“Who’s scared now? Careful, we wouldn’t want anyone to find out the big bad wolf is actually a timid kitten,” Hazel jeered, ignoring the warmth blooming against her skin.
He stepped into her, closing the space between them. “You talk a lot of shit for someone who can’t back it up. And you flinch like someone who has something to hide.” His eyes shifted to something predatory, feral, and he crouched down to meet her gaze.
“And you look at me like you hope I’ll break.”
“Not hope, Hazel. Expectation.”
Before she knew it, his hand was around her wrist, causing her to flinch at the sudden tension. His grip didn’t quite hurt, butit was most definitely too tight. His entire demeanor changed, and she was pretty sure this was no longer a playful game. Hazel glanced at her wrist, and then back to Slaide, the dagger falling from her hand.
His eyes had melded into a sinister pitch black again, the golden irises completely devoured by an endless void. And when he spoke, the air trembled, the ground beneath her feat carrying the vibration. Clouds were closing in, blanketing the starry sky in darkness.
“You’re right,” he said, his face far too close to hers. “I’m not the big bad wolf.” His grin was sinister, teeth—and fangs—bared. “I am the monster before which the big bad wolf cowers.”
Slaide let go of her then and took a step back tilting his head up to the sky and spreading his arms wide. Lightning struck all around him, leaving nothing but charred, black earth in its wake.
And then enormous, onyx-feathered wings unfurled from his back, and he launched into the air, disappearing over the treetops.
SYLVIE
Hazel stared up at the sky to the place she watched Slaide’s winged form take off and disappear, finding it hard to form even a single thought as shock wracked her body. All this time she’d thought Slaide was human. But he wasn’t, was he?Where the Hel was he hiding his wings?Her thoughts were swimming, and she needed answers.
Night was upon them, and she was not looking forward to being outside the castle walls by herself in full darkness. With no time to lose, she mounted Phillip and charged off in the direction Slaide had headed.
She urged the horse to the forest’s edge and to his credit, he didn’t protest. When she dismounted, he was content with being left to graze.
As Hazel walked down the path, the damp earth soft beneath her feet, thunder rumbled overhead. A warning of another storm, she concluded as she glanced up to see clouds sliding in from the western skies.
A twig snapped beneath her feet, startling her and sending her heart into a gallop as she remembered Nan’s stories about the monsters roaming the Borderlands.
The fact this forest was here, that it was as thick and overgrown as it was, was evidence enough of the magic in this place. And where there was magic… She shook off the thought. Those were just stories. So what if the Striga happened to be real?
But as she trudged on, she was hounded by a feeling she just couldn’t shake—someone was watching, following. She paused abruptly and heard footsteps that weren’t hers. She picked up the pace, her head on a swivel, determined not to be caught unaware. A chorus of howls went up in the distance.Far enough away for now, but for how long?
Hazel rounded a bend in the forest path and came to a halt when her eyes landed on the silhouette of a creature sitting in the middle, unmoving. It was a… cat? And a very large one at that. Hazel cocked her head as it approached her, stalking slowly on giant furry paws. As he approached, she noticed the orange fur and ethereal green eyes. But it couldn’t be.
He padded up to her, sat at her feet, and proceeded to groom himself. Hazel squatted down beside him, admiring how his coat stood out so brightly even in the fading light. She reached out to pet him, but he froze, eyeing her suspiciously, body tense.
“Right. I’m not allowed to pet you, am I? Well, in that case, I’d better be going. Good seeing you, Cat.”She stood and dusted off her pants.
The orange cat approached her and arched his back into her shins, his tail curling around her calf with a mind of its own. Hazel smiled, happy to still have some piece of home there with her, even if it was a strange cat she’d only recently become acquainted with.
He walked a circle around her before trotting off in the direction she’d been walking. As though he sensed she wasn't following, the cat paused and looked over his shoulder, waiting for her to follow.
She considered for a moment, but decided to follow him since she was headed in that direction anyway. He trotted onward, tail held high, looking back at her every so often as though to make sure she was still there.
As they crested a hill on the forest path, the cat paused and sat on his haunches. He began grooming his paws again, and Hazel wondered if she’d been a fool to follow a cat through the woods.
But then she looked up and found he’d led her to the end of the path and the edge of the forest. She’d successfully left the howling beasts and dark corners of the wood behind. And that wasn’t all.
Well, I’ll be damned.
Up ahead near a small lake, the ground rose sharply into a cliff overlooking the calm waters. The moon had risen in the sky, bathing everything in its milky white light. And at the top of the ridge was the silhouette of a winged man.
She’d found Slaide. Thecathad found Slaide.
When she looked back, the cat was gone without a trace, as quietly as he’d arrived.
As Hazel took in his Slaide’s form sitting on a boulder near the cliff’s edge, she sighed. She had so many questions she wanted to ask, and not one of them was appropriate to lead with. The pendant was warm in her fingers, though she didn’t remember reaching for it.
