Chapter 93: Fairy Berries Make You Go As High As A Fairy

Aina

I DO NOT FIND YOU DESIRABLE?! Aina’s inner voice screeched, her mind practically exploding with fury. EXCUSE ME?! I am a masterpiece! Yes, I am covered in animal dung because of YOUR family, but I am still a masterpiece, and you have the audacity to look me in the eye and say I’m UNDESIRABLE?! I’m the one who should be rejecting YOU! I’m amazing! I’m totally out of your league, you pale, creepy tree-hugger!

1

Before she could voice the volcanic insult brewing in her chest, Vance’s voice cut sharply through the heavy rain from up ahead. "Hey! What are you two whispering about back there?!" Vance called out, turning his head as he navigated through a dense patch of thorny bushes.

Before Aina could even open her mouth to defend her honor, Keali casually called back, "Nothing." He turned back to Aina, giving her a small, almost imperceptible nod. He mouthed silently: Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. I’m probably going to forget we even had this conversation.

Aina stared at his back as he walked away, her hands trembling with outrage. He’s going to FORGET?! I am going to lose my absolute mind in this forest!

Up ahead, Vance was ducking under a heavy branch. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he spotted a cluster of bright, strange purple berries growing along a low-hanging vine. "Oh, food!" he muttered, reaching out and pulling a small branch toward himself.

Malric glanced over his shoulder, his eyebrows knitting together in suspicion. "Vance, are you sure you’re supposed to be doing that?"

Aina failed to notice all of this play out as the girl was still too busy fuming. Undesirable?! Him?! He looks like he hasn’t seen the sun since the first century! I look like the moon goddess compared to him!

Her train of petty thought was suddenly cut short as her eyes tracked Vance, who was actively shoving a huge handful of the glowing purple berries straight into his mouth.

"You shouldn’t eat that," Keali blurted out loudly and all eyes fell onto him. Vance paused, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and looking back at him with a raised brow. "Why shouldn’t I eat that?" Aina looked over at Keali, who simply shook his head with an air of complete, detached pity. "Well," Keali murmured softly to Vance, "Unless you want to get high real quick, then I suggest you have them, if not don’t."

"Lies, I see you have these all the time, to come down from whatever high cloud you were on!" Vance scoffed loudly, brushing past Malric to take the lead again. "Yeah, that’s because–" Keali paused, realising Vance wasn’t listening and just rolled his eyes scoffing, "You know, it’s fine. Eat as much as you want!"

They continued walking, but after barely three minutes, Aina noticed something strange. Vance’s brisk, confident stride began to waver. He slowed down, trailing back until he was walking right alongside her. He turned his head, staring at her face with wide, glass-like eyes.

"Are you okay?" Vance asked softly. He didn’t sound arrogant anymore. In fact, he sounded unnaturally, creepily gentle. Aina squinted at him through the rain, taking a cautious step sideways. "What?"

Vance smiled in a bizarre, dreamy, totally uncharacteristic type of way. "Butterflies." Aina blinked. "What? It’s literally raining buckets. What butterflies?"

"Don’t worry," Vance whispered, leaning his head slightly toward her shoulder, his pupils dilated into giant black saucers. "You are as pretty as the butterflies and smell of Jasmine." Oh, great, Aina thought, panic spiking in her chest once again. The berries. He’s losing his mind.

She immediately raised her voice, calling out to the front of the line. "Prince! Something’s wrong with your brother!" Malric stopped, snapping his head around with a deep scowl. "What?"

"He’s just rambling about butterflies and all kinds of stupid stuff!" Aina yelled back, pointing a filthy finger at Vance, who was currently staring at a plain wet rock with pure wonder.

Keali finally spoke up from the middle, his calm voice cutting through the sound of rain. "Yeah. That’s because those are Fairy Berries. They’re a drop to wolves that makes them see and smell things that aren’t there." Theo swung his head around, his sharp jaw dropping as he stared at Keali. He aggressively tapped Keali on the shoulder. "You’re only saying this now?!"

"Vance is hallucinating," Malric said, his voice dropping into an urgent, authoritative command. "Theo, get Vance so we can move. I’m looking at the cave opening right now." Theo strode back, reaching out to grab Vance’s arm. "Come on, idiot."

The moment Theo touched him, Vance flinched violently. He yanked his arm out of Theo’s grip and frantically lunged forward, throwing his long arms around Aina’s waist and burying his face right into her poop-soaked shoulder.

Aina went entirely rigid, her eyes nearly popping out of her skull.

OH MY GOSH! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

"No!" Vance wailed hysterically, gripping her shirt with terrifying strength. "You can’t take me away from her! You can’t take me away from my mate!" Malric’s face turned completely storm-black. "Get off him! That is NOT your mate!"

Theo grabbed Vance by the back of his collar, trying to haul him off, but Vance clung to Aina like a hysterical leech, squeezing the absolute breath out of her lungs. "NO! MINE!"

"Can this day get any worse?!" Aina squeaked out, her arms pinned to her sides as she tried desperately to push Vance’s heavy chest off her. "Get him OFF me!" Vance just held on tighter, nudging his face against her neck, totally oblivious to the fact that she was slathered in animal dung.

Theo let out a foul curse, grabbing Vance in a headlock to physically drag him away. "It’s nothing personal, Travis!" Theo grunted, straining against his brother’s hallucination-fueled strength. "He’s just really high at the moment! When he comes down, he’ll probably be mad at himself for even touching you!"

"I am OVER this!" Malric roared, turning away to march directly toward the dark mouth of the cave. "All of us! Inside. NOW." Aina staggered backward as Theo finally chose to give up, leaving Vance clinging to Ainar. Annoyed, she wiped her face, gasping for air, her heart pounding frantically against her ribs.

I am covered in poop, my ankle is sprained, Vance thinks I’m his mate(Which, I am), and Keali thinks I’m undesirable, Aina thought, her mind spiraling into utter, hilarious despair as she stumbled into the dry, cold darkness of the cave behind them. If I survive until tomorrow, it will be an absolute miracle.

As they crossed the threshold into the shelter, the harsh sound of rain was replaced by the low, echoing atmosphere of the cavern.

"Wait..." Aina muttered, her eyebrows drawing together. "Is he sleeping?"

Aina eyes locked onto Keali who threw himself onto the cold stone the moment they entered the cave, he was hugging himself and already snoring loudly.

Theo let out a long, weary groan, slumping against the rock wall. "Yep, his gone, we are on our own now, a ghoul bear could be deep in this cave and we wouldn’t know."

Malric leaned against the cave entrance, looking out at the endless grey sheets of rain with a cold, exhausted expression. "Oh, there is no bears in a cave Theo and a highly doubt Keali would be anymore useful then he already was, you know how things with him are fifty-fity."

Aina pulled her dirty knees up to her chest, closing her eyes as the icy silence of the cave settled over them.

Just survive until morning, Just survive until morning.