I rubbed a hand over my face. “This isn’t entertainment.”
“After this many years on the planet, it is, if you know how to look at it,” Stella smirked faintly. “Now, off you go.”
Her words gave me both relief and dread. For whatever reason, she’d decided to stay behind.
The forest swallowed us almost immediately, and the light dimmed, with only shafts of gold breaking through fractured spaces between branches.
None of us spoke for the first few minutes, our steps muffled, our shoulders brushing leaves that curled toward us.
Finally, Twobble muttered, “This is ridiculous. I feel like we fell down a rabbit hole with magical mushrooms and wicked men tricking us.”
“Shh.” Bella’s ears flicked in irritation. “Do you want the whole forest to hear you?”
“Maybe,” Twobble muttered. “At least then it can answer back.”
Skonk chuckled, sharp and smug. “If the Wilds are listening, cousin, they already know you’re afraid. Better to let them think you’re brave. Or at least clever.”
“Iamclever,” Twobble shot back.
“Then why am I the one who found him?” Skonk asked, his grin flashing white in the gloom.
I clenched my jaw, refusing to let their bickering derail me. My heart pounded louder the closer we drew to the fallen log.
Please still be here, I begged silently. Please don’t make me doubt myself again.
It couldn’t be the mushrooms.
The mossy canopy came into view, draped like a green curtain over the massive trunk. I hurried forward, my breath catching as I stepped into the clearing.
And froze.
The space behind the log was empty.
The moss still bore the faint indentation of where a body had slumped. Ferns bent askew, wildflowers crushed flat. But Gideon himself, his heavy form, was gone.
My heart plummeted.
“No,” I whispered, stumbling forward. I dropped to my knees in the damp moss, pressing my hand to the hollow where he’d been. The earth was still warm.
But what if he had been the mushrooms and never had been Gideon? What if it were merely a wolf or…
“He was here,” I said hoarsely. “I swear it. He was right here.”
Skonk leaned lazily against a tree, crossing his arms with infuriating calm. “Well, isn’t this convenient?” His grin sharpened. “Our mossy menace has grown legs.”
Twobble pushed past him, already crouching low. He pressed his nose nearly to the moss, sniffing loudly, his ears twitching.
“Don’t make fun of her,” Bella said sharply, glaring at Skonk.
“I’m not,” Skonk said, his grin never faltering. “I’m admiring Gideon’s commitment to the chase.”
“Quiet,” Twobble snapped, his face twisted in concentration. He sniffed again, louder. “He was here. Shadows linger. Faint, but—yes. He didn’t vanish. He moved. Or was moved.”
I turned to Bella, desperation raw in my voice. “It’s true. He was here. It’s not the mushrooms playing with my mind. You believe me, don’t you?”
Bella’s gaze met mine briefly, and she stepped closer, crouching to press her fingers against the moss. When she looked back at me, her expression was clear, certain.
“I completely believe you. Skonk sent him. You found him. And now…” Her mouth quirked wryly. “Now he’s wandering around the Academy grounds.”
