He swept his hand to the side, flashing tanned skin. He pushed the door open while I considered how a man in this kingdom could have skin that bronze. The men behind us were all pasty and neglected by the sun.
“By all means,” he drawled. “Lead the way.”
Oliver walked out first, giving a furtive glance over his shoulder. I followed right on his heels, pushing his back with my hands. The stranger stepped outside behind us. I could feel his shadowed eyes on me and had to swallow hysteria.
As soon as we stepped into the cool night, my touch firmed.
“Run!” I whisper-yelled in Oliver’s ear. “Into the forest! Go!!!”
Thankfully, after our years of joint mischief and trouble, he knew when to listen without hesitation. Both of us lunged forward at the same time and sprinted off the main road into the nearest cluster of towering trees. The Blood Woods stretched out before us, a never-ending expanse of haunted shadows.
The stranger’s shouts chased after us, unintentionally encouraging us to run harder, faster.
Maybe demons were waiting for us inside this tangled purgatory. But anything was better than letting a meddling constable haul us away to jail, only to declare himself the next King of Elysia and master ofmyrealm because we lacked proper paperwork.
5
This was a terrible idea.
Jail would have been a considerable improvement to running blindly through the deadly Tellekane forest.
I stumbled over roots while claw-like branches cut at my face and clothes. Twigs snagged my braid and I almost lost my footing altogether when a low-hanging branch suddenly manifested directly in front of me.
I didn’t know what had happened to the constable. He could have been directly behind us or even beside us, but the moaning of the wind and the roar of leaves waving overhead paired with the frantic beat of my heart and our stumbling footsteps drowned out all other sound.
This forest was considered haunted for a reason. The growl of something fierce and feral chased us as we pushed forward, holding tightly to each other’s hands. Something brushed at my back and I let out a yelp. My boots grew heavier as mud caked the soles and clung to the hem of my gown.
Damn being a girl. This was why the Tenovian men shut their women away at night. We made terrible runners with our layers of fabric and impractical shoes.
If I ever made it to my kingdom, my first order of business would be to have all the dresses, petticoats, and corsets in the realm burned to ash. We would wear trousers like men.
“Dragon’s blood!” Oliver hissed when he nearly collided with a tree the width of a Heprin cottage. He stumbled to a stop, still clinging to my hand. “I think we lost him.”
I wheezed, the cool night air stinging my lungs with every inhale. I glanced around wildly but could only see a few feet in front of me. The night was oppressive beneath the forest canopy, as thick and blanketed as anything physical. “How can you tell?”
“I can’t,” he panted. “But I’d rather take my chances with him than die by running headfirst into a tree. Not very dignified, is it?”
“No, rotting in jail is infinitely more distinguished.”
“Exactly.”
“Exactly?”
He ignored my sarcasm. “Now what?”
“What do you mean, now what? We’re in the middle of a spooky forest with no hope of finding the road again in the dark. We just ran away from a Tenovian constable because we don’t have travel papers and are therefore in this country illegally. And what little hope there was of a hot meal has been extinguished. I suppose the only thing left to do is lie down and die.”
“Well,” he huffed. “You’re awfully grumpy.”
I decided not to answer him. Instead, I counted to ten.
The bushes shivered nearby.
“What was that?” Oliver yipped.
I found myself squeezing his hand. “I don’t know,” I whispered. “A squirrel?”
“An owl perhaps. They’re night creatures.”
