Page 6 of Song of the Dark Wood

Sarai dusted her hand on her dress. “I have never even had an inkling of who she might be. It’s as if someone has placed a veil over her and she’s just gone.”

“Is it possible that no Maiden was ever born between us?” Rowan asked.

Sarai shook her head. “No. I’m certain she’s out there. I just don’t know where. And while I think your idea is brave, I’m worried that the Wolf is already wound up enough with this blight. What if he makes it spread across the border into the realm of the living?”

Rowan sagged, frustrated. “I don’t know.”

Sarai laid a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t want to discourage you. It’s not a bad idea. Perhaps feel him out and wait a bit until you make requests.”

Sarai gasped and went rigid as her eyes clouded over.

“Sarai?”

Although Sarai experienced visions with some frequency, Rowan had only witnessed them three times before.

“It creeps me out when she does this,” Cade said, coming to kneel beside Rowan.

Rowan gave him a dirty look.

“What? Seers are strange. They see everything, but they tell us nothing of what to expect. If I could see the future…” He let his voice trail off, a look of envy in his eyes.

After a moment, Sarai’s daze cleared and she blinked at Rowan. The color drained from her cheeks, and her eyes went wide.

“What is it?” Rowan asked.

Sarai swallowed hard. “I saw Orla.”

“And?”

Sarai opened her mouth and then closed it again. “I saw Orla—so pale and bloodless—just lying on the forest floor. I don’t think she was sleeping, Row.”

“Wolf’s teeth!” Cade choked. “Why doesn’t she ever see good things?”

Rowan swallowed hard. “That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen for sure,” she protested. “Remember last time? When you saw the Fellows boy drown in the sea? He didn’t actually drown. He simply fell in the water and was rescued by a sailor.”

Sarai nodded noncommittally, but she said nothing else.

The pounding of horse hooves nearby cut through the silence. Rowan pulled her hood up and looked toward the trail as Finn Ashand emerged like a fairy-tale knight on his white horse. Finn’s face was unnerving in its symmetry, marred only by a few freckles that came out in the summers when he spent too long in the sun. His golden huntsman cloak draped over his broad shoulders, and his face was fixed in a broad grin. That smile and the openness on his face always made him stand out from the other huntsmen who tried so hard to look tough.

Rowan and Sarai had met Finn as children when they snuck away to play in the sea one day. Rowan had been caught in a current that dragged her out too far while Sarai watched, horrified, from the shore. Finn heard Sarai’s calls for help, dove into the water, and brought Rowan back to the beach. After that, the three were fast—though secret—friends.

Finn was the eldest son of the Lord of Ashand, who owned the territory surrounding the Huntsman’s Hollows and the Borderwood. He was also one of the few who had seen Rowan without her cloak and kept it a secret. She brushed her hood back and smiled at him.

Finn drew up on the reins and hopped down from the horse. “Thought I might find you here. By the Mother, Rowan, you look lovely today,” he sighed.

Rowan felt a flush creep up her neck to her cheeks.

Sarai looked from Finn to Rowan with a grin. “I have to get these herbs hung up to dry.” Picking up her basket, she winked at Rowan and disappeared into the cottage.

“You shouldn’t say things like that in front of other people,” Rowan scolded as Finn took her hand and kissed it softly.

“I know it’s wrong to covet that which does not belong to me, but how could I not when you’re so beautiful?” Finn said with a wink.

Cade made a choking sound. “He can’t be serious. I’m going to vomit.”

Rowan ignored him as she looked down at the lush grass, unable to meet Finn’s gaze. She’d always been uncomfortable with the weight of his affection. It wasn’t that she didn’t care for him. She was simply aware that her feelings didn’t match his, and it filled her with guilt. Still, she enjoyed the thrill of being seen as more than just an object.

Finn tucked a loose red curl behind her ear.

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