Page 37 of Back in the Hunt
“It wasn’t your time that night, but I saw that your soul was pure and precious. I knew where you belonged and it wasn’t in the Nothing.” Bryn cupped Everly’s cheek and kissed himtenderly. “You were like an angel, Ev. That’s what I thought, the first time I saw you.”
“Changelings aren’t angels,” he whispered, but Bryn shrugged.
“Changelingschange. Your magick is transformative and there are no rules or precedent that defines what a changeling can be so no one really knows. Nox says you’ve absorbed some of his magick and some of mine and Arawn’s. What do you get when you mix a changeling with a sun god and two hellhounds?” he asked and Everly shook his head, too spellbound and excited to guess.
“What?”
Bryn laughed, his chest shaking the bed and making Everly bounce. “I have no idea, but you’re beautiful and you’re special. I could see it before you even opened your eyes or said a word.”
“I feel special when I’m with you.”
Bryn sighed contentedly, smiling at Everly like he was perfect. “Me too. You were right, earlier. I know that lovecanlast forever, if two souls live in glory and find each other in Annwn. But love makes you vulnerable and I was scared of being hurt, so I convinced myself that Arawn and Fletcher were enough.
“Is that why you didn’t like Nox?” Everly asked carefully.
“What?” Bryn frowned, looking confused. “I told you, it was about hunting and wasting time.”
“I know,” Everly said, nodding. “But I thought that it could also be because you didn’t want Arawn and Fletcher to like Nox because then they’d want to be on his team, instead of just the three of you.”
Bryn’s brows slowly climbed up his forehead. “Oh.”
“Merlin said that Nox is one of the few gods who can lead a Hunt so you automatically owe him your allegiance. But thatisn’t easy for you because you’re used to deciding things with Arawn,” Everly continued.
There was a long pause before Bryn’s arms tightened and Everly was rolled onto his back. “You really are amazing, Ev,” he said as he searched Everly’s eyes. “You might not understand math as well as an accountant or run very well, but you understand feelings better than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Everly’s nose wrinkled. “I think that’s just because I’m a changeling. All changelings can feel what other people are feeling,” he argued but Bryn gasped in protest.
“Because theyfeedoff of feelings. You figured out what that meant and you starved yourself, Ev, you were so afraid of hurting others. And as soon as you found people you couldn’t hurt, you took all of our good feelings and turned them into your superpower so you could protect me. You didn’t have to starve yourself or use your new powers for good, but you did and it keeps making you stronger and stronger.”
“Nox says that’s intent and that it makes all the difference when you’re a witch. I’m going to be a good witch, like Nox,” Everly declared with a stubborn nod.
Bryn snorted and shook his head. “You alreadyarea good witch like Nox. You can hold onto fire like he can and you’re learning all about plants and potionsandyou can summon your astral body and hop into the Nothing. Nox can pass between worlds—he can ascend—but it’shardfor him and he doesn’t know how to run in the Nothing like you and I do. I’d say that makes you a little bit better.”
“Better?” Everly was extremely doubtful but a smile spread across his lips. “I’m already a good witch,” he whispered and a gleeful giggle burst from him because it was true! He was already a good witch and one day, he might even be as good as Nox. “I could never be better than Nox. But I don’t think I want to be. I’dhave to be a god and that doesn’t seem like a good thing. Not the way most people think it is.”
He was expecting a thoughtful reply from Bryn but his lips smashed into Everly’s and he was kissed until he was dizzy. “I love you, Ev,” Bryn said, nuzzling and growling softly into the hollow under Everly’s ear before nibbling on the lobe. “And it doesn’t matter what everyone else says, you’re the wisest person I’ve ever met.”
“Thank you!” Everly wrapped his arms tight around Bryn’s neck and squeezed. He was so happy, he could turn into confetti. Especially when Bryn nibbled his way down Everly’s neck and the center of his chest. Everly laughed and his head lolled as Bryn’s tongue swirled around his belly button, then let out a shivering gasp as his sac was licked. “Hold on,” Everly raised his head and propped himself up on his elbows, his eyes narrowing as a question occurred. “What does everyone else say?”
“Shhh!” Bryn reached up and tapped Everly’s lips, then pushed two fingers into his mouth.
“Mmm!” Everly’s eyes widened but he sucked happily, letting out a high squeak as Bryn’s long, hot tongue lashed greedily at his hole.
Everly couldn’t remember what they were talking about but it couldn’t have been as important or as good as what they were about to do.
Twelve
“So this is where Huge Douchebag lives…”
Bryn was a little jealous as he surveyed the large, modern cabin on the other side of the pasture. It looked like a luxury resort rich, suburban men visited when they wanted to cosplay as cowboys or ranchers, complete with a wide front porch and a row of rocking chairs.
They had left Georgetown the afternoon prior and spent the night at the Bluefield Inn, setting out about an hour before dawn for the last leg of their trip. The roads into the mountains were almost too wet and hazardous for the Range Rover Nox had borrowed, after weeks of wild, wet weather.
Nox was an experienced outdoorsman and had visited the area several times with his father and Clancy, but he couldn’t drive a car, much to Bryn’s astonishment and chagrin. Neither could Merlin so they had to suffer through Bryn’s rusty driving and constant swearing as they lumbered along the winding road to the wilderness reserve’s parking site. Merlin didn’t seem to mind, pouring over a map and sipping steaming, spiked tea from a Thermos mug.
“Did you know, there are only a handful of sphagnum bogs in the United States?” he asked out loud, earning a knowing hum from Nox as he reclined in the passenger seat.
“That one out in Beartown Wilderness is abearto get to, but man is it worth it!” he said, turning sideways so he could see Merlin and Bryn. “You can’t miss it! It’s surrounded by rhododendrons, wild cranberries, and hazel. Sphagnum is an ecological wonder, but it has loads of metaphysical properties. That bog is a witch’s wonderland.”