Page 35 of Eldritch
“You must be incredibly warm on the inside for such rosy cheeks.”
The amusement in his voice sharpened my annoyance. “If you insist on trying to draw me in with your teasing, then I’m going to busy myself with a book.” I lifted the book and feigned a smile before setting it back in my lap.
“And I’m afraid watching you read will only leave me with a longing to slip away again.”
“Are you so desperate for gratification that the banality of a woman reading stirs your loins?”
“I find you irresistible with a book in your hands. I’d venture to say it’s a rare woman who’d make the effort to learn spells and …” He lifted a second book from the small table beside the rocking chair. “Unusual mortal rituals.” He frowned, lowering it back down.
“Not many women are permitted to read. In fact, it was against the laws of the parish.”
“And yet, you learned anyway.”
“My grandfather insisted on it. He always said a well-read woman is a beautifully fearsome creature.”
“He sounds like a good man.”
“He was.” I smiled at the memory of him sneaking books into the house for me. “I was fortunate to be raised by him. For the time that I was given.”
“Well, how is this for a bargain …. I’ll wear proper attire, if you agree to read in private.”
“You’re truly affected by that?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Like your grandfather, I was raised to admire the beauty of an intelligent woman.”
“Rykaia reads, as well?”
“Rykaia reads, but she prefers fairytales of princes and maidens falling in love.”
“And you find that silly,” I said flatly.
“I find it impractical.”
“You don’t believe in love,” I countered.
“I’m skeptical of enduring love. It seems fleeting and fickle, which makes me question the point.”
I crossed my arms. “Please elaborate.”
He huffed and slowly nodded. “Imagine a storm on the sea. An unparalleled force, both powerful and…consuming. So utterly enthralling, it sweeps you out into the depths without your awareness. And at first, all is bliss. The waves, the exhilaration,” he drawled in a lazy cadence. “You’re so blindly smitten, you hardly notice the black abyss creeping toward your feet.”
“And what is this black abyss?”
“Disappointment.” He stared off toward the hearth. “The realization that what you thought was ecstasy was actually love’s demise.”
“You don’t trust love. Which must also mean you shun the Aethyrian idea of fated mates.”
His eyes sharpened in a way that left me questioning the truth of that. “Is that what you’ve gleaned from my cynicism?”
“I think you’ve read the wrong fairytales.”
“And how do your storybook maidens fare?”
“Well, first of all, they’re not fools who swim in a storm. And secondly, they don’t fear the abyss, however vast it may be. That bliss you described is what matters, even if love itself is fleeting. Its worth isn’t diminished by impermanence. Sometimes it’s best not knowing what lies below.”
His lips twitched, eyes narrowed on mine. “I fear you’re challenging my cynical nature, moon witch. Perhaps one of your spells.”
“Or maybe somewhere deep in the pitch blackness of your jaded heart, you actually believe in fairytales, after all. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find a quiet,private, place to read.”
