The woman scoffed. “Apparent?”
Evren shrugged the best he could, being tied down. “You all believe in some imaginary figure. You give your life to her and for what? For this?”
He looked around the greenhouse, noting how little she had to her name other than the ridiculous abundance of plants.
Her eyes narrowed further. “And who is it youworship, hunter?”
He leaned forward, the plants groaning under the strain. “No one,” he hissed.
A flash of hurt shot across her face before she shook it off, running her fingers through her dark hair.
“What wasyourplan?” she asked, crossing her arms and straightening her legs. The long sleeves of her dress dangled loosely off her arms.
How did he get into this predicament? How embarrassing would it be when he finally brought her in, having to explain why it took so long? Because hewouldbring her in, he had no doubt about that. If only he could get out of these vines…
“Have you forgotten how to speak?” The woman stood, rounding the end of the sofa, and kneeled before him where he was tied to the workbench. Her face was only inches from his, her dark brows furrowed.
“My plan was to take you back to Valebridge where you belong,” Evren said, anger rising in his chest. The audacity of this Enchantress to speak to him so casually. He kept his movements slow as his fingers began working, a knotted vine wrapped around his back.
The woman’s brows furrowed farther as she stood again and backed away from him.
“Now tell me, Enchantress, what will you do with me?” He wasn’t sure he really wanted the answer. Evil as magick users were, his mind could only imagine the horrors she’d inflict on him inside this greenhouse. It’d been too easy for one of them to snap his leg. And in doing so, ruin his life.
His eyes shot back to the woman, who paced back and forth, her long dress dragging across the broken and dirty stone. Her fingers twitched, and though the light was faint, he could tell she was chewing her bottom lip.
“You don’t have a plan,” Evren said plainly. Humor tickled him and if he hadn’t been tied to a damn bench, he would’ve laughed.
“What makes you so sure?” The Enchantress stopped her pacing. Evren rolled his head to look at her. Worry splayed across her face, and she tapped her booted foot impatiently.
“You could have easily killed me outside,” he said, his anger subsiding momentarily. “Could’ve left me to be buried in the oncoming snow. To freeze. But you didn’t. So, if your plan is to keep me alive, it’s a poor one. You’ll be caught before you do whatever sinister experiments you’re planning.”
“Sinister experiments?” Her voice raised as she marched across the stone floor. “Sinister experiments?” she shouted again, flicking her wrists. As she did, the vines around him tightened further, cutting into his abdomen.
“Case and point,” he said, his lungs collapsing under the squeeze of the vines. His voice must have broken her rage, because in an instant the vines loosened. As they did, he let out an overdue breath.
“I have no plans for you, hunter.” She stomped back the opposite way. “For all I care, you can spend the rest of your days tied to that workbench. It’s no matter to me.”
And then she was gone, and he was left alone.
Five
Tallulah tookher time before heading back to the main area of the greenhouse. She’d spent the night curled up in her empty water basin, missing the comfort of her sofa, but she couldn’t justify being in the same room with that man any longer. She had absolutely no idea what she would do with this hunter. Killing him was out of the question. It went against every fiber of her being. Keeping him here also wouldn’t be sustainable.
She supposed she could leave. Pack what little she had and go, hoping by some miracle she’d be long gone before someone found him or he escaped. Sorrow filled her at the thought. The greenhouse was her home when they’d already ripped her actual home from her. She didn’t want to see it go to waste by some hunters.
It neared midday when she finally gathered the courage to face the hunter again. Tallulah balanced a basket of food on her hip as she made her way into the domed room. The ivy greeted her, its leaves moving slightly in the same direction she walked. As if it were desperate to be in her proximity.
“So, youarestill here,” the man said, his demeanor less menacing in the light of day. Or he was just hungry and hopeful she’d brought him something to eat. Of course she had. She wasn’t about to let him starve despite his cruelty.
Tallulah ignored him, dropping the basket on the sofa in silence before turning to tend to her plants. The vines she’d placed around the man had loosened, but she paid no mind. Knowing how quickly she could call upon them to tighten if she needed to.
He sat quietly, watching her as she watered row upon row of dahlias, pansies, and clematis. Sweat beaded across the hunter's forehead, his eyes sunken and hazed. Surely it couldn’t have been that long since he’d eaten, so something else must be bothering him. Sickness from the cold, perhaps.
She took her time, lazily refilling her watering can, making him sweat further with each silent passing. When her tasks were complete and her plants cared for, she turned to him again.
His green eyes burned into her, his dark auburn hair disheveled, though she got the impression he wasn’t typically one to leave a hair out of place. His clothes were immaculate for a hunter, barely any dirt dusted upon his black boots.
“Are you ill?” Tallulah asked. Her voice was calm, though her stomach swirled with unease. She would never let it show. Never let him see just how scared she was of him. She couldn’t. That much she knew, never show your fear.
