Sundown began painting its warm hues across the horizon by the time the group of five halted. The thin trails through rocky woodland had finally given way to the vibrant greens of grasslands. Rolling hills wore a winding river like a necklace whose gemstones glittered in the sunlight. Delilah led her horse to the bank to drink while the others set up camp nearby. She was delighted by the scenery, though as another pair of boots stilled next to hers, she realized that wasn’t what the others were focusing on.
“We should have traveled into the hills.” Cassie spoke bitterly, as though her words were catching on the sharp blades of her teeth. “Saintsdamned bugs will be eating us alive.”
Delilah glanced over her shoulder to where the other woman stood, her fists nestled in the dip of her waist. “We all gotta eat, don’t we?” she said, smiling proudly that she got to be the one snarking this time. Her attention promptly returned to Nightshade as the mare lipped at her elbow, drenching it in river water. With a laugh she nudged her muzzle away and scratched the side of her neck.
“You have to stop letting her do that, you know. Reinforces the behavior.”
“Aw, what for? She’s harmless—aren’t you, sweetheart?” Delilah said. Nightshade tilted her head, leaning into the scratches, and Delilah chuckled softly. “Exactly.”
Cassie didn’t respond for a moment. “Get her hitched,” she said with a sigh. “I’m going to kill that bastard if he burns the beans again.”
The beans were burnt.
Not that Delilah minded. There were grumblings among the group, but most of them were too tired for much complaint. Chasing a shifter would do that to a person.
“We should have kept to the main road,” Cassie said sourly, spoon digging at the encrusted mush at the bottom of her can.
“It would have added days to our journey. We discussed this,” Valkov said, the rumbling timbre of his tone leaving no room for further argument.
“You normally aren’t the one to complain, Cassie. You got someone waiting for you in town or something?” Trap said with a crooked grin.
Cassie shot him a dull glare.
Trap was right, though. It was unlike Cassie to be this tense. She was normally the one busting their chops, ever able to take whatever life threw at her on the chin, no matter how bizarre. Delilah studied her as she finished her own plate of food, scanning the other woman’s features as though the answer could be hidden in the twitch of an eyebrow or an errant strand of hair.
Once she was done eating, Delilah crossed to her and held down a hand. “Try somethin’ with me, will ya?” she asked.
Cassie eyed her hand, looking up at her skeptically for a moment. But she didn’t ask, instead taking the offered hand and rolling to her feet.
“C’mon,” Delilah said quietly. To her surprise, Cassie let her keep hold of her hand, and she led them away from the rest of their team. Away from the camp and the cookfire, along a small hill where the river bent. Nestled into the bend stood a grand willow tree that glittered gold in the evening sun. A sense of peace washed over her at the sight, a sense of home. She took a moment to breathe it in before continuing forward.
“What-”
“I saw it when Nightshade was in the water,” Delilah said. She only let go of Cassie’s hand after they had slipped past the curtain of leaves. Under the canopy, all seemed quiet. Humming, Delilah moved to sit against the wide trunk. She looked up at Cassie and patted the ground expectantly. Cassie pursed her lips, her muscles stitched taught with skepticism, but slowly lowered herself on the ground beside her. They settled into a comfortable silence, backs against bark and shoulders pressed to one another. She heard Cassie sigh the type of breath that only leaves a person when they’re letting something go.
The willow had a thick, sturdy trunk that stood at an angle, whether by natural growth or erosion from the river. Its limbs reached around them, gnarled and low, like the knotted knuckles of a mamaw’s hand. With every breeze the glimmering canopy would part, giving glimpses to the darkening lavender sky and gentle, pink clouds beyond. It was moments like these that made Delilah wish she was an artist who could spend hours capturing this simple, beautiful moment exactly as it was.
“Not so bad away from the sweaty, stinking men, is it?”
Cassie hummed noncommittally, which was as close to an agreement as she would get. It wasn’t a dismissal. Tolerance was akin to contentment for that woman. So they sat. Watching, listening.
When Delilah heard the familiar calls of a roosting flock nearby she couldn’t contain her smile. “Hear that?” she asked softly, gaze still focused on the bruising sky above. “That’s the bird I’m named for.”
“Delilahs?” Cassie said as one thin eyebrow arced upward.
“Starlings,” Delilah corrected indulgently, her smile audible. “Ain’t they pretty? You should see them during migration. Giant groups—they call them murmurations—flying around by the hundreds. Crashing around like violent waves. Buzzing like the baddest swarm of hornets from how many wings are flapping.”
There was no response.
It would have been a welcome quiet, had she not immediately worried that she said something embarrassing or insulting while in her bird-focused trance. It was a ridiculous thought. The fear struck nonetheless. But when Delilah tilted her head, gaze dropping to Cassie, she found the other woman not studying the leaves or the sky, but her face. She stilled for a moment, feeling for all the wheel like prey facing a predator. “What?” she asked, the word punctuated by an uneasy chuckle.
