“Don’t take her from me.” My voice cracked. “Please.” I snapped my head to the side, searching for a dagger, a rock,anything!
Naria thrashed around, but within seconds he had her pinned to the wall.
Rage swelled inside me.
“No more chasing,” Arenn purred, leaning closer to her ear. “Because now I’ve caught you, I’m never letting you go.”
“NO!” I yelled, but the bastard just tossed me one last grin before he snatched up her wrist and took her away. The two of them vanished into the night air, leaving nothing but flickering candles and a cold, furious ache in my chest.
CHAPTER 38
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Ascreeching howl tore my eyes open. I winced as harsh daylight struck me across the face. Leaves fluttered around me, brown from the cold, as I lay sprawled out in what seemed to be a dense, winter-kissed forest.
Heart racing, I lifted my hands. Sunlight filtered through strange, pale fingers.
Pushing myself up, I jolted in surprise as long blonde curls tumbled past my shoulders. I ran my fingers through the unfamiliar hair, narrowing my gaze.
Now that I thought about it, everything seemed unfamiliar. My hair. My hands. The short white nightgown onmy skin.
Scrunching my eyes shut, I tried to think past the awful headache drilling into my skull. It was as if my mind had been scraped clean. I couldn’t remember anything. Where I was.WhoI was. This body felt as unfamiliar as the endless forest closing in on me.
I lifted my hands again, tugging at my strange hair. “Focus!” I hissed, only to jump at the sound of my own voice. Before I could let out a sob, another howl barreled through the forest.
“Who’s there?” I gasped. My gaze darted from tree to tree. Some kind of animal, perhaps? It didn’t sound human.
The howl came again, this time followed by footsteps crunching against the forest floor.Severalpairs of footsteps. The sound made my skin crawl even if I couldn’t remember why.
“Show yourself!” I screamed.
Three small men burst out from behind a tree and skidded to a halt in front of me.
My mouth snapped shut. On second thought – not men.
“Be afraid, o’oman!” the beast closest to me snarled. His tiny green frame couldn’t have been taller than two feet, but that didn’t deter his confidence as he waved his pointed staff menacingly.
Nose scrunching, I leaned back against a tree. “What are you?”
“Your worst nightmare, witch!” Another one leapt closer. His mossy lips pulled into a grin, revealing a row of sharp teeth. “Now scream or we—”
“It’s wench.”
Silence fell over the forest as the two beastly men turned to the friend, who’d just spoken.
“What?” he scoffed, folding his green arms. “You said the line wrong. You were supposed to say ‘wench’ not ‘witch’.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“It doesn’t matter,” the one with the sharp teeth hissed, though his odd accent from before had vanished. “We’re in a scene now so just say your line.”
“But it’s not very professional to go off script.”
“I hardly doubt our audience will care.” He jerked his chin towards me.
Leaning forward, I raised my hand to interrupt. “Um, excuse me, is this some kind of play?”
“Quiet, o’oman, or I kill!” The one with the staff jabbed at my hand, and I jerked back.
