Thankfully, there isn’t much traffic and I snuggle in, gripping Bryan around the waist as we lean into corners. My anxiety is spiraling downward the longer I hold on to him. My only wish is that I could somehow hold Trevor too. Freaking Matestone Mystic Magic!
We ride for what feels like an hour and even with Bryan’s freakishly warm body, I am chilled to the bone when we finally stop.
They both have to help me off the bike and I have trouble walking for a reason different than the one I had originally hoped for.
“Where are we?” I ask through chattering teeth.
“Ah shit, I’m so sorry. I forgot how cold you get,” Trevor unbuttons his jacket and wraps it around me. The warmth is welcome and it smells like him, which makes a small, stupid part of me very, very happy.
“The Witches,” Trevor says, scanning the area for threats. “The coyotes and wolves don’t come here. They aren’t welcome.”
I look around with renewed interest but all I see are tall, dark and creepy trees. Again with the trees. Freaking nature-loving manimals.
“I don’t see a bar?” I ask, confused. I wonder if it’s a requirement to walk through creepy trees to get to places where public drunkenness occurs. Maybe that’s a weird shifter rule to help keep people contained? I don’t get to ask the question because Trevor leads me straight to the edge and we walk into the forest.
It feels like we’re walking through a waterfall, but our skin doesn’t actually get wet. It’s a terrible sensation and I grimace, tugging Trevor’s jacket closer to me. Then, as quickly as the feeling started, it stops and my mouth drops open. We are in a beautiful courtyard with market lights strung among the tree branches. Small flickering luminaries and tiki torches burn along a river stone path and tables filled with diners are scattered throughout the garden.
“It’s so beautiful,” I am wide-eyed and open-mouthed as I take it all in. An extremely tall and very thin man in a tailcoat approaches us. He reminds me of a praying mantis. I can’t tell if that’s a good thing, but I do wonder exactly how rude it would be for me to ask.
“Miss Meryn, a pleasure to see you here at The Meeting Place in the Woods. Gentlemen, always a pleasure. To what do we owe such a visit?” His eyes are kind, and while he notices my Matestone, he seems more interested in my Fae ring.
I don’t ask how he knows my name. But then I remember how Darren told me that I’m the most exciting thing to happen to Misty Cove in about fifty years. Everyone knows my name. It’s weird, but I’m slowly getting used to it.
“Trouble at The Hydra,” Bryan smiles tightly and the man nods his head sympathetically.
“You are most welcome here. Miss Meryn, I am Timoteo. Please ask for me if you require anything during your stay with us.”
I remember Glenda and her greeting with Fortuna and pipe up, “Thank you, Timoteo. Merry meet.”
A kind smile spreads over his face and he clasps my outstretched hand with both of his. “Merry meet, my dear.”
WIth a nod to Trevor and Bryan, he leaves us to wander the paths and find a table of our own. Unsurprisingly, Bryan leads us deeper down the path until we come across three cozy chairs and a wine barrel nestled under a wide oak tree.
Now that the adrenaline from our incident has mostly abated, I can tell that Trevor and Bryan are on a razor’s edge of losing it completely. I don’t blame them at all. I’m right there too.
When we’re all seated, I grab the menu on the barrel and bury my face in it, taking whatever moments I can to hide from their intensity. I can sense them staring at me and I slowly lower the menu, looking first at Trevor and then at Bryan. Both have their jaws clenched and they are paler than usual.
Smoothing my dress, I take a deep breath.
“Are you guys ok?” I ask simply while playing with the edge of the laminated menu.
Trevor is pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes screwed shut so I turn to Bryan who is sitting with his elbows on his knees and his forehead resting on his clenched fists.
“No, we’re not, honey. Not really. We just had a brief moment there where we thought we could lose you. You put yourself in danger and we never, ever, want you to do that. You are precious. Losing you.... knowing you were hurt because we couldn’t protect you? I don’t know that we could bear that.”
My heart clenches. Bryan says it so easily, but he’s just let loose with a veritable truck-load of feelings, vulnerability, and raw fear. Trevor rests his hand on my knee and I tear my eyes away from Bryan to look at him. This level of emotional-openness is new, exciting, and scary as shit. I can handle fear. I understand fear. Vulnerability is a completely different beast.
We sit in an awkward silence. Trevor’s hand rests on my knee, Bryan has his arm around my shoulders and my hands are gripping both of their thighs. The full depth of their emotion is a bit overwhelming, but I have never felt so...cherished, so valued and worthy of protection.
“I was scared for you two,” I break the silence, giving them both a squeeze of my hands.
“I was scared and then I was mad. How dare that asshole come up to you and posture and shit? After that waitress came and tried to take you from me? Bullshit. We were on a date. And he tried to ruin it. I didn’t think about danger.