“It’s just… nice to see you in your element,” Cassie said. Her tone was clinical, but her expression was telling. It was her eyes; those piercing, amber eyes, betrayed her the most. They glowed like golden honey in the soft light of dusk. The orange hues made even the severe lines of her cheekbones appear softened. The sight made Delilah feel foolish for ever being intimidated by the woman. Her own gaze lingered on Cassie’s lips. Studying the way one corner began to curl up into her usual smirk. Memorizing the shadowed dimple that appeared in her cheek like it was the last thing she would ever see. Her stomach lurched, but not with discomfort.
She was hungry for her.
When her eyes flickered back up she found Cassie still watching her. Before she had a chance to turn beet red and stammer an excuse, Cassie closed the distance and kissed her. Her lips were so soft. The kiss itself was, too. Delilah expected it to have a bite, like a swig of liquor that burns hot and fast down your throat. Instead she found it patient and precise. Languid, like she was relishing every molecule that connected them. As they drew apart, Cassie tilted her head to rest against Delilah’s forehead.
“Saints, Starling, you were crafted by heaven itself,” Cassie said.
“I thought you didn’t believe in heaven,” Delilah whispered, her playful intention lost to her breathlessness.
“I do now.”
Their lips met once more, and Delilah was intoxicated by the taste. When Cassie began to pull away, it was Delilah who leaned forward, catching her lips with near-urgency. Then Cassie touched her. Chill bumps spread in the wake of her fingers as they slid along Delilah’s side before holding her hip and squeezing. Terror struck her chest like lightning. Delilah thought her heart might have stopped. Her chin jerked back to break the kiss, though she couldn’t bring herself to move out of Cassie’s orbit.
“They might see,” she said, voice cracking.
Cassie opened her eyes to level an unimpressed look at her. “They’re not going to see.” Her fingers flexed on Delilah’s hip, sending another chill rippling across her skin.
“But they could!”
“They won’t. And so what if they do? You think Trap is going to turn us in? Our boys are not the snitching type—even if they were, they’d be fools to do it,” Cassie said. She chuckled as she stroked her knuckles tenderly across Delilah’s cheekbones, and spoke softly. Calming a startled animal. “I have so much shit on them that’s worse. It would be mutually assured destruction.”
Delilah swallowed hard. It wasn’t reassuring. In fact, the statement only multiplied the scenarios she could worry about. She started to picture soldiers arresting their entire team. Shouted accusations and cries of betrayal. Trials and sentencing. Executions. “There might be ticks,” she said, the poor excuse tugged from her mouth before she could rationalize it.
“I’ll check you thoroughly,” Cassie promised.
Heat flooded Delilah’s cheeks, and her heart proved itself functional by nearly beating out of her chest. Was this excitement, or fear? She shook her head, practically scrambling away from the other woman. “I’m sorry, I don’t-I’ve gotta go,” she blurted.
“Are you sure?” Cassie was studying her expression closely, brows knitting together in worry. “Starling, it’s alright if you don’t-”
“Yeah! No, it’s fine as frog hair,” she quickly interjected, standing and brushing her hands off on her pants. She backed up a few small steps before nearly tripping over a root and stopping short again.
“Alright,” Cassie said, her tone carefully neutral.
“I’ll just-Yeah. Goodnight,” Delilah said, already turning on her heel to slip through the curtain of willow leaves and back to reality. She hurried back to camp, worry itching under her skin. She couldn’t bring herself to look in Cassie’s direction when the other woman finally returned. She didn’t say anything, just cracked a joke at Buck as though all was normal.
It wasn’t normal, though. Not to Delilah. For her there was only fear, and guilt, and the feeling of soft lips seared into her mind like a brand. Looking back on the memory a lifetime later, Delilah would wish she had savored the moment. Her one regret was not staying under the willow that night. She wondered, at times, how one moment of bravery could have changed her life. How a choice below the willow could have altered the way history unfolded.
How many lives it could have saved.
Delilah Starling is the protagonist of a larger paranormal romantasy story. I haven’t been able to get her out of my head and this is where that took me. Then it ended up longer than I intended (oops!). It made it complicated for me to categorize this specific snippet of her story since the fantasy and paranormal elements aren’t quite evident. I also really want to narrate this one if I get a chance! Let me know what you think about Delilah and Cassie, and if you’d like to see them more (;
Thanks so much for reading!
Until next time,
M.K. Moretti
(Original photo by willsantt)
We just get a taste of the paranormal/fantasy elements but it’s enough to get me curious about the larger world these characters inhabit. I want more of these characters but only if they end up together 🫣😅