Donna Tartt, From The Goldfinch (2013)

Donna Tartt, from The Goldfinch (2013)

“It’s…nothing.” Tamlin’s voice sounded far away when he spoke, guiding the horses to a slow stop in a nearby clearing, and began silently conjuring a campsite from midair. With a swipe of his hand, two tents appeared around a glowing fire pit. He took provisions from the linen sack that he’d packed that morning and left the rest for her on a small tin plate outside her tent.

He chose a spot near the fire and quietly began his meal, remembering that his next five minutes of quiet were being bought by two questions. Possibly three, since she’d only asked for a weapon the first time. He’d nearly forgotten the spare bow was there. It had been a long a month or two since he’d cleaned and repaired his quiver and a lot could change in that amount of time, including his resolution to stay away from his ex and everything to do with her. It was often like she still haunted him, as the distant howls of the wolves did the woods.

Feyre. He cursed under his breath. He would of let the world burn for her. He nearly did. Briar was one of the casualties of that war. She’d lost her entire family, her humanity. He owed her. Love was for fools and he was not a fool.

Tamlin swallowed his food and then stared into the fire, watching images of his life flash before him in his mind. As the wrong ones did, the High Lord flinched, standing, and taking his weaponry. “Stay here. Eat. I’m going for a walk around the perimeter to make sure none of those beasts have strayed from their pack.”

Safe and Sound | Tamlin & Briar @thehighlordofspring

Briar stirs awake as sunshine filters through the delicate curtains of her room. The scent of blooming flowers and fresh earth lingered in the air through a half open window. She stretches, feeling the cool silk sheets slide against her skin, and smiles to herself, humming with pleasure. It was cozy and peaceful here, in a way that always made her feel both at ease and restless--in a way she didn't know if she'd ever get used to.

Slipping out of bed, she dresses quickly in a simple, pale--bordering lime-- green gown that hugs her curves nicely and flows airily around her hips, perfect for the warmth of the morning, before padding softly across the wooden floor down the hall. The grand, sweeping staircase awaited her, sunlight spilling over the banister as she made her way down to the kitchen, where the promise of fresh bread and pastries beckoned her to start the day.

She smiles brightly and thanks Griffin, one of the cooks, as she nabs a slice of blueberry bread and wanders out to the garden, taking in the lightness of the clear day.

Today. Today is the day she saves her soul nephew; takes him home where he belongs. Today is the day she becomes...becomes a mother.

Gods, a mother.

Her nerves rush though her and she chews her food slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. And Tamlin...

She shakes her head, unable to stop the giddy laughter from escaping her as she waits for him.

Her husband. What a thought. Fake husband, obviously, but still. The idea is both absurd and exhilarating. Despite herself, it spreads a warmth through her, flushing her cheeks.

A familiar hum of power seems to surround her then, making the hair on her neck and arms stand on end. Tamlin. He's arrived for the journey across the wall.

She wonders what it will be like to be human again, even for a short time. If it will feel wholly different, or like becoming her true self again.

Turning toward the pulse of magic, she smiles brightly to greet him. "Good morning!", she chirps excitedly.

She lightly tosses her sheet of onyx hair behind her, freckles seeming to dance on her nose as the sun lights up her eyes, making them a paler blue than usual.

Questions — where he didn’t have to talk. Tamlin tilted his head and offered to share his cloak as Briar lay down next to him. She looked cold. He would have usually been more prepared and made sure the camp supplies which he’d taken for the night had been prepared for the weather, but venturing out on his own with her hadn’t been easy. Doubtless, by the time they reached Spring again, rumors would again be circulating. Anytime he did anything with a young female, people began to talk. He never caught a break. Hopefully, Briar could withstand the questions and doubts of his curious court.

Tamlin listened and his light first transformed into a duck. His eyes lit up, cautiously, as he shared these private things with her. Would she like them? Would she tell the world? Could he trust her?

The duck flashed away and a scene of beavers playing and diving around a pond and dam slowly filled the space between his hands. As he conducted the small beams of light back and forth, the playful splash of water echoed and the call of birds rang through the air around them. He used one slender hand like an easel, to support the floating image, and the other like a brush to continue painting colors into the sky.

After a moment, the laughter of a small child rushed around them as a little boy ran into the picture, like a painting come to life, and he carried forward the image of the Lake House that he’d often stayed in with his mother as a child.

He wiped the image away with his right hand and it disappeared like smoke. A much more colorful, clear picture of vanilla ice cream with honey and wild blueberries popped into view. Despite the haze around him, the corner of his mouth inched up ever so slightly before everything disappeared.

