It's in the Blood - Raelynn Pt. 04

His hands were on my waist, now guiding me down. It's just a ladder Lark... I made it to the end. I know how to touch my feet to the floor all on my own! Can I even complain that someone is too chivalrous? Kinda just makes a girl sound ungrateful. We had one more staircase to go down, and then we would finally be in the main room. I think Lark said it's about fifty-two meters high. Not too terrible. If you are used to the activity, that is, and not afraid of heights. This staircase was spiraled and old. The metal creaked in some places as I pressed my weight down. There were a lot of places on this staircase that had already been repaired or replaced. Honestly, they should just replace the whole damn thing. I'm surprised the place is still open after centuries.

The floor of the big room is littered with huge blocks that, over time, had collapsed from somewhere above. The idea of one of them falling on my head unpleasantly flew into my mind, and I quickly pushed it away. No thanks! Many of them were mixed with this reddish clay soil. Terra Rosa, I think I heard him say. Freaking nerd. He'd said several small passages were underneath us and offered to take me. I politely declined. I'm not trying to get lost in some secret, never-used passage where no one will even be able to discover our remains. Nope. I'm good! Not that I don't trust Lark and his abilities; it's the tight spaces. He told me once that there are a lot of places you need to belly crawl through. Gives me a sick feeling in my guts just thinking about it.

My stomach started turning the further we descended. The thing was shaky, to say the least. No matter how many times I'd been down these stairs with him, it never got easier. Heights really weren't my thing. Ironic, seeing as I have Fae blood. So glad I didn't get wings, although it was never likely I'd inherit them. That trait doesn't poke itself out too often. I'm talking like generations. I've only met two people with them. No big deal to me. They'd be a useless annoyance at best.

I slipped and almost tumbled down the last few steps, but Lark caught me. Unfortunately, he was not as graceful as he expected himself to be and nearly fell with me instead. Luckily, he was able to grab hold of the rail in time. "Thanks, Lanky Lark! As smooth as ever, I see." My shot at grade school humor faded when I noticed him holding his hand up to the light. "You all right, Boss?"

To this, he snorted, "Says the chick who just tripped! I love how you moved from insulting me to my becoming your superior in two seconds. You know as well as I do that I'm the graceful one. And as for skinny..." He stripped off his hoody to expose his severely fitted t-shirt and started to flex in different poses.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I said Lanky! Not skinny. They are different, you know? And where do you find your clothes? The infant and toddler sections?" I raised a brow at him, and his immediately furrowed.

There was a definite frown slowly forming on his face. "You're just jealous. Jealous because I'm so ripped and sexy." His brazen smile returned, and he wiggled his eyebrows at me. I just rolled my eyes again. "Nah, but really, I'm fine. Couple scrapes. No sweat, little blood, no tears. Nothing a band-aid or two won't fix."

Yeah. So, he's got a great body! I was pretty jealous, though. My body required me to work out to maintain my tight figure, unlike his lazy ass. Hard work, it is too! Meanwhile, this guy can sit on the couch all day watching TV, stuffing his face for weeks, and will not gain a pound or ounce in fat. I so much as look at some carbs and already the ounces start piling on. Jealous was an understatement! So, I left it at that. Wasn't going to respond. What is there to say? It was all factual.

He began to unpack, and I got settled on a nice big, flat rock. Another one was pushed right up against the back of it, making it a great seat. It was my favorite spot. Someone had made what looked like a campfire but without the campfire. Large rocks were arranged in a circle, and smaller rocks were in a circle at its center. I pulled the book back out of my bag and began to thumb through it again. Full of so many stories gathered over time. How many times over the centuries has it been edited? Added to or things removed from. Probably dozens. I checked and double-checked again, but no. No other Latin had been written anywhere in the damn thing.

