Connor found Raven exactly where he’d expected, lying on her stomach across one of the branches of the oak tree in his yard. “It always amazes me when I find you like this.”
“Why?” she asked sleepily, stretching like a cat.
Fang looked up from his spot on the ground and yawned before trotting into the house. He only seemed willing to leave Raven alone when she was in the house or with Connor. At least, with the wolf around, Raven didn’t need to go into the woods as often. After what he’d learned today, he wanted to keep her in the settlement as much as possible.
“I can’t figure out how you can be comfortable in that tree.”
She hugged the tree and rubbed her cheek against it. It should have left her face scratched, but hers came away unmarked and with a green tint. “They’re part of me.”
“I’m curious about something,” he began as he settled down beside the tree. “Wood nymphs are originally from Europe.” There was no denying he was avoiding the bigger subject, but he was curious.
She nodded. “There are still a lot of wood nymphs there.”
“Why did any of the wood nymphs come here?” he asked. “It seems like it would be a rough trip with your unique limitations. Or can you instantly transport across the ocean?”
She laughed. “Instantly transport across the ocean? We aren’t water nymphs.”
“There are water nymphs?” he asked.
“You have no trouble accepting vampires and wood nymphs, but water nymphs surprise you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. With a grace that always astonished him, she slid down the tree and settled onto the ground beside him.
He knew he was acting like a lovesick fool, but he didn’t care. Reaching out, he took her hand in his simply because he wanted to. “I didn’t even know there were wood nymphs until Muriel came to live here, and I didn’t really believe any of her stories until I met you. Even when you first made your claim, I figured you were just trying to save your friends.”
“Then why didn’t you call me a liar on the spot?” she asked.
“A lot of my people believed Muriel’s stories about the wood nymphs. I didn’t think Simon believed her, but I wasn’t sure what Ian or those loyal to him believed. I was kind of pissed about you throwing off my original plan, and a little aroused by your bravery. I figured I’d have a little taste of your blood and call you on the lie. The problem came when everyone around me saw how much I was enjoying your blood. I don’t normally feed from humans. If you’d been human, I would have taken a small sample and then let you go. I’ve never really liked the intimacy of feeding, so I avoid it. With you, I had to struggle to take my fangs out of your wrist, and I thought I might explode from lust. There was no way to convince the others you were human.”
Connor was amused by the way her cheeks flushed from arousal. She got just as turned on as he did when he took her blood, and that made it even hotter for him. He shifted to try to make himself more comfortable with his erection begging for release. “So, how did they get here, and why?”
“Who?” she asked as she looked up from his erection.
He smiled at her obvious distraction. “The wood nymphs who came from Europe.”
“Oh,” she said and smiled, not at all embarrassed about being caught staring at his cock. “People in Europe changed. They no longer appreciated the spirits of the woods. They stopped believing in any good magic, partly because Christianity demonized anything otherworldly. It was becoming harder to find men to mate with, and our numbers were dwindling. We don’t mind sharing men, but it was to a point where there was a risk of lines dying off,” she explained. “It had already happened with other species. The humans told stories of what the early settlers in North America found. They talked about the native people who still worshipped the spirits of the land. These humans often sought out their spirit animal. It seemed like the answer to our problems, so the wood nymphs of Europe sent the second born daughter from every woman to North America to start new clans. My grandmother was one of the early settlers.”
“How did your kind manage a long sea voyage? I thought you had to be close to the woods to survive.”
“It was a little like the Christian tales of Noah and his ark. They put the nymphs on ships with saplings and mated pairs of the animals they were bonded with. To avoid any overcrowding of animals, they tried to transport nymphs with the same animal together. That’s how we ended up in clans that tended to have similar animals.”
Connor shook his head. “A ship? That’s really disappointing, I was hoping for some mystical explanation like a magical gate between the continents.”
She snorted. “I see someone has been reading too many of Jack’s fantasy books.”
“It may surprise you to hear there haven’t been many books written about the history of wood nymphs.”
That made her giggle. “I would imagine not.” She waited, obviously expecting him to say more. “So, did you come out here to discuss wood nymph travel practices? Or did you just miss me?”
He pulled her onto his lap and held her against his chest. While he needed to tell her about what they suspected after interrogating the captives, he wanted to wait until they knew more. He was sure it would mean he’d have to let her go, and he wanted to wait until things were confirmed.
“I want you to start taking your weapons with you when we leave the settlement. I also want you to teach some of my people how to use them,” he told her.
“Okay, but I have to warn you,” she began with a grin. “I’m very good with my eskrima sticks, and they aren’t as easy to use as they look.”
“You’re pretty cocky, little nymph,” he accused playfully. “I had several sets made after I asked you to show me how to use them. They don’t seem terribly heavy, so I’m sure we’ll get the hang of it quickly.”
“We’ll see,” she said. “Tell me how your wrists feel after the first lesson.”