Page 18 of Must Love Moss and Moonshine
And yet…
Her hair had dried curly, and she’d left her tunic untucked.She was so natural, a true Sylvan in the forest.As we walked, I tried to push away the memory of my glimpse of her naked, shapely legs, the feel of her body pressed against mine, the taste of spring water on her lips, the scent of lilac in her hair, her laughter, the warmth of her lips.She had been so…everything.
I needed to find a way to help her regain her memory…fast.The sooner she knew the truth of who she was, and if her heart belonged to another, the better for both of us.If she had a lover or family waiting for her, she needed to leave.Immediately.I would be all right.Once it was quiet again, my heart would stop racing and my stomach would stop quaking.I would go back to my silent life.Fernella had another passage about how to cure memory loss, but that would take a long hike to Moonglade.
When we returned to my cottage, Sylvie paused just outside and eyed my home.
Smiling, she turned to me.“You have flowers growing on your roof.Just there.See?”she said, pointing.
I looked up at the turf roof, then tried to see my little stone cottage the way an outsider might.The place was so…rustic.I lived simply, at one with nature, taking only what I needed.My stomach knotted.Did she see me like an animal, living in a hovel in the forest?Suddenly, I felt self-conscious.I was a creature living alone, tucked away in the middle of nowhere.
“And here I thought it wasn’t possible to sleep with flowers over your head until you’re six feet under,” she told me with a laugh then reached up on her tiptoes, setting the flower ring on my head, placing it between my horns.“King of the forest,” she added with a warm smile.“Your crown.”
I realized then that she was trying to mend the tension between us.My heart moved at the thought.
“Have you remembered anything else?”I asked.
She sucked in her lips as she considered.“I think… I remembered my grandmother.I saw a vision from when I was a child.In Greenspire.”
“The Sylvan home?”
She nodded.“But IknowI haven’t been there in years.I also know that my grandmother is gone.”
“I’m very sorry.”
“Thank you,” she said softly.“But it was a good memory.I loved her very much.”
I gave her a soft smile.“Anything else?”A lover?A husband?
“No.Not yet.”
“There was another passage in Fernella’s writings.She had other ideas about how one might regain memory.There is an herb that grows deep in the forest, half day’s walk from here.A draft of it has helped others in the past.If you don’t mind being alone here, I will go and fetch it.You are very safe here.I promise.After all, you’re the only one who’s ever been here besides a dryad.There should still be soup and bread.If I leave now, I’ll be back by morning and?—”
“Kellen,” she said.
“It could help you remember?—”
“Kellen, don’t go now.It is late in the day.Stay.We will go together tomorrow.”
I looked down at her, meeting her bright blue eyes.She wanted me to stay.Whatever had bloomed between us wasn’t gone, just… delayed.
I inclined my head.“It is a far walk.Are you sure you feel up to it?”
“If I don’t, I’ll tell you.And who knows, maybe all my memories will come rushing back in my sleep tonight.”
“I hope so.”
“So do I,” she said with a frown, as if she was trying to remember.“I have the nagging sense I’m supposed to be somewhere, but I don’t know where or why or when.Somewhere, someone is probably getting very annoyed with me.But since I can’t remember who…” She shrugged then laughed.“Have any more of the chestnut ale?”
“I do.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”she asked, gesturing back toward the cottage with a grin.“If your magical waterfall can’t help, maybe a few tankards will stir up something.”
I smirked, but my mind was already considering all the potentially problematic things a few tankards could stir up.I would need to be mindful.
From the open window, Marvelle clicked at me, complaining loudly.
“Need something too?”I asked.