The story with the Latin was one of my favorites. I wonder if it was one of Larks, too. Then it might make more sense why this one is different. A little, anyway. The story was called ***. It was about this young princess and prince who were meant to marry. They were in complete and total love. Gifted Mates and all that. After they get married and become the King and Queen, they try for many years to have a child. To produce an heir to reign after they have passed. Eventually, after many years with no luck, they went to see their Dr and found out that they could not have children. At this news, the King went and secluded himself. Locking himself away, he roared and howled in pain for a very long time. How could the goddess do this to him? To them? They needed an heir, or all would be lost. Everything they've built would be left to ruin without their legacy to reign--a great fear for a royal father. After many nights of pain and agony, a creature appeared from the shadows. Having heard his plea to heal him and his wife, the creature offered a trade. A healthy womb and seed guaranteed to produce offspring in exchange for their firstborn child.

After deliberation with his wife, they both chose to accept the deal. They were blessed with a beautiful baby boy. First born son of the King. Well, as you can imagine, a bunch of drama later, and they tried to back out of the deal. They told the creature that they would not give up their child. That they could not, and the creature was evil for even asking such a thing in return. Especially daring to ask such a thing of the King. Some fighting ensued. They then were allied with a powerful siren. They contained the creature by putting it to sleep with a song and locked it away with the help of other powerful allies, where it could never be found again. Before being put to sleep, though, it warns the King and Queen by reminding them that there is always a price to pay and that sleep or no sleep, they will pay that price. Surprise! They ended up losing their son anyway.

That was their price, and they paid it regardless. Having gone back on their deal, the Queen could not produce any more children after their son. Their legacy died with them, and their kingdom withered into nothingness. A Forgotten blip in time. The story warns that one day, the creature will be awakened. It warns us to choose words and accept deals wisely, for you never know when it will show itself. It would be lurking in the shadows, waiting for your most vulnerable moment. It was a pretty dark story, sure, but they all were. The random Latin, though? I was sure this story originated in old Old English, but I could be wrong. I kept getting the feeling that I was missing something, though, as if my gut was trying to tell me something.

I was distracted from my thoughts when I heard Lark pop the caps on a beer and a cooler and handed me the cooler. He had set up a blanket on the ground with some snacks and drinks. He brought his music player, which I now noticed was on and playing the current hit list. I prefer the classics myself. Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat are just two. They called it "rap" and "pop" back then. Music today is nothing like it. Bland. This shit turned me on. It really put me in the mood. Whichever mood I wanted at the time. The devices available to play these files were hard to find, too. He can always find the good stuff. He just has a naturally keen eye for it.

I smiled at him as I sprawled out on the blanket he laid out, "C'mon, come sit with me. We've only got about forty more minutes until our birthday!" I checked my watch. It was currently October the thirtieth at approximately eleven twenty-one p.m.

I grabbed his hand and eagerly pulled him down on the blanket with me. We sat and talked for a bit. I was still nervous, and I could tell he was too. He was trying to act normal and keep the mood light, though, and I appreciated that. Honestly though. I don't like to wait for much. I needed to do this and get it over with. I might as well try my best to enjoy it as well. Slowly, while we were talking, I inch closer until we were arm to arm. He pulled away almost instantly and cleared his throat. I placed my hand on his thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze.

He scooched away from me and met my eyes. Although I did try to hide it, disappointment was etched on my face. Crap. I didn't want to make him feel bad. I shimmied over to my bag, pulled out another pint of tequila and a de-coke, and smiled up at him. "What? All business?" I furrowed my brow at him, "You want to hang out first? You're trying to skip the foreplay..." I gasped, "Lark, I thought you were a true gentleman!" I placed my hand on my chest and plastered a look of shock and horror on my face.

Didn't fool him one bit, "Listen here, Ryn..." Here we go! I took a shot as he continued, "First, you fucking know I am a gentleman." I rolled my eyes. Yes, all gentlemen curse like a sailor. "And second of all!" he held up his finger indignantly, then paused momentarily. He exaggeratedly sighed as he let his hand fall back down. "All right, hand it over." He scooted back over, closing the gap between us. I passed it to him, and he took a few swigs, again, ignoring the chaser I had brought.