Scarlett ran from the castle’s courtyard onto the gravel road they’d driven in on. There were only two directions she could go, so she chose the familiar route along the tree houses. Out in the inky night, the lit tree houses provided the only illumination. A nice walk around the countryside sounded like just the thing while she wallowed in thoughts of Brayden.
Crickets chirped around her, and she shivered as a huge gust of wind blew straight through her clothes. Summer in Clair de Lune was colder than Soleil’s winter.
I’ll warm up if I keep moving.
Her chest tightened as she heard a car leaving the castle courtyard behind her. Was it paranoid to think James would’ve immediately narced on her to Brayden? The idea of him chasing after her like a naughty child was unbearable. As headlights flashed on the road, she ran toward the forest to hide.
From behind the thick trunk of an enormous redwood, she peeked out at the SUV, letting out an exasperated sigh when it pulled over where she’d left the road.
Fuck my life.
They probably knew she’d run into the woods to avoid them, which only increased her desire not to be caught.
A chill that had nothing to do with the cold washed over Scarlett as she stared at the wild forest. No moonlight streamed down through the trees. If she went fifteen feet into the woods and crouched down, they wouldn’t see her. James had said it was dangerous, but how dangerous could it be this close to the road?
Before she could lose her nerve, Scarlett scrambled through the trees with her hands out in front of her to make sure she didn’t hit anything. She winced as a low branch scraped her leg. Grasping the nearest tree trunk, she turned to see if she was still being pursued. To her shock, she couldn’t see the road through the trees. She’d only come a short way—hadn’t she?
“Scarlett?” Brayden’s voice reached her from somewhere nearby. “It’s dangerous out here. Please don’t hide from me.”
She crouched down on the forest floor, touching the mossy base of the tree to steady herself.
I don’t want toseeyou right now.
It sounded like he was to her left. Maybe if she stayed in place he wouldn’t spot her. The sounds of unseen animals—or other things—washed over her. A wolf howled, and it didn’t sound far away. She whirled around when a human scream pierced the night air and leaves rustled nearby.
Okay, time to go back to the road.
Scarlett had just risen when a rotten, wrinkled form came into sight a mere twenty feet away. She screamed, stumbling backward. The thing emitted a faint glow, and the mummified human corpse with black holes for eyes shrieked again as it came toward her, taking halting steps in her direction. Another corpse emerged from the trees, marching forward in the same labored way.
Footsteps came at her. Brayden and James appeared.
“Scarlett!” Brayden yelled, and all desire to hide from them disappeared in the face of whatever these disgusting things were. Thank the Goddess they’d found her.
“Brayden,” she called in a shaky voice.
James said, “Don’t look at the wraiths!”
But it was too late. Those black holes had looked into her eyes, and she was paralyzed by them. Everything around her faded as she stared back—until Brayden came into view, grabbing her by the shoulders and breaking her eye contact with the creatures.
He shoved her into James’s arms. “Protect her.” Then Brayden spun around, hands up, looking down at the forest floor with his palms facing the corpses. A stream of fire emerged from his hands, illuminating the forest around them as he targeted the creatures.
Scarlett’s jaw dropped. How was he doing that? She remembered the hydra and the dire wolf from the boxing match. Was he some kind of dragon shifter? And he’d never told her?
His blaze surrounded the creatures, and, shrieking, they tried to protect their leathery faces. In seconds, they were piles of ash, the ground around them scorched black.
Brayden’s flames went out, plunging them into darkness once more. He rushed back toward her and James and reached for her with hands that had just been covered in fire.
Scarlett jerked back, afraid he might burn her. “What are you?”
The hurt in his eyes snapped her out of her fear and shock. He’d never harm her.
She grabbed his hand. It didn’t burn, but it was unusually warm. “That was wild. Your fire is incredible,” she said in a shaky voice.
He sagged with relief as he wrapped her in his arms. “Thank the Goddess you’re all right,” he whispered.
His breath caressed her ear, and warmth pooled deep in her core. The heat of his arms around her… Goddess. She almost forgot about his rejection. His smell was so similar to the forest, but with a distinctly male undertone that made her want to rub herself on him like a cat.
James cleared his throat. “You didn’t tell her about your power?”
