The Untold Forest by Elisa Menz (web ebook reader txt) 📗

on. His long eyelashes caressed his high cheekbones, emphasizing his elegantly straight nose. His thick, sensual lips complimented his glorious face perfectly.

Long locks adorned his head, falling in careless perfection over his broad chest. His hair was pitch black, with the same bluish features as his mane. And his eyes.

Maeve didn’t understand how she managed to stand still under his disarming stare. Beautiful, bottomless black eyes, filled with a faint, deep light resembling stars. Like looking at a moonless night sky.

His entire body glowed. The sheer power emanating from him made her realize she was standing in front of some sort of divinity.

“Astika.” The authority and dominance in his deep voice made her falter. In front of her, the naga twitched.

“Ugh... I believe we agreed not to compete in matters of the heart anymore, my lord.”

The otherworldly man smirked. “This is different. In your palace, you can enjoy the company of 396 brides who are more than happy to warm your bed. I require these two girls in particular.”

Things were rapidly spiraling out of control. Maeve trusted she could manage the snake-man, but this new captor wouldn’t be so easy to escape. “No! You took my redhead mermaid last season. I’m keeping this blonde beauty for myself!” Pouting, Astika moved to pick her off the ground.

“Naga!” If the frown on the stag’s face was not enough to make him oblige, the thunderous voice certainly convinced him. Maeve could swear the walls of the cave trembled under the power of his voice. The naga let her go and quickly scampered out of the cave, grumbling to himself.

Before taking her chance to escape, the stag closed in on her. “You need not fear, Maeve, I mean no harm.” He smiled, talking with a soothing tone. “You can trust me. My sister suggested seeking you.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m fairly sure I haven’t met your sister. I think I will remember,” she said, looking up and down at him.

The stag chuckled, the most endearing laugh.

Focus, Maeve! You need to escape. No time to revel in his laughter. She needed to go back to Hakken and the others.

“We do not resemble much, I must concede.” He extended a huge hand to her. “Perhaps I might convince you some other way.”

Maeve hesitated, but the stag leaned over, motioning for her to take his hand. “I beg you to trust me. This will free us from any misunderstanding.” She begrudgingly placed her palm in his, and the emotions crashing on her were sudden and overwhelming. An immeasurable pool of knowledge, experience, and feelings coursing through thousands of years, beyond the beginning of time itself.

Even though her head was spinning, she sensed the strong resemblance to another being she had recently encountered.

“The Tree. Your sister is... the Tree?”

“Precisely, my darling. We chose to adopt different appearances to suit our desires and needs. We perceive our own little world from different perspectives.”

She took deep breaths, parting from the stag, and holding a hand to her chest, not sure how to feel about this new knowledge. “You two are most unusual.” How many of those uncanny creatures would she come across? How come such almighty beings roamed around in the Forest? She felt incredibly insignificant after encountering these siblings, but there was no point dwelling on these thoughts. Escaping was out of the question, so she would need to convince him to let her go. Still, his last words echoed in her mind. “I’m sorry, you said... ‘your own little world’?”

He nodded with leniency. “We created it, after all. It’s fair to say it is ours.”

Maeve rubbed her temples, fearing the new headache beginning to form. “The Ancients created the world.”

From his height, the stag gave her a seductive smile. “You are correct, Maeve. I knew you were a smart one.”

CHAPTER XXIX

GODS AND BLOODY NOSES

Maeve

Time seemed to stop after hearing those words. An Ancient stood in front of her? Maeve considered laughing at him, asking for evidence, angrily accusing him of trying to trick her. But why fight it? After sensing his immense power when she touched him, Maeve was certain beyond any doubt he wasn’t a common creature. “All right,” she said, “what should I call you, sir?”

The stag blinked, visibly shocked. “That’s it? You simply believed me? ‘What should I call you, sir?’ Is that all you have to say?” The look of bewilderment on his face was hilarious, considering he was a god.

Exhausted and annoyed for having to explain herself, Maeve shrugged. “Yes, I do. I mean, after what I’ve seen this past three months, you are likely to be one of the Ancients. Now, can you please let me go so I can find my friends?”

He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. His voice boomed in the cave once more. “I promise you, young one, I will make sure I reunite you with those you seek. But first, I need your aid.”

He then turned to the half-breed woman, safely bound. Her eyes glowed with fear, mixed with that inexplicable anger.

“Do you recognize it, Maeve? Her battle?” Maeve stood next to him, both facing the woman. “She is possessed and subdued by a cruel force, but spite her fear, she fights with all her strength.”

Maeve reached with her magic, trying to find and unravel the emotions swirling in the young woman. The silent plea for help tugged at her mind, a desperate cry gripping her heart. “How can we help her?”

“My sister told me about your magic. You can sense other’s emotions and transmit your own through touch.”

“That is correct,” Maeve nodded, “but I haven’t practiced much, and I don’t know how this can help her.”

“The dust corrupts her emotions. That anger, that aggressiveness, is not her own. She is struggling to be free of those, to be free of the red dust. You can help her.”

“How?” Maeve cast a hopeful glance at him. “Tell me what to do.”

He leaned towards her and took her hand in his. “She knows what she needs, she wants to be free.