Allie POV
Josh and I wandered a little closer, but still kept our distance, taking it all in. Two creatures about waist height carried torches and lanterns, and hammered them into the ground in a circle. Music played and fae sang and danced merrily with one another.
A path cleared, and a tall, thin woman stepped forward. She was dressed in a white robe embroidered with gold floral details, and carried herself with poise and dignity. There was no doubt in my mind this was the Ivory Queen.
Her white-blonde hair fell to her shoulders, and her face showed kindness and wisdom. But there was also sadness behind her eyes. It must be terrible to see your people suffer hardships. It was something I hoped to never experience as Alpha.
Allie POVThere it was. The catch I’d been waiting for.I shot Josh a hard look, silently begging him to keep quiet until we’d heard all the details. For all we knew, her task could be to overthrow the Obsidian King ourselves.“Yes, of course. Name it,” Josh hurriedly agreed.I couldn’t help the groan that escaped me. We were locked in now. The fae never reneged on a deal. And as nice as the Ivory Court seemed, I knew they could turn on us just as quickly if they thought we were the enemy.“You do not wish to accept my deal?” asked the Ivory Queen, fixing me with a stern look.“It’s not that. I just would have prefe
Josh POVThe sound of chirping birds woke me, and I reluctantly sat up and stretched in the morning light. With the way time worked in this place, I wasn’t sure whether it had just been a really short night, or the fact I’d lay awake worrying about Allie, that had me feeling so groggy.She’d taken me by surprise when she told me she’d sleep alone. I’d seen her fear at Olive’s and thought I’d been able to help her. But maybe that was all in my head, because the first chance she got to split up, she took it.I called out to Connie, the dryad of the tree I was staying in, and she lowered the branches. I’d never get over how cool it was, the way the tree obeyed her command. Aspen was standing next to Connie as I greeted them both. I looked up at Aspen’s tree.
Allie POVI should have known our conversation about school would end like that. Josh’s life had been completely different to mine in just about every way. He was one of those people who could be friends with anyone, and everyone probably wanted to be his friend, too. Of course he would enjoy the social aspect of school more than anything else. I didn’t want to think about it anymore.A familiar-looking lake came into view ahead of us, and I realised where we were. Olive’s tree was just up ahead. I felt a small jolt of excitement and raced over. Olive heard me coming and spun around with the widest, most genuine smile I think I’d ever seen, plastered to her face.“Oh, my darlings!” she said, embracing me warmly and smiling over my shoulder at Josh. As he got closer, she opened an
Allie POVToday had been the longest day we’d experienced so far, in terms of time. We’d covered good ground once I’d taken over navigation. We were just descending into a valley when I heard a familiar little giggle, and both of us turned our heads to find her.“You!” barked Josh, pointing his finger at Poppy the pixie.She smiled brightly and giggled again, fluttering in front of us.“You tricked us!” Josh continued.“You’re very dramatic today,” she replied lightly. “I was just having fun.”“Fun? Why you little…” Josh shot his hand out, lunging for the flying little pixie in the blue irid
Josh POV I couldn’t get Allie out of my head. She’d fallen asleep a while ago, and I shamelessly watched the rise and fall of her chest and the cute little way she pouted her lips in her sleep. I could have used a nap too, but every time I closed my eyes I saw the way her wet underwear had clung to her as she exited the lake. Her nipples had been hard and pointed through the fabric–just like a certain part of my own anatomy. I heard her move next to me, but wasn’t sure whether I should look. I didn’t want to be too obvious. She’d been sneaking looks at me when she thought I wasn’t watching and I’d been doing the same to her. She moved again and I couldn’t help it. I opened an eye and found her rolled on her side, watching me. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake
Josh POV “Sorry, Tatiana, you can’t come with us,” I stated, taking a few steps closer to Allie. Tatiana pouted and started crying loudly, cuddling her head against my chest as she sobbed. She looked broken-hearted and I felt terrible. I didn’t want to be with her, but I couldn’t just leave her in a state like this. I stroked her back gently, trying to calm her, then noticed Allie. Over the course of the day, I felt like I’d finally broken through to her. She’d forgiven me for my stuff ups, and she’d loosened up and had fun at the berry patch–I was sure she’d never done anything like that before. She was warming to me. But now, her expression had changed, and her features had hardened. Her guard was back up, the one I’d worked so hard to get her to lower.
Allie POVTatiana woke me a few times during the night, bumping into me as she draped herself all over Josh. Each time I glared at her, she’d scowl back with equal intensity. She didn’t like me and I didn’t like her, but the level of frustration I felt with her confused me.I’d used my Alpha tone for the first time. In all the years of my father treating me like a disappointment, and then watching the way he controlled Mum, I’d never come close to using it. It felt wrong that what angered me enough to evoke that tone, was a water nymph falling for Josh.It made no sense. Josh meant nothing to me. He was my guard, and he was unfortunate enough to be stuck with me. Yes, he was a good person–and an incredible specimen of the male form–but I shouldn’t feel any kind o
Allie POV Josh laughed, and we headed for the rocky path that led up and around the mountain. It didn’t take long for my legs to burn thanks to the constant incline. Even Josh had worked up a sweat. “As much as it pains me–physically–to say this, we need to move faster,” he said, looking at the sky. “It looks like there’s a storm coming, and these paths are slippery enough without rain and possibly wind to deal with.” I reluctantly realised he was right. We increased our speed, and I began to wonder whether we should just abandon the mission and take our chances making our own way out of the Jade Willow Forest. Surely I was only increasing my chances of dying by trekking up this mountain. My heart thumped violently in my chest, my lungs burned, and my legs ache