Something glinted in the corner of her eye, and she turned to look out of the narrow window. Beyond the crumbling stone wall, the Mistwood loomed.
Run, the voice inside of her urged.
The hunters might not have been able to handle the woods, but maybe she could for a little while. She knew which plants not to eat and which ones you could. There were animals in there, which meant there was water.
She would only need to go in and hide for long enough that Louis and her father would give up on her. Louis wouldn't kill Narcisse. Not while his mother needed the medicine he could create. She had always helped him distill it, using her magic to make the balance just right. He would figure it out. He wassucha famous alchemist after all.
The whore, the poison, the pyre, or the Mistwood. Those were the options.
Delphi pushed open the shutters of the window and looked around. No sign of Louis's thugs. They might have been downstairs in the basement helping Narcisse pack up his delicate equipment.
Delphi dropped her bag onto the soft grass and climbed out. The house shielded this part of the garden, and if she stayed low, she might not be seen. Her heart was beating hard, but she didn't hesitate. She was halfway over the wall when she heard a shout.
"She's running!" one of the guards called.
Delphi bolted. Horses' hooves pounded behind her, but she didn't dare look back. She sprinted into the undergrowth, leaping over fallen trunks and stones. The canopy of the trees grew darker, and she felt the magic of the borders thrum up through her feet. The horses screamed, and she dared to pause to look back. Louis, his men, and her father were at the tree line. The animals refused to go further.
Louis's face was an angry snarl. "Get her! She's on foot. Bring her to me!"
"Delphi! Get out of there! You are embarrassing me," Narcisse shouted. He was pale, but his eyes were filled with fear, not anger. The guards seemed to gather their courage and stormed after her, blades drawn.
Delphi turned to run again, just as a huge figure stepped out from behind a tree. She slammed into a thick body and fell backward. A clawed hand grabbed her by the arm, catching her before she hit the ground.
Golden eyes looked down at her from underneath a dark hood. Delphi knew those eyes. She bit back a cry of surprise as she stared at the hand holding onto her. Fine black fur covered it and the thickly muscled arm holding her.
A deep voice growled from under the hood, "Found you, little flower."
6
Delphi stared in wonder as creatures began to appear around them. They were all cloaked, but she could make out horns and clawed feet in the shadows. Fear coiled through her, and she froze, knowing there was no way she could escape the grip around her arm.
"Unhand my property!" Louis shouted from where his men had retreated to the borderline of the forest.
"Your property? I think not, lordling." A hand reached up and pulled back the hood.
Delphi stared up at him, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. He had a lion's head, with a narrower nose like a man's, and the tips of his fangs rested on full dark lips.
Two black horns twisted back from the top of his head, his ears pointed like a lynx's. He had a thick black mane and beard, streaked in places with silver. Through the gap of his cloak, his bare torso was a smooth black bone plating with gold arcane sigils carved into it.
He wore trousers, cut off at the knees to reveal his leonine back legs. He was covered in short midnight black fur, a strangeblend of man and lion. Golden eyes studied her, and Delphi felt stripped bare under them.
Louis and his men shrank back in fear, drawing their swords. The only one who didn't look surprised was Narcisse.
"Infernal alchemist, you show your face at last," the beast growled. "Look upon your work, Narcisse. Have we grown more handsome with time?"
Narcisse began to shake. "King Tenebrys. L-Let her go."
"Only if you take her place," Tenebrys replied, his large fingers tightening on Delphi. Narcisse didn't move. He didn't say a word. "That's what I thought. Still a fucking coward."
"How did you find me?" Narcisse finally asked, sweat covering his brow. "I never stepped into the woods. Not even when the voices called out to me. Always whispering at me, trying to lure me… I never went! You shouldn't be here." Fear was making him babble in a way Delphi had never seen before, even when he was drunk.
Tenebrys made a rumbling sound. It took Delphi a moment to realize it was laughter. "You were always so very good at hiding yourself from magic, Narcisse. It's a shame you didn't bother to teach your daughter how to ward her mind as effectively."
"She has nothing to do with this," Narcisse said weakly.
"She came into my woods, and I'm claiming her as a blood price foryourcrimes."
"What crimes?" Delphi asked, finding her voice at last. None of this was making any sense.
