rays and the long vines of glowing flowers were replaced with magnificently large jewel-like flowers that caught the sunlight and shimmered regally with it. There were also more rocky rises protruding from the water, providing natural bridges among the root systems of the trees and bushes that sprouted from the debris collected in the larger gaps in the roots.

Gwum pulled melons from low hanging vines in passing and cracked them open so that they would have something refreshing to eat as they walked. At other times they paused to collect berries or nuts that he effortlessly opened with his claws, plucking the meat out for her. Their pace seemed less urgent since crossing territories and yet, for all its distinct beauty, it seemed that the water qualities didn’t differ any because she began noticing that she was fully starting to glow now. Even in the daylight she could see the faintest brightness issuing from her skin. It felt almost freakish, but Gwum assured herit was perfectly natural and in fact was part of what fed Bia luminescence, except they were not as thin-skinned as humans, their thin patches in their markings. That he didn’t see anything amiss about her glow and instead seemed to find it particularly charming made her feel more at ease with it, and she had gradually come to admire it herself over the passing days. How many human cosmetics were designed to give the illusion of glow to the skin? And here she was just doing it naturally thanks to the biochemicals found within the environment.

She giggled privately at that but fell silent in wonder as she spied a large ridge protruding up from a huge network of roots. Masses of flowers and silvery pink mosses clung to it, making it appear almost like a fairy mound.

Gwum, catching the direction of her attention, grinned. “That is my mother’s dwelling. We have reached my maternal pond. It is just a short distance to my home. It is not as pretty, but I am proud of it.”

She saw why less than an hour later. While the ridge marking the entrance was smaller, the entire root system around it was covered with numerous plants that seemed to climb up the tree as well. Many of them flowered but others had distinctive leaves of various shapes and hues that caught the eye. Rather than a lush little decorative garden, she was certain that it was filled with all manner of medicinal plants. It looked like somewhere a healer lived. Noelle smiled up at him as he squeezed her hand and led her excitedly toward it.

“Does everything covering your home have a purpose?” she asked as she entered along a little path carved into the root system and descended into his home with him.

He nodded in reply. “There is much that I need on hand at any given time to help my clan. I have massive storage rooms carved out and reinforced, but the garden is necessaryto maintain my supply. Wait here while I find some light,” he murmured, releasing her hand.

The glow of his markings made it easy for her to track his progress. Her own skin was growing brighter in the absence of light but it was still dim. At last, he seemed to find what he was looking for and a flare of light brightened the room as the fire he lit within the hearth grew.

Noelle took the opportunity to look around. The house was constructed in a sort of dugout style, thick roots and packed mud forming the walls reinforced by slabs of rock except for strategic openings. She even swore she saw a shuttered window or two up high near the ceiling. Everything within the house was made of wood and stone and had the appearance of being comfortably worn with several woven blankets and even a few furs stacked in various baskets and bins neatly lining the walls where numerous shelves occupied the remaining space, each filled with jars of unknown substances. It looked cozy, like a mixture of an ancient lodge and a mad alchemist’s house. And it absolutely fit everything she knew about Gwum.

She loved it and felt right at home there with him—damn if she wasn’t in a pitiable situation. She had actually gone and fallen in love with an alien. Her grandmother would have been thrilled if it weren’t such a doomed romance with a male who, however sweet and caring he was toward her, didn’t want her.

“We will sleep overnight here. You should be comfortable enough once the fire eases some of the chill,” he said cheerfully. “Now, would you like to accompany me to my garden while I get these planted?” He tapped the side of his satchel meaningfully, and Noelle quickly nodded.

She wanted to get the most out of every minute because she knew without a doubt that it would all very soon be coming to an end. And that was beginning to scare her as time slowly ran out.

Chapter

Eleven

Gwum settled on a branch and smiled as the little female sat among his plants. He did not think anyone had ever admired them as she did. Most Bia did not consider anything but the most glorious flowers worthy to plant around their homes. His was a practical exception and never truly garnered much outside of respect offered for his perceived “sacrifice.” No one considered the fact that genuinely preferred the plants which offered so much usefulness to his community rather than the most ornamental of flowers. Besides which, there were plenty of true beauties that created small waves and crests of blooms among the dense foliage.

