“You have too much of your mother’s ancestors in you. This is necessary. Their line cannot be allowed to survive. You’ll call the monsters right to us.”
Eva moaned and shook her head, rocking back and forth. The monsters were already here, standing in front of her. They wore the clothes of the people she loved and trusted.
“This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. Not again,” she muttered to herself.
The people around her stepped back, the circle widening.
The leader of the pack crouched in front of her, horns curling above his head, a wrinkled snout where his nose used to be. “Don’t you wish you’d married me now?”
His laughter filled her ears as she stumbled back. The fields weren’t happy being denied her blood. It felt like running through water, her movements exaggerated and slow. The ground gripped her, making her passage difficult.
Come to us, child. We will protect you,the hags whispered.
Eva sobbed as she struggled toward the dark interior of the Hags’ Forest and safety.
Heavy breath fell on her neck, the glint of metal shining, the blade swinging.
A loud noise nearby had Eva jolting upright, her heart thundering. Her breathing was heavy as she fought to control her panic, the dream mixing with reality. For several confusing seconds, she didn’t know where she was, caught in the terror of trying to escape.
She inhaled and held the breath, the cool darkness surrounding her. She sat forward and held her head for several seconds.
The dream wasn’t real. You’re not back there. It didn’t happen that way, Eva told herself, repeating it again and again until she believed it.
The night her former life had come to an end had been anticlimactic. She’d slipped in through her window, wanting to avoid the fight she knew she’d have with her father over her disappearance into the forest.
The sharp bite of her mother’s words had stopped her. Eva’s mother rarely argued with her father, so hearing that tone from her had gotten her attention.
She’d listened silently as they discussed the village’s plans. Her heart had broken when she heard her mother agree to lure her to the fields the next morning.
Beyond her mother’s token protest, they hadn’t fought for her. They’d let the village decide and that was it. In that moment, any bonds she’d had to them had been severed.
Eva had waited until her parents finished discussing her impending sacrifice before slipping into the kitchen and gathering what she needed to survive. Then she left. No goodbye. No answers as to how they could let the village do that to their daughter.
Eva wiped away her residual tears and forced the thoughts out of her mind. That part of her life was over. There was no going back even if she’d wanted to—and she didn’t want to.
She lifted her head and stilled. She wasn’t alone.
Caden sat a few feet from her, his back to her. The pack he must’ve dropped on the ground to wake her by his side.
Eva wrapped her arms around her knees and squeezed them, waiting for the ridicule. The Trateri prized strength. Being tormented on a weekly basis by the terrors and regrets in your mind wasn’t exactly something to be proud of.
It was one of the reasons she preferred sleeping with the horses. They never acted like there was something wrong with her when she woke, face wet with tears and throat sore from the sounds she made while locked in sleep.
Eva waited for the inevitable questions, bracing to see the derision in this strong man’s eyes when he finally faced her. Caden was mentally one of the strongest people she knew. Having him see this weakness of hers left her feeling exposed and fragile.
Caden surprised her. He continued to watch the night while she studied his back.
He didn’t say anything, didn’t ask questions, didn’t even acknowledge that he knew she was awake. They sat in silence until Eva had calmed and drowsiness lay claim to her.
He curled onto his side, still facing away from her and rested his head on the pack. Eva followed suit, grateful he hadn’t prodded as so many others would have.
With his silent company a soothing presence, she let her eyes drift shut. For once, the company of another didn’t seem so bad.
*
Caden struggled tocontrol his frustration as he surveyed the straggly band shambling toward them. Four days on the road and it was one setback after another, as if the land itself was cursing their passage.
Caden wasn't a man given to flighty superstitions, but he was beginning to see why such things abounded in the Highlands.