Treacherous | Tamlin & Briar @thehighlordofspring

"Tamlin, wait--", she calls out softly as he heads toward his tent. She scrambles to her feet and rubs her arms a bit, picking up her cloak from where it fell on the ground.

"I don't ever want you to blame yourself for what happened to me. Lilly and me and the rest of The Blessed...we planned that trek. We went in the middle of the night. We climbed up the wall. It was our own actions that got us spotted by Hybern. Campfires and laughter...joy. We foolishly made ourselves targets. Regardless of anything happening on your side. He took us. He jailed us. He tortured us. And he used the Cauldron and killed us. Not you."

Taking a few steps closer, she raises her chin to meet his gaze. "You had nothing to do with that. You are a protector and a leader, and you would never let that happen to anyone if you could prevent it. When I was the last one left, shaking in that cell from shock and blood loss...you didn't walk by." She swallows hard. "You didn't...gawk or enjoy the sight of my pain or my ripped scraps of clothing. He could have killed you if he found out you were a plant and not an ally. And you still risked taking away my pain. So I don't ever want to hear you blaming yourself for what I went through. Okay? Promise me."

She holds his gaze, unwaveringly. "You did not condemn me. You are my savior. And one day...perhaps my friend. I didn't really have any stock in being human either. Both ways...my mom and my friends are dead. Lilly is dead", she says quietly. "Sometimes I wonder if I leaned on her too much in my grief when I lost my mother. She became my next everything, her and Caedin when he was born. I even helped deliver him, actually. And even though we had other friends...we were the closest. Like sisters, as I mentioned. Family by choice, not blood."

She sighs sadly. "I suppose now I have an eternity to maybe befriend others and attempt to try and live with myself. Being the one that lived, when she should be here to raise her son...the way he lost them both...", her throat bobs. "I'll make sure he has everything and knows about her...how much she loved him and wanted this amazing life for him. And I-I'll give him that. However I can. At least, if I can make it through the night here."

Her eyes shutter. "Hybern snatched us in our tents. In the forest. At night. So I... I'm having a really hard time right now. My brain knows he's dead. Obviously. But my body and my magic doesnt get the message that I'm safe, so...it's in total breakdown mode," she scoffs as she tries to hold back tears. "I will do my very best to stay quiet for you. So at least one of us can sleep."

Is there something the matter with her? Tamlin narrowed his eyes as his gesture was refused in favor of more guilt tripping over her needs and his reluctances. Or is there something the matter with me? Probably, it was both.

It was fair to say that the they were dancing on a trip wire. One thing could go wrong and it set them back seven steps, when they’d only made three to start. He swallowed the remedy and paced around the permitter for a bit, running his claws against the tree trunks, before stumbling back to the tent in a dazed stupor. As he did, he forgot to spell the chamber silent, as he always did when traveling. Hearing someone screaming in the woods was a sure fire way to draw attention to their presence, whether it was positive or negative.

In his exhaustion, Tamlin pawed at his saddle bags, withdrawing a small stuffed bear which he’d had since childhood.

Did I tie the drapes? He wondered, as he drifted into unconsciousness.

A blood curdling scream echoed through the trees, startling the High Lord from his sleep. He sat up in the dark, panting, and desperately trying to calm the racing of his heart. He drew his knife, looking around for the source of the sound, only to find terror lodged in the back of his own throat.

Footsteps — outside the tent.

Tamlin squeezed the handle of the knife in one hand and the bear, beneath his blanket. Where am I? What happened?

Treacherous | Tamlin & Briar @thehighlordofspring

"Tamlin, wait--", she calls out softly as he heads toward his tent. She scrambles to her feet and rubs her arms a bit, picking up her cloak from where it fell on the ground.

"I don't ever want you to blame yourself for what happened to me. Lilly and me and the rest of The Blessed...we planned that trek. We went in the middle of the night. We climbed up the wall. It was our own actions that got us spotted by Hybern. Campfires and laughter...joy. We foolishly made ourselves targets. Regardless of anything happening on your side. He took us. He jailed us. He tortured us. And he used the Cauldron and killed us. Not you."

Taking a few steps closer, she raises her chin to meet his gaze. "You had nothing to do with that. You are a protector and a leader, and you would never let that happen to anyone if you could prevent it. When I was the last one left, shaking in that cell from shock and blood loss...you didn't walk by." She swallows hard. "You didn't...gawk or enjoy the sight of my pain or my ripped scraps of clothing. He could have killed you if he found out you were a plant and not an ally. And you still risked taking away my pain. So I don't ever want to hear you blaming yourself for what I went through. Okay? Promise me."

