Hi there! Just one quick chapter before I have to turn in my laptop on Tuesday.
"So did you see him?" Mai asked excitedly.
"Yeah." Celaena replied.
"What'd you think?"
"Well, he's skilled at his job." Celaena admitted.
"And?"
"And what?" Celaena grumbled.
"Well did you see him?"
"What do you mean?" Celaena asked tiredly.
"Well did you see his face?"
"Yeah."
"And?" Mai encouraged.
"He was younger than I thought."
"Yeah, isn't he sexy or what?" Mai squealed.
"I know, but when I mentioned his fire abilities, he got all uptight."
"Yeah, he never talks openly about his powers and abilities, but the elders of the village say that he has never reached the full extent of his powers."
"Elders?"
"Yes, they knew Caius back then and they say that he hasn't changed at all in appearance."
"He hasn't changed?"
"Yeah, isn't that amazing?"
"That's interesting." Celaena said thoughtfully.
"What about his lips? Did you see them? They're so kissable!" Mai squealed, "His eyes are amazing too! And his body! Not to mention those abs! And his waist! OMG I want to hug him so bad and feel his muscular body surrounding me in warmth!" Mai sighed delightfully and skipped out the door. Celaena sighed, flopped onto the bed, and went to sleep.
The cool morning air felt good in Celaena's lungs. The smell of the pine forest and rivers was exhilarating. She continued running through the forest until she came upon a large river. It was shallow in some areas where light brown sand peeked out with some tall grass and small trees. There were large rock formations on each side and tall pine, birch, and oak trees. She was about to turn and run down the bank, but she spotted something. There was a figure moving on the opposite side of the river farther down. She stood and watched carefully.
The figure walked to the riverbank and knelt down. It was a man. He dipped his hands in the water and washed his face and arms. He wore a black sleeveless shirt and baggy black pants. He continued washing his neck and then ran his damp hands through his hair…it was…purple. Celaena gasped in shock. Was it the blacksmith Caius Sanguis? Celaena walked quickly down the shore and hid behind some rocks to study Caius. He stood and began watching the river. His eyes turned into silts as he watched something that was in the river. His eyes flashed and his hand blazed for a fraction of a second. If Celaena had blinked she would have missed it. The blacksmith stood there with a fried salmon in his hand. He wrapped it in paper and put it in a small leather bag at his side. Then he jumped into one of the nearby rock formations and disappeared behind it. Feeling curious, Celaena decided to follow him. Shifting, she jumped and followed him.
Caius had run a fair distance and Celaena started to get tired. Even in her Fae body, she began to tire. Caius halted and turned towards Celaena. She gasped and ducked. When she looked up, Caius was nowhere to be seen. A small deep chuckle was heard from behind her. Celaena tried to turn, but a strong arm circled her waist and another gripped her chin. She was pulled back into the person's chest. She looked down and saw a pair of large black boots among her smaller ones.
"Stalking is considered rude." A voice commented in her ear, breath tickling her ear. The voice was coarse and deep. It also had a familiar mocking tone in it. It was Caius. Celaena tried to turn and look at him, but he held her fast. His arms were like human vices and his breath continued to tickle her ear, causing her to shiver slightly.
"What do you want?" Celaena asked.
"More like, what do you want? What is your business following me?" Caius hissed.
"I was just curious to see what you were-
Caius stiffened suddenly and let go of Celaena like she was a bolt of lightning. He pushed Celaena aside, "Get away from here right now!" he commanded.
"Why?" Celaena asked, but Caius jumped into the forest and disappeared. Curious, Celaena followed Caius. She was about to jump where he had disappeared behind some rocks when she hit something hard and she fell. Groaning, she looked up to see what she hit, but she couldn't see it. She stood and walked forward, but was stopped again by an invisible wall. A giant roar sounded throughout the forest and shook the ground. The wall turned a sudden black with dark purple and white tendrils. The clearness that remained was hazy but Celaena could see through a little. Another roar and the scream of some animal were heard. The beasts roar was heard again and the ground shook even more as loud crashing and roars of two animals fighting was heard in the direction where Caius had gone.
So there we are...There will be more after summer...I'll be back!
