De'Vas Chronicles Book 4: Chapter 16

Later that afternoon, Ash stood in the small room that would serve as his makeshift laboratory, and he did mean small. He could take five steps in any direction and arrive at a wall. The place was more of an oversized closet than a room, but it would suit his needs.

Sparky sat on the table that took up most of the far wall next to a window. That was where Ash was setting up the various tools and instruments to hopefully brew potions, or he was trying to at least.

He watched as Sparky batted a metal cup off the table for the second time.

Ash sighed.

“I should have made you a dog instead of a cat,” he growled. “Maybe you would be less trouble.”

Sparky just tilted his head at him, as if the elemental didn’t understand, which was bullshit. Ash glared at the cat before he moved to pick up the metal cup, only to hear footsteps approaching from the hallway.

“I found a mortar,” Selena said as she stepped through the door.

He smiled at the unicorn as he placed the metal cup back on the table, further away from Sparky this time.

“Thanks, Selena,” Ash said, taking the stone bowl and the pestle resting in it.

She walked toward the table, and Sparky raised his head for the incoming head pats from her.

He watched as a sly smile formed on her face as she looked over the table.

“Yeah, it looks like I’m about to make cookies instead of potions,” Ash said, already guessing what Selena was thinking.

She let out a small laugh.

“I didn’t realize you could cook or do alchemy,” she said, turning to smile at him.

Ash looked into Selena’s violet eyes and smiled.

“When I first arrived in District 114, I worked at Lilly’s shop as a delivery boy. I’ve never tried my hand at alchemy, but I’m hoping that what I observed from watching Lilly and my college chemistry class will maybe help me make some simple potions.”

Selena nodded.

“Well, I guess we can always find out if my healing magic works on poison,” she replied.

Ash laughed, and an idea began to form.

“Cooking, I’ve been working on since I lived with Bo. The castle’s kitchen is very different than what I had at the Flatiron, but if you’re up for trying it, I could cook a meal for you tonight?” Ash offered.

Selena’s smile grew, and he noticed her blush slightly.

“I would like that,” she answered.

He heard footsteps approaching from the hallway again and knew they’d soon have company.

“Then it’s a date,” Ash said as he turned to face the door to greet the new arrivals.

Eva walked through carrying a small crate with Grace following behind her.

“Greetings, Warchief,” Eva said, as she moved to place the box on the table.

She froze as she noticed Sparky sitting on it, his tail swishing back and forth as he watched the orc woman. Eva took two quick steps back before Ash moved to take the crate from her and set it on the table.

Eva moved back to the door and cleared her throat.

“The supplies you wanted. Salts, chalk, and several types of herbs. We even found a few glass vials that Mullin’s had stashed away,” Eva said, her gaze still on Sparky.

Ash nodded as he looked over the contents of the crate.

“Thank you, Eva,” he said.

The orc woman saluted and quickly left the room, though he was willing to bet she would stand guard somewhere in the hallway. At least as long as Sparky didn’t come to find her.

“Lady Selena,” Grace said. “One of the scouts injured his leg, and I was wondering if you could heal the wound.”

Selena looked between Ash and the older wolfkin woman before she nodded.

“Of course. Where are they?” she asked.

Grace’s head jerked toward the door.

“They’re in the courtyard,” she answered.

Selena gave Sparky one last pet and Ash a warm smile before she headed for the door.

“I look forward to our date,” she said to him before she stepped through the threshold.

Grace watched her go, a curious look on the older wolfkin’s face. When Selena’s footsteps faded down the hallway, Grace turned to face him.

“Here,” she said, holding out a bundle of plants.

Ash recognized them as he took them from her.

“Stormcallers,” he said, looking back to the wolfkin. “How did you know?”

Grace wore a slight grin.

“Haylee mentioned to me that you had an interest in the plants. She also told me and several scouts to be on the lookout for an elven woman with blue and green eyes,” Grace said, still grinning. “She is very protective of you. You should challenge her and take her as a mate.”

Ash laughed as he set the Stormcallers on the table, Sparky making his way over to investigate them.

“I know how Haylee feels about me, I’ve known for some time. My people do things differently. We take our time and get to know each other, do activities together, which we call dates.”

Ash sighed and looked out the window into the courtyard of the castle.

“Also, I want to take things slow because I miss my other mates. I want mine and Haylee’s connection to be genuine, not just because I feel lonely here,” Ash answered. “Same with Selena.”

Grace tilted her head.

