“I wouldn’t abandon you.” He looked so soft and serious that I couldn’t tell him I was less concerned about him running away and more concerned about him passing out in the middle of a fight and becoming monster food.
We caught up with the others at the edge of the forest. They glanced at Wilde’s free wrist without acknowledging the change. “Everyone ready?” Fitz asked. He waited for confirmation, then we walked into the forest together.
Our first few steps were cautious, unsure of what to expect from a formerly cursed forest. Everyone stuck close as we peered into the shadows searching for monsters or magical traps. For a few seconds, it was unnaturally quiet, the only sounds our boots crunching over leaves and sticks. And then … the sweet trills of birds calling to one another.
Once that note of normalcy broke through the stillness, our formation relaxed, and everyone naturally spread out. Delilah gamboled ahead, bouncing and running along the twisted paths, stopping abruptly to examine a bug or leaf. Angelica strode forward with purpose, ignoring both the freshly bloomed flowers and the malformed trees. If she had any say in the matter, we’d march straight up to the Lord of Grimnight’s lair and demand his surrender. Fitz kept a steady pace, his head bobbing as he tried to keep an eye on the curling roots and the emerald canopy at the same time. Maximus had the longest legs, so he could have easily outpaced everyone, but he stayed exactly in the middle of the group, trying to keep an eye on everyone at the same time.
Wilde walked in step with me. He never looked at me, but if I slowed, he slowed, and if I sped up, he sped up. Maybe he’d gotten used to walking in sync while we’d been bound, or maybe he just wanted to be near me.
I inched closer to him and whispered, “Wanna hold hands?”
He shot me a startled look and snatched his hand away from me, as if afraid I would grab it without his permission. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not? I’m feeling light and lonely,” I said, shaking my bare wrist at him. “Like I’ll fly away.”
He ignored me and tried to speed up, but my legs were longer than his, so he couldn’t escape me without flat out running away or teleporting.
“I remember you being a lot bolder,” I said.
“You don’t remember anything,” he snapped.
I’d only meant to tease him, but his anger sparked my own. “And whose fault is that?”
He froze and looked at me like I’d stabbed him through the heart. A phantom pain spasmed through my stomach to match. “You think it’s a burden to forget, butIhave to look at you every day and remembereverythingwhile you don’t even know who I am.”
The accusation twisted the phantom pain in deeper. I’d never understand the source of it if he continued to run away at the first sign of confrontation. “You won’t stay long enough for me to learn!”
“Don’t lecture me on staying,Treasure Banes.” He spat my name out as if it burned his tongue. “You’re the one who left me in a bed alone because you didn’t care enough to stay!”
“Um, guys.”
We’d slept together?This was the most he’d ever shared about our previous relationship, and he was wielding the information against me like a weapon, slicing into me so we had matching wounds rather than shared memories. I stalked toward him, using my height to force him to look up at me. “Maybe you wouldn’t let me get close enough to care. Maybe you’ve been running thiswhole fucking time.”
“I amnotrunning away!” We were almost nose to nose now—or nose to chin—anger steaming the air between us. I wanted to shove him against the closest tree and kiss him until he shut up. Until he became limp and pliable in my hands, too subdued to remember magic existed.
“Guys?”
“What?!” We shouted at the same time, glaring at our forgotten audience.
Fitz pointed to one of the trees. “We have company.”
Muffled giggling came from behind the trunk. A vibrant green, barbed tail flicked into view before a purple hand caught it and dragged it back to safety. After a long moment of silence, a high-pitched voice whispered, “Why’d they stop?” Then a small, horned head stuck out around the tree. The imp’s eyes widened when it realized it was being observed, and it hurriedly hid itself again.
Imps loved drama. The fastest way to recruit them was to stage a fight, the more ‘secrets’ spilled the better. They liked to hang around evil mages, helping their plots as often as they hindered them. Any imps hanging out in a formerly cursed forest probably served the Lord of Grimnight.
I gestured Delilah over and whispered, “Sneak around the other side and grab one.”
“I don’t want to hurt it!”
Usually, her feline instincts had her chasing all sorts of small creatures around. Why did she have to be so stubborn now? “Then grab itcarefully.”
She glared at me but lowered herself into a crouch and stalked around the side of the tree.
The imps squealed, half fright and half delight, as she pounced at them. They fluttered in two different directions, one flying above her head, the other zooming straight toward us. Its batlike wings smacked me in the face as it dove straight into Wilde’s arms, cuddling up to his side.
Delilah caught the other imp, and it shrieked until its scream dissolved into giggles. She lowered it and tucked it under her arm, trotting back to us.
The imps pointed accusing claws at each other. “You got caught!”
