Meryn shuddered. "Amen."
Oron pulled his hand from her grasp and looked over to Micah. "If you would?"
Micah stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. He said something she couldn't quite understand, then was done. "There, you should be safe now."
Izzy raised her arm to her nose. "I don't smell anything."
Micah grinned. "It's a spell, not a chemical."
"So, I'm like bug proof now?"
Everyone nodded.
"Okay, being bug proof may just make all this craziness worth it."
Oron gave her a sardonic look. "Is that the only thing?"
She smiled sweetly. "So far."
"Have fun," Amelia said happily.
Oron stood and held out his hand to her. "Shall we?"
"Yes, but remember, the short one needs me in her life," she said, pointing to Meryn. "And she likes to electrocute people," she warned.
Oron grinned. "Trust me, I know."
Hand in hand, he led her outside.
I really hope he isn't a psycho killer, he's hot, and it would be such a shame if Meryn had to kill him.
*****
Oron didn't waste a single moment after they began walking to reclaim her hand. She had to admit, it felt nice. His hand was warm without being sweaty and he seemed to exude safety. Despite having only known him a couple hours, she felt completely at ease with him, as if she knew he'd do anything to keep her from harm.
"What did Ryuu mean when he said he'd arrange for supplies for our next destination?" she asked, after a few minutes.
"I wondered if you had caught that," Oron stopped and turned to stand in front of her. "Remember me telling you that Darian and I were fae?" She nodded. "Our next destination is Éire Danu, the Land of Eternal Sun and home to my people."
"Why do I think that it's not as simple as hopping in the car and heading down the road?" she asked.
He winced. "Because it's not. After the Great War, our queen saw the devastation our people were experiencing by losing their human friends and neighbors. The people back then were as close to the earth as we are and they were like curious children to us, but so susceptible to age, death and disease. To keep her people's hearts from breaking, our queen moved the entire city of the fae into a different realm, a sort of pocket existence parallel to this one. It can only be reached via a portal, and a portal can only be opened by the fae."
Izzy began to get excited. "A new realm and a fae queen! How cool is that!" They began walking again, ambling along the path.
When they reached a small clearing with a downed tree Oron led her over to it. He removed his jacket creating a cushion for her and had her sit.
"Thank you," she said, before sitting down and getting comfortable.
He simply sat directly on the ground. Even with her sitting above him on the tree he was still taller than she was. She watched his face, he seemed to be struggling with something.
"What?" she asked.
He looked up, surprised. "What?"
"Either you're constipated or you're trying to figure out how to tell me something awful, I kinda hope it's neither."
He blinked, then began to grin wryly. "It's the latter I'm afraid. There are things I must tell you about me before we return to Éire Danu, people may treat you differently being my mate."