He smiled again, and she saw the inhuman grace of it, the predatory beauty. "Is that so? Here you are. Here I am. What proof do you need, little thief?"
Every rational explanation her mind scrambled for, hallucination, drugs, elaborate hoax, crumbled against the reality of those impossible flowers, their scent making her thoughts swim.
"If you're real," she said, forcing the words through grit teeth, "if you're what she thinks you are, can you help Allegra?"
"Of course…”
Briar’s heart skipped.
“Buteverything has a price in my realm."
He stepped closer and she stumbled back, her mind barely registering the movement until rough bark scraped against her shirt. She glanced over her shoulder at the massivetrunk now pressed against her back. When had that gotten there? The tree hadn't been behind her moments ago—she was certain of it.
When she turned back, he had closed the distance between them, suddenly near enough that she found herself trapped. The bark felt warm through her shirt, something vast and alive breathing beneath the surface.
"Magic flows both ways across a bargain," he said, his voice low and measured. "The question is..."
He leaned in, lips nearly brushing her ear. His breath was cool against her skin, carrying the scent of rain and dark promises. Her traitorous body shivered, caught between terror and something else entirely.
"What are you willing to sacrifice?"
The words hung between them, heavy with implication. Around them, the forest held its breath, waiting for her answer. Waiting to see what price she'd pay for love.
Chapter two
Briar's mind raced through possibilities. She thought of their meager savings account, the emergency fund she'd scraped together over years of double shifts. The car she'd finally paid off last month. Everything she owned, everything she could sell or borrow—
"I have money—"
He laughed, low and dark. She hated how it made her skin prickle. "Money." He pressed closer, bringing with him the scent of dark earth and green growing things and something wild that made her pulse quicken. "What use have I for human currency?"
"Then what?" Her voice emerged breathless, betraying her. "What do you want?"
He appeared behind her between one breath and the next, a sudden warmth at her back, a cool breath against her ear that sent involuntary shivers down her spine. "You know what I want."
She spun to face him, stumbling slightly as she turned. The massive tree that had been pressed against her back moments before was gone. Vanished. She whipped her head around, searching the empty space where solid bark and pulsing warmth had been just seconds ago.
"Where—how did—" She gestured wildly at the spot where the tree should be. "It was right there. I felt it breathing."
But he was already moving, circling her with the lazy grace of something that had already won. Every step deliberate, every movement designed to remind her she was prey in his domain. He seemed amused by her confusion, as if reality shifting around her was nothing more than a parlor trick.
"I don't—"
"Your life for hers." The bargain was straight forward, gentle in its cruelty. His fingers ghosted along her jaw, not quite touching, and her traitorous body shivered at the almost-contact. "It's very simple."
"You can’t be serious." She retreated, her heel catching on an exposed root. Her shoulder blade collided with something solid—ancient bark grooved with age. She twisted around to find the massive oak behind her once more, solid and unmistakably real. Was she losing her mind? Had the stress, the sleepless nights, watching Allegra fade, finally caught up with her? She forced her attention back to Eliam. "There has to be something else."
"What else of value could you possibly possess?" He tilted his head with genuine curiosity, studying her like she was something fascinating he'd discovered. "Your mother made the same bargain. Broken body, dying breath, begging for any salvation." His eyes traced her face with an intensity that made her stomach flip. "I saved her. Now payment is due."
"I'm not—" The words died as he pressed closer, one hand bracing against the tree beside her head. This close she could feel the unnatural coolness radiating from his skin and catalog every inhuman angle of his too-perfect face.
"You've been mine since before you were born, little thief." His free hand rose to her hair, tugging a strand free from behind her ear. He wrapped the dark curl around his finger, considering it with the focus of someone examining precious silk. "I've been very patient, wouldn’t you agree?"
Her heart hammered against her ribs hard enough to hurt. From fear. It had to be from fear. Not from the way his voice wrapped around 'mine' with dark possession. "There must be something else you want. Information, or—or service—"
His thumb brushed her cheek, the touch electric despite its lightness. "Tempting." The word rumbled low in his chest, vibrating through the minimal space between them. "But no."
"A year," she breathed, at last, desperate. "Two years—"
