The sun had already set by the time Linnea was able to drag herself back to Oleander’s grove. Her pain was making her delicious, and it was only the sounds of his flute that had guided her back to this place. Oleander looked up at this creature who had wandered into his territory and felt a shiver cross his features at the sight of her.

Her clothes were burnt and stained, purple scales had sprouted in strange patterns along her skin, and there was a vacant smile on her face that exposed a set of fangs. Linnea’s hair was still auburn, but the roots had gone dark and her orange eyes had turned lilac around the edges. The tail behind her twitched slightly from her anxiety.

“What has happened to you?” Oleander dropped his flute and rushed to be by her side. He grasped onto her shoulders in order to stabilize her and studied the changes she had gone through. “Is this normal?” She shook her head. “The spirits will be here soon. They’ll know what to do.”

Linnea dragged her fingertips against Oleander’s cheek. The blood on them stained his skin. “He wanted… H-he wanted to kill you, Oleander. I know that’s what fae do, but I didn’t think that would’ve been for the best. I-I didn’t know what else to do…”

“You are speaking such strange words again. Who wanted... Nicolaos? Did you..?” He took a step back. “You truly are a human. I thought you would somehow be different than the stories, but…”

“He wanted to eat your heart, Oleander!” Linnea cried out. “He wanted you to love me so you would no longer be filled with poison, just so he could devour you! I-I… I didn’t want that to happen!” She fell to her knees and began to tug at her hair. “I didn’t think it fair that you should die, but… I don’t know how to create the miasma, or to protect Orlean… O-or anything anymore!”

“What you need to do is wash away the sins you have committed, but they have forever tainted you,” he whispered.

“I need to recreate the miasma, or Orlean will fall,” she whimpered.

Oleander studied the broken creature in front of him. “You must make the dragon’s magic your own. Sense out what is new about your world. Seek out where his spells have been laid.” He bent a knee and took her hands into her own, to stop her from harming herself further.

Closing her eyes, Linnea struggled to expand her senses. She could see the borders of her kingdom. They were full of death. Twisted structures made of bone and dried wood and the skulls that decorated them had smoke slowly dripping from their eye sockets. Words began to flow unbidden from Linnea’s lips, forming a language which she had never heard. She could see the smoke begin to pour from each skull, forming a dark fog that began to choke the area.

Linnea’s head began to spin as she broke away from the connection. She slumped to one side and took comfort in Oleander as he caught her. “I believe I have done it, but what now? If I were to make things right, I can only do so by exiling myself from my people and taking Nicolaos’ place here.” She looked up at his face. “But you will stay with me, will you not?”

Oleander eased her head against his shoulder. “Only until the end of summer.”

“But you will be back the next spring?” She would be fine as long as he returned to her.

He tightened his grip about her before replying. “No. A new king will be crowned each summer, and although he may look similar to me, he will not know you as I have. He will not even remember you.”

Linnea covered her mouth with her hand. She felt as though she were about to vomit. “What have I done? I struck out in a moment of fear, and I did not think to…” She pushed herself away from Oleander if only to toss her arms about his shoulders and draw him into a forceful kiss. If his lips were truly poison, she wanted to drink her fill.

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Oleander was the one to push her away this time. He grasped at her cheek with his hand and studied her face. “Are… Are you alright?” If a flower were capable of blushing, his cheeks would be burning red at the moment. “Please say something, Linnea, and promise me that you will never act so hastily again!”

Her world was spinning, and she felt weakened by their brief contact, but she felt as though she might live. “I may be fine after some rest.”

“Of course.” The nymph lifted her up and carried her under the branches of his tree, and he held her until she fell asleep. Though weakened, her mind wouldn’t let her rest completely, being plagued by nightmares throughout the night.

She was running through the woods as Nicolaos flew after her. Everything had been set alight by purple flames. Linnea stumbled over the edges of her dress at the edge of the grove, and Nicolaos flew above her. His maw clamped onto Oleander, tearing him apart like paper while the nymphs tree was absorbed by fire. As much as Linnea tried to shout out, nothing but silence left her lips. All she could hear were the flames and the dragon’s laughter.

It was the sounds of birds that woke her the next morning. They were bouncing along the branches of the tree, and pecking at the grass in an effort to find worms. Oleander was curled up in a tight ball next to her. He wasn’t moving, nor was he breathing, and he appeared to be a bud waiting for his chance to bloom.

Linnea had never seen him in the morning. He didn’t seem injured, so this was perhaps his way of sleeping. She took a moment to fan out her wings before flying over to the river. As hard as she scrubbed herself, she couldn’t scrap away her sins. Oleander had been right about it. Her mistakes clung to her, and it left an itch upon herself that she could not reach.

Then she headed to the castle, where she watched a will-o-wisp drag in a new basket of food. Of course. These were Nicolaos’ servants. Anyone who had died to his miasma had their soul bound to his well, and he then used them to manipulate the fae of this forest. Like how Oleander relied on them so heavily for their information, it was all misdirection so that the fae would not fear him.

She wolfed down the food that had been brought to her, but none of it seemed to satisfy her. There may have been some rations on her horse, but the creature fled in terror when she made an attempt to approach. Linnea was hardly surprised by that, but she hoped that her horse would be able to fend for itself here.

Linnea returned to the river in order to bathe herself in the sun and to meditate on the miasma barrier. All seemed well, but that also failed to quench the desire within her. A scent of something danced about the air. Her slitted eyes snapped open, and she glanced upward at the trail floating above her. Whatever it was, she sensed that it would fill the void that she felt.

The silver trail began to lead her through the woods, twisting and turning about the trees. It led to a field of blackberry bushes, where fairies were darting about the flowers. They were dancing by each blossom, ensuring that each blossom would be becoming a juicy berry by the time fall came.

Linnea’s eyes became thin slits. She could nearly taste the magic that was dripping off their succulent bodies. It was a force that she wanted all to herself. Hiding behind a tree, her tail whipped out and snatched up a fairy before the others could notice. Her claw pierced its chest, and she brought the fae up to her lips, sucking out their organs in an attempt to absorb the magic.

The results were exhilarating, but this was such a small morsel. It did very little to satisfy her appetite. She debated going for another, but she was also disgusted with herself. Linnea had promised herself to be better than Nicolaos. A promise she had already broken.

She quickly buried the body and retreated back to the river to wash the blood off of her face. Oleander was awake by the time she returned to the grove. She spoke with the will-o-wisps as they appeared, teaching songs before Oleander would get bored and ask her to dance.

Thus began their lives together. They would dance throughout the night, and Linnea would retreat back to her castle. During the day, she would curse herself by hunting down what magic she could, unable to resist her urges. Then she would spend a time teaching the will-o-wisps everything she knew. If she ever failed to appear, they would be able to keep Oleander company.

Not once did her hunger ever seek out Oleander. Even if it did, she would refuse. He was the reason she made the choice to murder Nicolaos. Whether it was love or morality, she didn’t know anymore, but it felt like the right thing to do. As long as she could stay by his side and protect her kingdom, it didn’t even matter.

Days turned into weeks, and soon the days began to grow cooler. Autumn would soon be approaching. Oleander’s tree would soon enter hibernation, and the flower himself would fade and dissolve way. Neither he or Linnea ever questioned the coming end, not as long as they could treasure the other’s smile.