And among them, Noelle was the most beautiful. He rubbed his chest absently as he watched her, unable to quite believe that it had not ceased beating as captivated as he was by the image of her illuminated by her own pink glow and the gold of sunlight-kissed fog drifting around her. Sitting among the flowers and colorful leaves, she appeared as something precious sent from the gods for a fleeting time among them.

She ran a finger lightly over the newly planted tender nangash sapling closest to her, a smile lifting the corner of her lips in a delicate curve. The pale violet leaves were trimmed inpink that seemed to almost glow where she touched them. It was all an optical illusion, of course. Nangash did not possess any bioluminescent characteristics but her own illumination grew by the day, so much so that it shimmered over the leaves beneath her fingertips. The pale pink of the leaf edges just made it more visible.

It was hard to believe that there were other of her species out there and at least one that had been taken into the Warderoon clan without a word from them. Why would they not have shared such news?

Her breathy sigh of pleasure skated over his skin like a caress, so much so that he was barely able to remain still when his instinct demanded that he go to her. It thrummed in his blood and sang so sweetly that he fairly trembled with it. As if she heard his innermost thoughts and desires, she looked up at him, a smile on her dark pink lips.

“This is so incredibly beautiful, Gwum. Do you really leave this place for days and weeks at a time? It hardly seems possible that it doesn’t demand all your attention to care for it.”

Her words, though simply spoken, rained upon him like the most exotic elixir, their cadence caressing his senses with the hot bloom of pleasure. He shivered in response. How had he not noticed before that her voice could tease the sensitive receptors in his ears as acutely as any mating vibration? As he luxuriated in the peace and beauty of the moment with her, he experienced a breath of clarity. He recognized it and trembled with the shock of it.

Jymlina. His jymlina. He had assumed that it was misdirected and confused instinct, but the call of her vibration issued from her voice was just as effective as that which issued through the skin of a Bia female. He was just aware of it now, and after so many days with her, his reaction was growing nearly uncontrollable. It all made sense now—his strong responses toher and the undeniable pull he experienced, even if it terrified him when it came to what it meant for their future—but he still did not understand how it could have possibly happened.

Aware of her focused attention on him and the quizzical rise of her brow, he shook his head in an attempt to focus.

He cleared his throat and gave her a knowing smile. “The plants mostly take care of themselves. I selected the placement of my dwelling to take advantage of several environmental factors that would naturally support plants with varying needs and applied to where I positioned them too. Everything here has been created quite intentionally.”

She pursed her lips, and he was startled when a musical sound escaped her. “That’s really something,” she observed and smiled broadly as she continued to take in the careful tiers of his garden.

Gwum settled back and indulged his desire to watch her, enjoying her rapt fascination and curiosity. He delighted in every single discovered pleasure and was eager to watch her explore further when their peace was shattered by a sharp song that broke through the trees. Noelle reacted as expected, and the female froze warily before ducking into the flowers as much as she could manage while Gwum’s eyes rose to a lone male making his way through the branches above them.

The lanky form of his elder brother was as unmistakable as it was unanticipated. An unhappy sigh escaped him. He could have sworn that he made it back to his dwelling without anyone in his family taking note. What was the male doing here anyway? Jyel had been long mated for several revolutions and seldom returned to their maternal home. It almost seemed like a plan set up to intentionally vex him. He frowned and straightened, planting his hands on his waist in annoyance as he waited for the male to descend.

“Gwum, there you are!” Jyel called, his deep voice cheerful despite Gwum’s dark glower. “Mother caught sight of your return as she tended her garden. She did not think you saw her signaling to you, so she sent me to fetch you, especially as she spied that you had a small female with you. As you know, it has been Mother’s fondest wish for you to mate. Even if it is fruitless without offspring, she is delighted that you will no longer be alone and is already planning the mating feast.”

Jyel craned his head to catch a glimpse of Noelle through the flowers and leaves, but Gwum puffed up with ill temper and pushed the male aside. Privately, however, he wanted to groan. How had his mother deduced so easily who Noelle was to him when he only just discovered it himself?

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