Page 88 of The Dead Queen

The dead woman is grinning. Only, it’s not the grin of a beautiful maiden. Her teeth are far too sharp, and there are far too many of them. As water runs off her skin, her flesh begins to change, turning gray and scaly.

She’s a fae. Here, in Llwyn.

I scream and drop her arm. Hunter turns to me in alarm, but it’s too late. The creature has fully transformed. The long golden hair and pink dress are gone, replaced by a monstrous body that’s not quite human and not quite fish. Her long, scaled tail thrashes the water where her legs used to be, and her once-delicate hands have become webbed fingers tipped with filthy claws.

She grabs Hunter’s arm and twists toward the pool with terrifying strength, dragging him toward the deep. He loses his footing and crashes onto the stones. The creature clings to him with an iron grip as he struggles to break free.

“Let him go!” I scream, leaping into the water. “Hunter!”

His words are garbled as the creature pulls him under the water.

I grab the knife from my boot and dive in after them. The pool is much deeper than I expected, its bottom lost in murky green darkness. There’s just enough light to make out the creature thrashing as it drags Hunter deeper.

Something hard knocks into my thigh as I swim toward them. My heart lurches and I turn, afraid it’s another monster. It isn’t, but my relief is short-lived. A human skull drifts past, its mouth gaping in a silent scream. This isn’t just an enchanted pool, it’s a hidden grave.

I ignore the dead and swim deeper. When I reach the creature, I slash my knife, not caring what part of it I hit. Blood clouds the water in dark swirls. The creature recoils, its wide white eyes flashing with fear. For a moment, it hesitates, looking from Hunter to me and back again. Then it releases him and vanishes into the deep.

It feels too easy, but there’s no time to question it. I grab Hunter’s arm and kick upward. We break the surface, coughing and gasping, then swim toward the shore. I stumble on the pebbled ground, my dress heavy with water. Hunter pulls me up and together we stumble away from the enchanted pool. I grab my red cloak from where I left it on the stone while Hunter gathers his scattered clothes. Then we run back to the road, barefoot and dripping. We don’t stop until it feels my lungs will burst.

When I can go no farther, I collapse onto a pile of leaves and moss, just off the roadside. Hunter wraps his cloak over his bare shoulders. He’s shivering so badly he can’t put his shoes on. Eventually, he gives up and sinks to the ground beside me.

I sit hunched and soaked, a puddle forming beneath me. Hunter reaches for me and pulls me into his chest.

“Thank you,” he whispers into my wet hair. “Thank you.”

Water beads on his chest as it rises and falls. He looks mostly unscathed except for a thin cut near his elbow. Blood mingles with water in a slow, red trail down his arm. I must’ve hurt him during the chaos underwater.

“You’re bleeding,” I say.

He looks down, surprised, but then shakes his head. “It’s nothing.”

My teeth start to chatter. He turns me away from him and fumbles with the ties on my dress. His fingers are visibly stiff from the cold. “We need to get you out of this.”

I don’t protest. Even though we escaped the creature, the day could still end badly if I can’t get my body temperature back up. Hunter helps me peel away my wet clothes, all concern for modesty forgotten. His hands are gentle as they brush over my damp skin, like he’s touching something precious. Something forbidden. He averts his eyes when my final layer drops to the ground.

All that remains is the silver moth necklace nestled between my breasts.

He reaches for his pile of dry clothes and pulls his tunic over my head. It’s long enough to serve as a chemise, reaching the middle of my thighs. It’s warmer than standing before him naked, but not by much.

Hunter pulls me down to the mossy ground. I sit with my back against him, his knees on either side of me. He wraps the red cloak around us, trapping what remains of our body heat as he rubs his hands over my arms. I turn my head and tuck my face into his neck, breathing in the comforting scent of his skin. Slowly, the fear begins to ebb, loosening its grip on the edges of my mind.

Our shivers gradually fade, and our breathing returns to normal. But even once I know we’re warm enough to be out of danger, I don’t pull away. Instead, I savor the rise and fall of his chest behind me.

Today, I nearly lost him. I sniffle as the tears finally come.

“Shh,” Hunter whispers into my hair. “It’s okay. We’re okay.”

But we’re not. We’re really, truly not okay. And it’s my fault for forcing him to escort the Wolf north with me. Because I’m selfish. Because I’m willing to risk other people’s lives to get the one thing I want more than anything else—answers.

A shadowy thought crosses my mind: I may not be so different from my father after all.

A sob bursts from my chest. “You were almost eaten by a mermaid!”

Hunter chuckles, his laugh low. “But I wasn’t.”

“We got lucky.”

“There’s nothing lucky about it. You jumped in after me.”