Page 81 of Song of the Dark Wood

She ran down the trail until she reached a place where the moonlight was easier to see. The blight had healed from Wolf’s Keep about halfway back to Ballybrine.

Rowan woke bleary-eyed.She could tell that it was at least midmorning by the slant of the sunlight slicing through her windows.

Despite her frustration, a pleasant satisfaction settled in her body, leftover from her time in the greenhouse with Conor the night before. The whole thing felt like some sort of dream. The sparkling pollen, the pulse of life in a space usually reserved for dead things. Conor had implied that everything there had once quivered with life. It was his blight that had robbed them of their vibrance, just like the Dark Garden. It made no sense for him to destroy his own world, but it could have been a byproduct of his growing magic.

That made the most sense. As Conor’s power grew, its potency would also become more concentrated and could easily produce such unexpected consequences. Perhaps it was as Charlie suggested, and the real reason Conor had thrown her out was entirely out of fear of losing control. Maybe that fear was more warranted than she realized.

She rolled over and stretched her arms overhead, remembering the way it felt when Conor had used his mouth on her. She’d never imagined anything could feel so good. Her hands skimmed down her body, brushing over the cotton nightgown.

As frustrated as she felt, she wanted Conor’s hands on her again, and she wanted him to teach her how to find that same satisfaction herself.

“Row, I should probably let you know I’m here before you get too involved with yourself?—”

She jumped at the sound of Cade’s voice. Her gaze snapped to where he sat by the fire, bent over a book.

Her cheeks flamed as she sat up.

“Good dream? Or is this a result of your time with your big, bad Wolf?” Cade taunted.

Rowan frowned at him. “That’s none of your business.”

Cade laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes. Good for you, Row. It’s about time you had a good experience. How was it?”

Rowan covered her face with her hands. “Absolutely not! I’m not talking to you about this! Get out of my room!”

She threw a pillow at him, but he disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared on the edge of her bed.

“Why are you here?” she huffed.

“Because my mission to find the journals has been fruitless. I have searched every drawer, chest, and crevice of the temple and the elder offices, and I have not found a single Red Maiden journal,” Cade said.

“Every crevice, you say?” Rowan asked, arching a brow.

“A little bitty tumble with the Wolf and now your mind is straying to dirty places. Naughty Rowan!” he taunted.

She swung her pillow at his face as he laughed.

“I’m kidding. Even if I wanted to search every crevice in that place, those old geezers are way too tight-assed for me to even get a peek.”

Rowan collapsed in a fit of giggles.

Cade grinned. “It’s good to see you laugh. I thought you might not forgive me after the other day with Elder Garrett. I thought maybe you weren’t coming back. You’ve been spending a lot of time with good old Wolfie.”

Rowan sighed. “I have, but it’s not to avoid you. It’s more to avoid the elders. But it’s also because I really need the Wolf to like me. This is my one chance to—” She cut herself off, realizing she almost tipped her hand about her deal with the Mother.

“Yes?” Cade prompted.

Rowan shook her head. “I have a chance to actually do something instead of just waiting around for my life to happen to me. It’s the first time I’ve really been able to take on any semblance of control. I don’t want to mess it up, and I certainly don’t want to give the elders any reason to cause more trouble for me.”

Cade nodded solemnly.

“Cade, I’m so close. Since I was five, my entire life has been devoted to this, and as unpleasant as it might be, I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“Yes, but isn’t that the most dangerous place to be?” he questioned.

“Of course, but I’m not any safer here anymore.”

Cade bristled.

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