Her throat closed up, but she refused to look back.
“Go away!” she shouted. “Stay back!”
His footsteps continued following her anyway.
Emma turned right, ducking under a crooked branch. Thorns scraped her arm, and a twig tore at her ankle. She winced, but it wasn’t enough for her to stop. She couldn’t risk even looking down to see the extent of her injury.
“Ye’ll ruin yer dress,” he cautioned.
“Good. Let it rip!” she growled.
He was right behind her. Close enough to let her know that there was no escaping this. And for some reason, she had a feeling he knew that. He knew she couldn’t outrun him, and something in his voice taunted her just because of it.
“Ye run like someone who’s never needed to run,” he called behind her again, his voice annoyingly steady.
“Well, seeing that I never had to run away from a monster, ye are correct!” she snapped back, turning her head just a little to see where he was.
She couldn’t see anything except the tall, dark trees blocking most of the sunlight.
“Oof. Is that what ye think I am? Some kind of monster?” he asked.
“I daenae intend to find out.”
“Ye think I meant to hurt ye?”
“I daenae care what ye mean!” she shouted back.
The trees grew even thicker ahead, and she turned sharply, pushing through a small gap in the undergrowth. Thorns tugged at her dress again, and the pain in her ankle grew sharper. But he was close. Too close for her to stop. It was almost as if he wasn’t chasing her.
It was like he was only following her. Like he was waiting to see where she would break down.
“Ye do realize that I am nae even running, do ye nae?” he drawled.
Emma’s breath caught in a furious sob. “Aye. I would like ye to stop speaking as well.”
“Why? Ye prefer silence while ye panic?”
“I prefer to be left alone!” she screamed. “I didnae ask for this… for any of this!”
Another root snagged her legs, and she couldn’t find her footing quickly this time. Her heart stopped as her body pitched forward.
A sharp gasp escaped her lips as the ground rushed toward her. Then it paused just as she was about to slam into the hard soil. A hand gripped her arm and yanked her upright. She spun immediately and slammed into something solid. Something hard and unyielding that wasn’t the ground.
A chest.Hischest.
His scent was the first thing to hit her. Woodsmoke. Earth. And something faintly sweet beneath it. It was the same scent she had caught when the doors to the hall opened.
She swallowed, caught her breath, and looked up. Dark and unflinching green eyes stared back at her. She could feel his hand holding tight to her arm, and she was unable to do anything about it.
“There ye are,” he muttered, his voice low enough for her to hear.
There was a wicked smile on his face. It made the chills that settled down her spine grow even chillier.
Emma’s breath came fast, and her hands trembled. Her whole body buzzed from the run, from the near fall, and from the man holding her steady without effort.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Tired yet?”
“Let go,” she whispered.
