Page 106 of Ravenrose

Nothing.

Ayer is nowhere to be seen.

My heart lurches, and fear trickles up my spine as the shadows of the night appear to close in around me. I swallow hard, my eyes darting between the dark trees.

“Ayer?” I whisper as loud as I dare, spinning around slowly. If this is his idea of a joke…

But… nothing.

I’m frozen where I stand, caught between staying and making a run for it. It’s as if the forest itself is holding its breath, the quiet unnerving me further. I take a couple hesitant steps back, wincing when I snap a twig with the heel of my boot. I might as well have fired a canon, the way the crack echoes around me.

“Ayer?” I try again, a little louder this time, unable to hide the shake in my voice. There’s still no sign of him. Did he ditch me? I didn’t even notice him slip away.

My hand drops down—to the empty sheath at my thigh. Remembering too late how I lost my blade to the river.

I swear it’s only gotten darker in this little corner of the forest, and the longer I stay here, the worse I panic, so, keeping my eyes on the trees and my head on a swivel, I start forward again. Ignoring the rush of blood pounding in my ears and the goosebumps prickling at my skin.

My steps quicken until I’m practically running. I make it nearly to the bend up ahead when a hand shoots out from the darkness, hooking around my waist and yanking me off my feet. At the same time, another hand clamps down hard over my mouth, silencing my scream.

I lose it, thrashing violently as I twist and fight to get away, though I fail miserably in my panic.

“Shh.”

I freeze at the familiar dark voice in my ear.

He spins me quickly, slamming my back hard against a thick tree trunk. Readjusting his grip, he keeps his palm firmly pressed to my mouth while caging my body between his and the tree at my back.

“Don’t move,” he breathes, his words just barely audible.

My gaze lifts, and I find him staring down at me—a dark urgency in his eyes.

He’s got me pinned to the tree, and the way his arm is pressed up against my chest, I know he can feel my wild heartbeat thundering underneath.

I can’t move. His hold on me is so tight—intent on keeping me still. The scent of him fills my lungs and I want to scream, twist, run—but instead, the opposite happens. A little bit of tension eases from my muscles, my body relaxing slightly in his hold.

He hasn’t looked away, but something flashes in his eyes before his gaze slides to the left. I follow it.

At first, I see nothing but trees and darkness, but just as I start to doubt him, something moves. I go rigid, and Ayer’s grip on me tightens as he presses his body further into mine as the creature comes into full view.

It could almost be mistaken as human or fae, with a round head, walking on two legs. But it's too tall, and its limbs move… unnaturally, bending at the wrong angles. Its gait uneven as it steps out of the woods and onto the trail. With moonlight shining down, I can make out the gray of its skin, gaunt, and rubbery. Dark hair hangs down from its scalp in long, greasy strands.

Every bone is visible. I can count every rib, every vertebrae… The creature appears emaciated—or like it just crawled out of a grave. And when it turns its head, I’m grateful for Ayer’s hand still pressed firmly against my mouth, my gasp caught by his palm at the sight of the creature’s hollowed-out black eyes and huge mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.

Light.

I’ve never seen anything like it.

The creature starts forward, inching closer to where we’re hiding. Ayer shifts us carefully to the side, keeping the tree between us and the stars-blasted monster only several feet away.

I can’t see it anymore, so I keep my eyes on Ayer, watching his eyes track the beast, keeping us quiet and out of its sights.

I hear the creature sniff the air as it comes closer, gnashing its teeth together hungrily. A tremble of fear ripples through me. Run, run— We should run.

Ayer’s eyes drop to mine, slowly shaking his head back and forth as if reading my mind.

He still has his sword strapped across his back, knives sheathed along his belt. He hadn’t lost everything in the river but yet he hasn’t tried to attack. He doesn’t move. He just holds me here, hidden within the narrow shelter of the tree, his body shielding mine.

The creature is right behind us now, and I don’t dare move. It creeps closer, the guttural clicking of its throat churning my stomach.