“My mate is right, you are a strange elf. Still, if my daughters were alive, I would wish for them to find a mate like you,” Grace said before turning and heading for the door. “Tomorrow, I can show you where the Behemoth usually stays. Tonight, enjoy your strange ritual called a date.”

Ash shook his head as Grace vanished through the door. He thought it was comical that Blake and Grace thought he was the strange one.

He heard something hit the ground and turned around to see that Sparky had knocked the Stormcallers off the table. The elemental cat stared at where the plants lay on the ground.

“Seriously?” Ash exclaimed.

***

Ash stared up at the night sky over Castle Markal, the stars and moon shining down upon him. None of the familiar constellations that he knew could be found in the night sky, a fact he had finally grown accustomed to. A breeze passed along the ramparts that he was standing on, and he picked up the scent of cooked meat.

“Was the castle’s kitchen that intimidating?” Selena asked.

Ash turned and looked toward the stairs that led up the ramparts. Selena stood there, wearing a violet dress that matched her eyes and looked stunning. Ash was struck silent for a moment, just staring at her. Selena smiled and did a small twirl.

“This is something I’ve been working on to pass the time,” she said. “Do you like it?”

Ash slowly nodded.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, then licked his lips. “You’ve always been, but that dress just highlights your beauty more.”

Selena smiled, and Ash returned it with his own, before scratching the back of his head.

“Though it’s far overdressed for the meal I had planned,” he said. “And yes, the castle kitchen was intimidating. Even when the kitchen cooks tried to explain things to me, I was still lost.”

Ash gestured to the small setup on the ramparts. A table he used to prepare the meal and an iron brazier with red hot coals in it, over which meat and vegetables were cooking on skewers. Nearby was a bed of blankets laid out on the stone floor of the rampart.

“I hope you like kabobs,” Ash said with a nervous smile.

“Kabobs sound wonderful. I wore the dress more for the company than the type of food,” she said.

Ash smiled and gestured to the pile of blankets, where Selena moved to and took a seat. Ash checked the kabobs and grabbed two that were well done, handing both to Selena. Then he moved to the table for the one fancy thing he was able to find for their date. He pulled out the bottle and two cups.

“Augustus says this is a very sweet-tasting wine when I showed it to him. Hopefully, the orcs actually stored it properly and it hasn’t turned sour,” Ash said as he popped the cork.

He poured it into two wooden cups and sampled his. The sweetness hit his tongue, though there was a bit of a tart aftertaste.

“Not too bad,” Ash said. “At least to my limited knowledge of wine.”

He brought the cups over to the blankets and traded one to Selena for the other kabob before taking a seat on the blanket beside her.

Selena lifted the cup and took a sip.

“It’s made from elven grapes,” she said, a sad smile on her face. “I recognize this flavor. This style of wine was one of my mother’s favorites.”

Ash bit his lip in thought. He was curious but didn’t want to reopen the old wound between him and Selena.

“Did you live around here? Before you rifted?” he asked, hoping he didn’t spoil their night.

Selena nodded.

“West of here, past what was once part of Queen Blackthorn’s territory. That’s where my father’s land and castle are,” Selena said. “Along with my mother’s grave.”

Selena shook her head, a smile replacing the frown.

“Let’s not dwell on the past,” she said, smiling at him. “Thank you for doing this, Ash.”

He stared into her violet eyes and still saw the hint of sorrow in them, the fact that her smile didn’t reach them.

“Would you like to visit your home?” he asked.

Selena froze for a moment.

“I didn’t think we would have time. The trip would take a few days,” Selena reasoned.

Ash shook his head.

“We can make time, Selena.”

She smiled and leaned toward him. Before Ash realized what she was doing, Selena’s lips were pressed against his in a kiss. When she broke away, she scooted closer to him.

“Thank you, Ash,” Selena said, leaning her head against his shoulder.

He set his wine down on the stone floor of the rampart and put his arm around the unicorn, pulling her close to him. They sat there like that, eating the kabobs as they cuddled together under the stars.

“So I’ve been wondering, do they have constellations on Vas like they do on Earth?” Ash asked, pointing his half-eaten kabob at the night sky.

Selena’s kabob joined him, pointing at the same spot.

“Yes, you’re currently pointing at the constellation known as the Red Dragon,” she said before her kabob moved. “That one is the Smith, but the one I think fits tonight is this one, the lovers.”

Selena turned and looked at him with those violet eyes before she turned and leaned her head back against him. Ash sat there, with his arm around her, wondering just what was discussed between Haylee and Selena by the river.