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Thist struggled to keep up, huffing and cringing every time the stickers bit into his legs. Low-hanging branches slashed at his bare upper body and even his face. He groaned but followed. His brother, Laeth, found little interest in their world and being mute, his only way to speak was through a series of hand signs that only Thist cared to learn. Laeth wanted something this morning more than he wanted to sit by the river and catch fish or tend the day fire for the old women of their village. More than all the elderberries in the wood, Thist wanted his brother to belong somewhere, to be content, so he chased after him, wondering why Laeth kept slapping one fist to his chest over his heart.

“Slow down!” Thist shouted. He glared at his brother’s broad back curiously clothed with a woven tunic. His tanned skin glistened with sweat, his black, unruly hair bouncing.

Laeth only turned and clapped his fist to his heart, nodded once and pointed ahead of him.

“Well, I hope it’s not much further. My legs are shredded,” Thist grumbled. They passed over the thin brook that bordered their village boundaries, a small sin, but one that might lead to troubles if they weren’t careful.

Beyond a stretch of thick trees his burly brother stopped. Thist caught up to him and gasped. The air shimmered with a silvery light as if water had been magicked into the shape of a thin wall. Thist walked about it, his bare feet crushing small ferns. “We shouldn’t be here,” he whispered, but even so, he gazed at the portal in awe.

Laeth clapped his fist to his heart, held up one finger and pointed at the rippling surface.

“All right. Show me what you found. Then we have to get back.” He watched as Laeth spread his fingers and touched the surface of the portal. At once, the ripples evened out, soothed by the mute fae’s will. Past the lighted blur, Thist saw a young human woman sitting beside a lake. She wore a burgundy dress and her bare feet dangled in the water. Thick, black hair hung free down her back, highlighted blue by the morning sun.

Laeth gripped Thist’s wrist and started through.

Thist pulled back. “We can’t go in there.” He shook his head. “You know we can’t. What if we aren’t able to make it back?”

Laeth slapped his chest and sighed. He touched his lips and made a kissing sound. The last sign was clear as he pointed at the woman.

“You’ve been through before!” Thist’s chest tightened with the realization. “Laeth…” His voice trailed off, echoing and bouncing through the thin tunnel his brother forced him through. Together they tumbled into the other world, a place they had no right to enter. Immediately, Thist’s shoulders itched and burned. He reached back to scratch while Laeth approached the woman. He’s in love. Smiling at this surprise, he followed.

Laeth clapped, startling the woman. She turned to see what the matter was. A smile spread across her full, wine-colored lips. Her blue eyes lit up, and she hurried to stand. The bodice of her dress laced tight to her shape caused her breasts to bulge at the top. Her calves showed pale and smooth just before her burgundy skirt tumbled down to hide them.

Thist halted, blown away like a leaf in an autumn wind. Here was a woman so beautiful that he forgot Trenelle back home, the graceful, little fae that chased him from time to time. Beneath his woven breaches, his body burst to life, heat tingling in his loins. He stood there shuffling his bare feet, feeling awkward.