She holds his gaze, unwaveringly. "You did not condemn me. You are my savior. And one day...perhaps my friend. I didn't really have any stock in being human either. Both ways...my mom and my friends are dead. Lilly is dead", she says quietly. "Sometimes I wonder if I leaned on her too much in my grief when I lost my mother. She became my next everything, her and Caedin when he was born. I even helped deliver him, actually. And even though we had other friends...we were the closest. Like sisters, as I mentioned. Family by choice, not blood."

She sighs sadly. "I suppose now I have an eternity to maybe befriend others and attempt to try and live with myself. Being the one that lived, when she should be here to raise her son...the way he lost them both...", her throat bobs. "I'll make sure he has everything and knows about her...how much she loved him and wanted this amazing life for him. And I-I'll give him that. However I can. At least, if I can make it through the night here."

Her eyes shutter. "Hybern snatched us in our tents. In the forest. At night. So I... I'm having a really hard time right now. My brain knows he's dead. Obviously. But my body and my magic doesnt get the message that I'm safe, so...it's in total breakdown mode," she scoffs as she tries to hold back tears. "I will do my very best to stay quiet for you. So at least one of us can sleep."

Tamlin tried desperately to anchor himself to the present moment as the terrible dreams of everyone he loved being ripped from his arms emerged from his slumber to stab his heart once again. His shoulders shook in a cold sweat and the haze of sleep lingered over his muscular form, keeping him halfway inside the moment of Eiley’s death. His hands were slick with sweat and he stared down at them in horror, trying to mitigate the flashing images of blood flowing across his palms.

Briar ducked into his tent and Tamlin did not respond right away. His wide eyes stared into the open darkness as he began to hyperventilate. Brown hair, light eyes — he shoved the knife aside, pounding his head into his fists. “Dead. Dead. Dead! You are dead!”

Tamlin inched away, clearly both drawn towards and frightened of her presence. He squeezed his arms around his limbs, going utterly still. His muscles twitched with the energy that flooded them, but his willpower met adrenaline and he refused to look weak.

Treacherous | Tamlin & Briar @thehighlordofspring

"Tamlin, wait--", she calls out softly as he heads toward his tent. She scrambles to her feet and rubs her arms a bit, picking up her cloak from where it fell on the ground.

"I don't ever want you to blame yourself for what happened to me. Lilly and me and the rest of The Blessed...we planned that trek. We went in the middle of the night. We climbed up the wall. It was our own actions that got us spotted by Hybern. Campfires and laughter...joy. We foolishly made ourselves targets. Regardless of anything happening on your side. He took us. He jailed us. He tortured us. And he used the Cauldron and killed us. Not you."

Taking a few steps closer, she raises her chin to meet his gaze. "You had nothing to do with that. You are a protector and a leader, and you would never let that happen to anyone if you could prevent it. When I was the last one left, shaking in that cell from shock and blood loss...you didn't walk by." She swallows hard. "You didn't...gawk or enjoy the sight of my pain or my ripped scraps of clothing. He could have killed you if he found out you were a plant and not an ally. And you still risked taking away my pain. So I don't ever want to hear you blaming yourself for what I went through. Okay? Promise me."

She holds his gaze, unwaveringly. "You did not condemn me. You are my savior. And one day...perhaps my friend. I didn't really have any stock in being human either. Both ways...my mom and my friends are dead. Lilly is dead", she says quietly. "Sometimes I wonder if I leaned on her too much in my grief when I lost my mother. She became my next everything, her and Caedin when he was born. I even helped deliver him, actually. And even though we had other friends...we were the closest. Like sisters, as I mentioned. Family by choice, not blood."

She sighs sadly. "I suppose now I have an eternity to maybe befriend others and attempt to try and live with myself. Being the one that lived, when she should be here to raise her son...the way he lost them both...", her throat bobs. "I'll make sure he has everything and knows about her...how much she loved him and wanted this amazing life for him. And I-I'll give him that. However I can. At least, if I can make it through the night here."

Her eyes shutter. "Hybern snatched us in our tents. In the forest. At night. So I... I'm having a really hard time right now. My brain knows he's dead. Obviously. But my body and my magic doesnt get the message that I'm safe, so...it's in total breakdown mode," she scoffs as she tries to hold back tears. "I will do my very best to stay quiet for you. So at least one of us can sleep."