“Don’t worry. I’m leading us to shelter.”
“Shelter?”
“You’ll see.” He grinned again.
I finally looked around. Right behind me was what appeared to be the mouth of a cave. “Are we going in there?”
“Yes. It’s much cooler inside.” He put a hand on my back.
I tentatively stepped forward, only willing to enter because of Levi’s hand.
The woods seemed brightly lit compared to the complete darkness engulfing us inside the cave. I stopped moving.
“It’s just a little further.”
“Levi, I’m scared.” I can count on my hands the number of times I’ve admitted that to someone.
“Don’t be,” he whispered in my ear as he moved us forward.
“I’ll be right back.” He pulled his t-shirt and sweater back on over his head. I’d assumed he was taking me inside for one reason, but maybe I’d underestimated his romantic side.
“Levi!” My chest clenched. There was no way he could leave me alone.
I blinked my eyes as the room became illuminated by several kerosene lamps. I say room, because that’s what it was. I wouldn’t have ever believed it was a cave.
“What is this place?” The room was furnished with a simple double bed in one corner, and a table and chairs. For all intents and purposes, it was a house.
“Check this out.” I walked over to where Levi stood pointing up.
“Wow.” I gaped up at what appeared to be a skylight. It provided a perfect view of the night sky. The cave must have opened up beyond the woods. “How’d you find this cave? And are you the one who fixed it up? Why isn’t the rain pouring in? Is there a glass window up there?”
“It’s a bit of a long story. Want to stay awhile?” He gestured to a thick rug near a fireplace I’d missed when I’d been distracted by the skylight. There were logs piled in front of it.
“Will that work?” I wasn’t sure how there could be a fireplace in a cave, but then again I’d never seen a furnished cave before either.
“Absolutely.”
I took a seat on the rug while Levi worked on making a fire. It didn’t take long, and the warmth was almost instant. Combined with the comfortable temperature of the cave already, it was perfect. The rain had picked up outside, and distant thunder made me especially glad to be inside.
“Ready for story time?” He lay down next to me. I followed his lead, laying my head on his chest.
“I can’t remember the first time I found out I was going to be king. It was always just my reality. I knew I was important, and that people went to extra lengths to do things for me.”
“Not too surprising.” I sat up and unbuttoned my coat, tossing it aside.
“I do remember the first time I learned about the significance of me picking a mate.” He took my hand, leading me back down on the rug next to him. “I’d always thought it was the same as with other Pterons. You called the girl you married your mate, but essentially she was just your wife.”
“Just your wife?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Please listen.”
“Okay.”
“When I was fifteen, my dad showed me the ring.” He raised my hand so he could look at the rubies on my finger. “It was just like the ring Mom wore. He explained that if I gave the ring to a girl and made love to her with the right intent; it would bind us permanently—marking her as mine.”
“The right intent?”
“I had to want it.” He placed our entwined hands on his chest.
“So if you hadn’t wanted to be with me forever…”
“Exactly. It wouldn’t have worked.” He played with a few strands of my hair. “I thought it was a joke. Growing up the way I did, I knew a lot of strange things existed, but a magic binding ring? Not so much.” Levi paused for a second before continuing. “I laughed at Dad and told him to get a life.”
“I take it that didn’t go over too well?” I couldn’t imagine how Robert would take getting laughed at.
“Not exactly. He sent me out here to spend the summer. Back then, my great-grandparents were still around, and they lived nearby. Dad said I couldn’t come home until I accepted my position and the importance of finding the right mate.”
“Oh wow, a summer with your grandparents and great-grandparents. It must have been a blast.”
He laughed. “Not quite. Add in that my great-grandmother was considered crazy by some.”
“Crazy?”
“Yeah, she was into magic.”
“Magic?” That was a term he rarely used, and he’d just mentioned it twice. It seemed there was even more to The Society than I imagined.
“She was human, but she had some witch in her bloodlines.”
“Oh…people are born witches?”
“Yes. I mean, some humans try to practice it, but there are born witches. My great-grandfather took a lot of slack for picking her, I’m sure, but I guess he really wanted her.”
I smiled. All these happy couples in Levi’s family. “Okay. Continue.”
“My great-grandma knew why my dad sent me out here, and she told me she knew what I needed to do if I wanted to go home.”
I sat up on an elbow. I was dying to hear more.
“I asked her how, and she just said to trust her. She asked to see my ring, so I gave it to her. Dad insisted I bring it with me. Part of me wanted to throw it in a river, but I knew he’d kill me if I did. She disappeared for a few hours, and when she came back she put the ring in my palm. She’d put it on a thick silver chain and just said, ‘Here, wear this tonight.’ Then she kissed me on the cheek and walked away.”
“Weird…”
He nodded before continuing. “I decided to humor her. I don’t know why, I just did. I went to bed with the ring around my neck.”
I stroked his chest through his gray sweater. “What happened?”
“I had this crazy dream. I was insanely happy with a girl I didn’t know. I couldn’t even see her face, but I knew she was beautiful. The feeling was incredible—it was like life was perfect. There was a scene in the dream—we made love in front of the fire in a cave with a skylight open to the sky—it was picture-perfect. I woke up with this ridiculous desire to find that cave. I just knew it was real. I spent weeks exploring, and then I found it. Of course, I made a few modifications since then.”