Lies, lies, lies.
Yuto had taught me a thing or two about fighting, but he hadn’t prepared me for this. All the moves he’d shown me had been intended topreventme from getting caught. There hadn’t been time to prep me for escaping a murderous, demonic, magically-strong, blood-thirsty, whatever-the-fuck-he-was.
Panos giggled again. “Oh, this could be fun. Shall we play a game? I’ll let you go. You see if you can escape me. If you can, you get to live.”
My heart throbbed painfully in my chest. Hope desperately tried to surface beneath it, even though I had no chance in hell at winning against him. Still, I had to try. It was a chance, even if it was a long shot.
Throwing back my shoulders, I met his fearsome gaze head on. “You have a deal.”
His smile widened. “Excellent. When I drop your arm, I’ll close my eyes and count to ten. Fly as fast as you can, girl.”
“Only to ten?” I asked, trying as hard as I could to sound nonchalant. “You don’t seem very convinced you can catch me if you’ll only give me ten counts to run.”
“And you don’t seem convinced you can escape me if you’re arguing against the count,” he replied in a voice of pure steel.
I pressed my lips together. If I pushed it, he might change his mind. This was the only chance I had, and I had to take it. With a shuddering breath, I finally consented with a nod.
“Alright,” I said. “Ten counts.”
With a sharp intake of breath, Panos dropped my arm and stared at his fingers as if he could not believe they were attached to his own body. Then, he laughed, dancing from foot to foot.
I didn’t wait around to see what disturbed thing he did next. Whirling on my feet, I pushed off into a run, racing toward the tree-line. I didn’t have much time. Panos would not count slowly. I might be able to leap into the forest before he would be on me like a pack of hounds.
The trees loomed like terrifying sentinels. Tiny luminous eyes stared at me from the brush. I pushed through the dense foliage, sharp branches scraping my skin. My heart thundered in my chest as I leapt toward the first tree. My fingers snaked around the limb, and I hauled myself up into its densely-packed leaves.
The bark was rough against my palms, but I ignored the sting. I jumped up and grabbed the next branch. Again and again until I was so high in the tree that I could no longer see the ground.
I stilled, not wanting my noise to reach Panos’s ears. My eyelids fluttered shut, and I listened. The sounds of the forest rose up around me like a symphony. Birds chirped, insects buzzed, humid droplets splashed onto leaves. No footsteps sounded. No foliage rustled. Everything was quiet, still, calm.
Had I somehow lost him? Had I...won?
“Hello, little one,” a voice whispered into my ear. I jumped, a scream ripping from my throat. I flipped open my eyes, and Panos wasright there. Sitting in the tree beside me and grinning with violent delight shining in his blood-stained eyes.
“How did you find me?” I gasped.
He shrugged. “Mortals make a lot of noise, even when they believe they’re being silent. You never had a chance against something like me. Pity. The game was over before it even began.”
“What are you?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“I am fae, but unlike most you’d find.” He grinned. “Too bad you had to meet me instead of one of them.”
“This wasn’t a very fair game then,” I tried. “I bet you wouldn’t be so lucky if we did it again without you using your hearing.”
“I am bored of games,” he hissed.
I stared at him with my heart stuck in my throat like a jagged rock. His gleaming eyes didn’t even blink. He leaned forward, his nostrils flared. He was sniffing me again, no doubt smelling the blood roaring through my veins. This was it. My last moments in this world. I’d die up in a tree. Alone. No one would ever know what had happened to me.
My heart ached. I would give anything to be anywhere but here. Even home.
“Come,” Panos finally said, licking his lips. “It’s time to climb back down the tree.”
“Wait...what?” My mind stuttered over his words. “You aren’t going to kill me?”
“I am, but not just yet. It has to be the right time.” He gestured at the branches below us. “Now, climb. And don’t get any funny thoughts in your head. If you try to flee, I’ll bite a chunk of flesh out of your arm. And then I will make you watch me eat it.”
Dread scraped its sharp claws through my gut. I glanced down at the limb below me. If I could get two branches down, I might be able to take off through the trees. But Panos would catch me. I could be quick on my feet, but he was faster. With a defeated sigh, I eased down the tree. Each step felt like I was churning through mud. Every single one was another step closer to my impending death.
When my feet hit the ground, Panos landed just before me. He snatched a rope from seemingly nowhere and tied the strands around my wrists. The rough material bit into my skin, taking me back to the moment I’d first met Yuto. I’d never get to tell him what he needed to know, how to get back to his homeland.
