And her name is…

I can feel it, like the tug on a corner of a spiders web, it’s there. The sentries I left active on the human side of the mountain are moving. They haven’t moved in years, not since they accomplished their first mission over six years ago. They’re slow now with age, but they won’t give up. They will follow her trail and I will follow them.

I settle my tab at the bar and go upstairs to gather my things. It’s not like I was doing anything important here, nothing more important than this anyway. When I enter my room I look around the room at all my random shit. I’ve been in this town too long, and I got comfortable. Running my hand through my thick curly hair I sigh at the state of it.

I bring one of my curls in front of my face. The ends are a bright orange that gradually get lighter as they near my scalp but the hair there is brown. My curls are a little more chaotic that usual. A make slight change of the plan in my head and I move toward the bathroom first. If I shower before I pack I can dry the curls properly in the time it’ll take to get everything together. I’m so excited that I find myself dancing in the shower to a song that only exists in my head. Still I hum it out loud and keep the words to myself.

I haven’t been this excited since I first got word that my girl was on the move. I have eyes and ears everywhere, and when I heard about all the dying plants and animals I knew it had to be her. Nothing infects wild life in patches like that. The patches seemed to move along through Helion’s kingdom but when I checked it out her scent appeared in the middle of the dead area and then disappeared. She must be teleporting around to throw off someone tracking her. My girl is so smart. It is a shame though, because it’s thrown me off until now. I won’t let her get away this time.

A knock on my door had me using my magic to open it. I refuse to waste any packing time to check who it is and only a complete moron would trying to go toe to toe with me. My reputation definitely proceeds me.

“Yes?” I say in my typical singsong way.

Always looking so cheerful has always come so naturally to me, but it makes my anger more pungent. I have served as the head of my countries military since I was 23, and for us that is exceptionally young to even join the military. I was trained very young at all things combat when my parents realized magic was going to be harder to get into my thick head than anything directly physical. By the time I turned 13 I was told about a prophecy that would involve me and another child. She would be the dark to my light, and my life would be hard because hers would be easy, but she would be weak so I needed to be strong where she wasn’t. Her skills with magic though… they would be incredible. I was strangely okay with everything, not wanting her to go through any of the atrocities I had already witnessed in the world by then, especially if she was so fragile.

I glance at the door and see Luce smirking at me. “When you weren’t in the pub by two I figured you were going or gone. You’re really off then?”

I nod, grinning over my shoulder at her. She knew we weren’t anything but temporary when I stopped over here. Still, I can see a little sadness in his eyes behind her broad smile. I’m not going to bother addressing it. I’m already farther West than I would like from where my sentries picked her up.Why the fuck did she go back therenow?

“My sentries had eyes on her but she took of soon after. I’ve got to find her before the trail goes cold.” I fold and roll all my clothes, stacking them like pens in a cup in my bag so I can find everything fast.

They’ll follow her as long as they can but I’ll need to catch up to them to figure out what they saw or heard from her. I don’t think she was told about me like I was her, and walking into her home like that… it must have been a shock. My smile dips a little to think that I caused her pain before even meeting her, but I bring it back and remind myself that I can get her forgiveness. She will be mine, and I will do anything to have her.

“If she’s running away from them, why even bother?” Luce mutters. “She clearly doesn’t appreciate you.”

I let her remark slide off me back. “She doesn’t know me yet. She’ll learn to love me.”

I heard Luce swallow hard as she watches me. “Can I pack you some food?”

Her voice comes out like she’s talking around a plum lodged in her throat. It’s honestly difficult to keep from rolling my eyes. Instead I moved to the bathroom and hang my wet towels to swipe the dry ones for my travel. I start collecting my bathroom products when I realized I haven’t even bothered responding to Luce. She takes two steps into my room and I don’t want her any further.

“That’d be great Lucinda, thank you.”

“Lucinda?” Her voice breaks on the word and I hear her sniffle hard. “Not baby, or evenLuceanymore?”

I sigh now, dropping my shoulders to go deal with her. “You knew what this was, I’ve always been upfront with you.” I smile, I’m always smiling, and bring her in to kiss her lips gently, not like last night. She needs to know this is the end. “I’ll be gone in an hour.”

She tries to linger in the kiss but I’m already returning to the bathroom to finish packing.

“I’ll…. I’ll have the kitchen make you up something,” she says instead and I’m glad she’s getting it.

“Thank you.”

My bag is packed in twenty minutes and then I’m changing into something different and easier to shift from. Horses need to rest more often than I do and if she starts teleporting when she crosses the mountains I’ll lose her again. Downstairs Luce has a bundle of food on the counter for me, and she hesitates putting it down but then does and scurries off. I sigh a bit in relief that I don’t need to deal with her water works again. I didn’t expect her to get emotional or I never would have started hooking up with her when I stopped here. I grab the food on my way out and trek into the woods for a while before shifting. Despite everything I’ve accomplished, people would still freak out to figure out I’m half Orthoirian. I sling my bag across my form and then take off as fast as I can. I still feel my excited buzzing under my skin like a nest of locusts. I’m going to find my Lady Death soon, and I’ll kill anyone or anything that comes between us.

Not even death will separate us. She belongs with me.