Page 34 of King of the Unsightly

Kaschel bent down, his face inches from my ear. I could snatch his ponytail if I wanted. And fuck, did I want to. My hands had an itch, and I longed to scratch it. What was the worst that could happen?

The beckoning impulse was an intense temptation, but I didn’t need to test the theory out.

I’ve been in more life-threatening situations than I could count and adding another to the list didn’t seem like my brightest idea to date. So physically antagonizing a fae? Nah, I was good. I wanted to live.

“Blàth isn’t far from here, so we’ll walk,” Kaschel said, but that meant absolutely nothing to me.

“And once we get to Blàth?” I probed, but Kaschel grunted in response like all my questions annoyed him. But if he answered them instead of acting like an enigmatic asshole, then, maybe, I would give him some grace and shut up. “Great. Really straightforward.”

I stole a quick peek in his direction, but he proceeded to ignore me.

My legs grew weaker by the second. I had no idea how long we walked. Maybe two or three hours? His idea of close was incredibly off.

My stomach growled in protest, and my cheeks reddened as it cut through the silence of the forest.

My insides rumbled again, about to cave in and gnaw away at themselves. But no way would I ask Kaschel for food. We would stop eventually. He needed sustenance too ... right?

My body screamed at me, trembling and on the verge of exhaustion, dehydration, and probably starvation when Kaschel stopped, and I crashed into his backside.

The sun descended as the sky illuminated in red and purple hues, highlighting the blue undertones in my skin. The crescent moon glowered down on us, and a chill edged down my spine.

The wind came alive, swirling around us and the soft hums of the water pillowing over faded in the background.

The beauty of the falls was unmistakable.

A low ticking resounded off the water like an imaginary grandfather clock counting down the seconds.

Kaschel’s purple eyes reflected brilliant specks of light, and I wondered if he heard the ticking as well.

The world slowed down except for Kaschel and me as the sky exhibited otherworldly signs and ripped in half. I stood there speechless, disorientated, and most of all, captivated.

Kaschel snatched my hand, and it expelled me out of whatever force attempting to pull me in.

“You’re not accustomed to the magic in my world. So don’t touch, eat, or talk to anything. Got it?” Kaschel’s eyebrows bunched together, and he pursed his lips.

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” I mumbled, not even sounding convincing to myself, but he didn’t seem to care.

Kaschel nodded his head, and we walked through the rift cutting through the soil to the sky as it swallowed us whole.

Grigs, Sparks, and Trickery

The portal shoved and spit us out in a forest overrun by ferns taller than me and ivy wrapped around the trees as the branches coiled in bizarre angles. They were all covered in needle-like thorns about three inches long as a thick fog hung right below my waist. I would be lying if I said it didn’t look like we walked right into a horror movie. This place gave off some serious, serial-killer vibes just like the cabin, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a psycho popped out of a bush.

God, I was so sick of dark and creepy.

Why couldn’t the portal drop us off at an inn or pub? I was famished and in dire need of a drink and sleep.

Kaschel, in his element, as his muscular build complemented his formfitting all-black attire and boots. All he needed? A machete instead of a sword to cut through the overgrowth.

I, on the other hand, was ready for bed, not ready to rummage through a goddamn forest with spiked trees splintering in all directions. With my luck, I was going to get myself impaled.

Kaschel shook my hand off.

Out of habit, I wiped my palm on my shirt—slightly upset at myself for holding on to his for so long.

“Stick close. These woods will warp your sanity if you let them. It’s no place for someone like you.”

I rolled my eyes. “No shit. You’re incredibly good at stating the obvious.”

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