Page 33 of Dare

Then I strapped a rigging cord around my waist, made a knot to secure the empty canteen and dagger, and placed one foot in front of the other. The maybe-dead prince could wait. My heart wouldn’t break if the sea had taken that monster, especially not when I’d done my best to save him. I’d thrown the enemy into the waves, not at the rocks, not my fault. But if the universe had decided to play devil’s advocate and spare the enemy, I couldn’t best him without water.

I couldn’t do anything without water. Whatever lurked inside the rainforest could be perilous, but if the song was right, deadly might turn out to be beautiful.

The mesh of shrubs looked painfully adventurous to squeeze through. Thirsty and curious, I wedged myself into the thicket. Gnarled offshoots scraped my chin and poked my ankles. The hedges ate up the sunshine, cloaking the route in darkness and crushing me so that I couldn’t tell if I walked in a straight line.

I slapped my ear as something brambly skated behind my lobe. Whatever it was, it stung my flesh like a needle.

The air grew wetter, the plants tighter, the journey longer. A musty scent coated the air, making me dizzy. Creepers unfurled and reached out like fingers to snag my hair. Yelping, I jumped back and blinked through the haze.

Finally, the thicket parted. I spilled onto a path, the foul smell disappeared, and my head cleared. A dimly lit wild greeted me. Vapors slithered around the trunks while tendrils of vivid green plants glimmered among the shadows.

Then the rain fell. Washing down in droves, its arrival pulled a wondrous gasp from my lips. Smiling, I thrust my arms upward, tipping my chin and opening my mouth, the fresh, pure zest sliding across my dry tongue. My frame shook with relief, and if I started to cry, I let those tears bring me back to life.

The burning in my throat cooled. I drank and drank, then I filled my canteen.

Plucking a few leaves, I used them to scrub myself from top to bottom. I did this while laughing and weeping, the torrent leaching the sea salt from my body, soothed my cut knee, and clearing the sand from my fingernails until they gleamed white.

When the rain eased to a drizzle, I kept going. My eyes jumped from one marvel to the next. Vibrant colors glowed from every dark recess, some shades recognizable, others beyond my imagination. The flutter of goldenrod feathers. The quiver of fuzzy blossoms. Trees the likes of which I’d never seen—from sage to emerald—crocheted together and formed a dense canopy so high that my neck ached as I gaped overhead.

A melody of sounds rang from above. Cavernous warbles. The long slide of a whistle. Thuds pounded across boughs, the percussion heavy like the paws of a predator stalking its prey.

Blossoms covered a tree trunk, the bouquet spanning its height. As I padded closer, the petals flew from the bark and flapped into the air.

Butterflies! They flitted across the forest, some of their wings glowing and shifting color with each beat, from dainty pink to fiery red like stained glass. The creatures swirled around me, their sizes ranging from miniature to massive. Elated, I leaped into a dance, twirling alongside them, the jubilant butterflies fanning their wings and waltzing with me down the path.

Without warning, they broke apart and scattered. Grinning, I watched them soar.

From someplace nearby, a serpentine hiss vibrated through the air. Not long after, a low rumble skidded from another area, sounding very much like a feline’s roar. The echoes caused my flesh to shiver with a nervous thrill.

“Show me your secrets,” I whispered to the forest. “Let me learn. Help me find what I’m looking for.”

Did this land hear me the way I heard myself? I liked to believe so.

Closing my eyes, I waited for the slightest tremble of air and deciphered its direction. Opening my eyes, I watched how this world moved, how each breeze rustled the canopy, and I ran my fingers over the offshoots, looking for breaks that would lead to a spring.

Then I squatted and pressed my palms into the earth, feeling the tremors that rose from someplace below. Setting my ear to the ground, I listened for flows and streams. The floor rumbled, though not from water. Instead, the vibrations could be roots stretching or animals prowling from a distance. Nothing more.

Of course, this rainforest would not simply hand me everything I needed. It had chosen me, beckoned me, given me the power to recognize the map inside the song. But although this place had been awaiting my arrival, it wasn’t any common parcel of land like the ones I’d explored with Mama and Papa. This realm had no equal. It was the one and only rainforest in The Dark Seasons, and even with our bond, I couldn’t know all the rules. The wild would show me where to discover the key, provided that I earned it.

Sitting upright, I moved to stand—then halted. Another noise cut through the foliage, the disturbance made by human limbs and a pair of boots.

I doubted anyone else had been chosen by the wild to venture here. At least, not in recent eras. Therefore, the racket could only belong to one monster.

On all fours, I scampered into the shadows and set my fingers on the dagger. The prince wouldn’t stop until he got his hands on me. But I wouldn’t let him claim me again.

Not if I caught him first.

14

Jeryn

She would not catch me first. If I knew one fucking thing, it was this: The little beast was alive. Not even a shipwreck would break that spirit.

And she was here. Somewhere close.

At the forest’s border, I eased myself through the wall of foliage, my shoulder knocking offshoots out of the way. I’d had reservations about the hedges’ penetrability, however I managed to shove myself through and emerged onto a path where the terrain expanded into a wilderness. The humidity intensified, drenching the atmosphere like a sauna. My body turned into a porous thing, with perspiration leaking from every inch of skin.

My tattered shirt and threadbare pants clung to my frame like adhesives. At least, the garments had survived the storm, including my belt, boots, and scalpel knife.

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