Fairy Rings

Chapter 8

                                                                       Theo

I gripped Gem's delicate throat Crushing her windpipe between my fingers. Magic was a soft practice, and I needed to be sure that my Gem couldn't get away while weaving my magic into a sleeping spell. I almost wanted to let go of her when she gave me that wide-eyed look. If only to chase her through the forest, Gem had always been jumpy about things. I should've known that she'd see right through me. Gem is too observant for the mortal world. Even if it wasn't enough to save her from me.
She could never get away from me here. It was too close to my side of the vail. If she had waited just a minute longer, we would be in the fae realm there, and well... The very forest itself would rather set itself on fire than disobey my commands. Gem's useless nails clawed at my hand. Not even leaving red streaks in her wake. It's so cute that she thinks that she can hurt me.
"Sleep," I muttered into her ear, and just like that, she passed out. The magic already working to heal her, not even a bruise left behind. I almost dropped Gem as I stumbled back, my heart shuttering at the effort. Magic is not meant for the side of the veil. Even something as small as this was sapping away at my strength.
"I need to be more careful, especially with how observant you are." I laughed, smiling at her pretty face. Her head lulled limply to the side. Chuckling, I started my attempt to get us to the ground finding myself practically toppling over, catching her in a quick embrace to avoid damaging my Gem.
"It was never my intention that you'd lose the mortal site so quickly, but I should've expected that you would. You always seem to see the magic around you better than your peers." I said, readjusting her so that her head was leaned up against my chest, the rhythmic breathing bringing me a sense of comfort.
"If you could've waited a few more minutes and not questioned me so soon, I would've brought you to the ball. You had to fight me, no matter we can wait another month." I laced my fingers through her hair, cherry and walnuts wafted from her. She had come a long way since being the little girl in the woods who wouldn't question whether her little friends had wings or not. This was not a girl in my arms but a grown woman, one that would run at the first hint of danger. As shown by the sweet softness that she left behind or to glance at the dip of her hips. She was all grown up, and I intended that she knew that I was not some child for her to run to and frow from anymore. She is going to be MINE and ONLY MINE.
"We will have plenty of time together a whole eternity, in fact," I found myself mesmerized by the soft pink lips that formed the syllables of my name. The contract that she had for lease was signed by saying that word. She wouldn't know, of course, couldn't know, at least not for a little while longer. I tucked her hair behind her ear, feeling the familiar sharpness. Shoving the hair out of the way, I saw her ears pointing more than they should. Curling towards the sky, perfect already in their transition.
"You really are moving faster than you should. Turning into a fey takes a lot out of a person. You're going to need some time to get to the point of understanding what is happening." For a moment, I wondered if I should break the contract and just drag her to the fae realm. I immediately threw that thought out. I had grown up seeing what happened to humans on my side of the vale. They were more puppets than people. I wanted my Gem as she is. She would thank me one day for this many years in the future.

"As cute as you are human. I can only imagine how adorable you will be when you are a fey. Then I can keep all those disgusting creatures away from you." The humans have kept me from my love for far too long. to think she almost escapes even my site! I felt tense at the thought. I can only go so far from the doorway to my world with all the iron that the modern human realm holds. I was fighting against time to get her on the other side. It used to be normal for my kind to search for potential brides from the side of the veil. Luring them in with delicious food, beautiful songs, and dance. Many humans could barely resist just based on looks alone. That all changed when humans started innovating. It got much harder to keep the humans in line, and the iron carried on daily is enough to kill us. This caused our numbers to dwindle. The fay never had much luck in breeding amongst ourselves, made even worse by the short supply of fey women.
"We're going to have to do something about this," I said, caressing her earlobe between my two fingers. It felt like the petals of a rose, even blushing to a light pink color the more I did so. If I had thought through my little scheme as a child, this might've gone a little better than it is now. I was going to have men looking at my lovely. They are going to try and keep me away. They could barely resist her when she was human now. It would only be worse. I sighed. This only complicated things. I was able to keep their eyes off of her. Even at full strength, it took a lot out of me. Luckily my Gem loved her quiet time.
"What a little troublemaker." Finally gaining enough strength, I stood holding her up with one hand firmly under her ass. I found myself wishing we could be like this, forever embracing one another. Fighting was never my thing. And with my Gem's habit for defiance, there would be a lot of fighting.
Unless...
"Let's get you home gem was too bad I couldn't have spent much time with you. But don't worry, I'll see you again soon."