My throat bobbed, swallowing as I lifted my head. “I don’t want to go.”
Blackthorn brushed my hair from my face. “Then don’t. Stay here... with me.”
I smiled sadly up at him. “If only I’d met you when I first came to Candiopolis... before...” I coughed and leaned my forehead against his chest.
“Rumple?” Blackthorn answered for me. His body stiffened against me, his arms holding me tight. He cursed and shook with anger. “I’m a daft fool. I should have figured it out sooner.” He drew back and lifted my chin, his thumb brushing tears and blood from my cheek.
“You tried to tell me...” he mourned, despair in his eyes, “if I hadn’t been so caught up in... fuck... I don’t know how I’ll ever make this up to you. If only I’d listened, if only...”
“No,” I gasped, gripping at his shirt still rumpled from our love making. “I couldn’t... you didn’t know...”
“Rumpelstiltskin did this to you,” Blackthorn sneered as Fran approached with my shoes. “If returning you to him will save you, then I will, but don’t think that means I’ll let him keep you.” He lifted his hand behind me and pulled on the door, which creaked open behind us with ease.
“You’re mine, and I won’t let anyone take you away.”
Chapter 27
When I began walking in the direction of Candiopolis, the spell lightened up. It tugged occasionally, a sharp reminder that my time was up.
My brief time in Blackthorn’s castle was nothing more than a dream. I’d be returning to the real world. Back to the factory where the soap and dyes burned my eyes and my back ached after a long day’s work.
Blackthorn accompanied me. We walked in silence, his arm around my waist, keeping me upright, my body still aching from the curse’s abuse.
Fran had given me a sad smile and a gentle hug before we left. I declined to see the others to say goodbye not daring to disobey the spell any longer. I could only pray that it didn’t get impatient and drag me through the Candy Forest.
“It’s a day’s walk from here to the capital,” Blackthorn commented as we stepped out of the large, looming gates that surrounded his castle and onto the overgrown road which led into the forest.
“You don’t have to come with me,” I breathed, each step making me wince.
Blackthorn paused, looking down on me. “Would you rob me of the little time I have left with you?”
Our eyes locked, my heart racing for a completely different reason now. Without answering, I shook my head. So I let him escort me into the forest, the candy cane trees filling the skyabove us, hiding the stars from our gaze. A thought occurred to me.
“It’ll be light before we reach the city.” I glanced up at Blackthorn. “You’ll be stuck in the forest until the sun goes down.”
Blackthorn chuckled. “You fear for my safety?”
I pressed my lips together and nodded.
Lifting my chin, he pressed his forehead to mine. “How many times do I have to tell you that my life doesn’t matter? Only yours.”
I pulled my face away from his. “My life isn’t that important.”
“To you.” Blackthorn booped me on the nose. “Do not take away my purpose for living.”
I nodded and limped forward. Without warning, Blackthorn scooped me up into his arms. My own wrapped around his neck, staring at him in wonder and an overwhelming feeling of love. I wanted nothing more than to hold him tightly and never let him go.
I’d never been this deep into the Candy Forest. No need to, even if I was brave enough to walk into it alone.
The colorful trees were bunched close together, and the shadows grew darker, pressing in at all sides. Had anyone else walked into the forest on their own, they would fear the beasts that prowl the woods, like the one they had been torturing when I saved Blackthorn.
With Blackthorn at my side, nothing bothered us. The forest was quiet, far quieter than it should have been. I supposedBlackthorn was far more dangerous than anything else in the woods.
We didn’t stop until the roaring of water filled my ears. Around a bend, the milky white waters of the Milky Way River spread out before us. The dark chocolate sands lined the edges of the river, its waters too fast and deep to easily cross.
“Let’s rest here.” Blackthorn sat me down onto a nearby nestle of rocks. He knelt before me, his eyes taking note of every inch of my face.
Without warning, he ripped the bottom of his shirt and dipped it into the water. Returning to me, he lifted it to my face, swiping blood from my nose and lip.
