Page 48 of Bound By Roses

ABBY

“Abby…”

There’s that voice again. The voice I’m certain isn’t Void’s and I’m almost positive holds no threat to me. Who or what it is, I can’t be certain, but the compulsion I have to follow it is just as strong as it was when it woke me from my nightmare.

“Abby…”

It sounds from the left this time, so I know I’ve wandered off course again. It’s nearly impossible to see in this forest, though with the sun slowly rising behind me, some of the blackness is turning to grey.

“Abby…”

That time it was much closer, as if the person who’d spoken my name should be just a short distance ahead of me. It’s led me to a round clearing and at the very center, something small is protruding from the earth. It’s still too dark to see it clearly, but for some reason I can’t explain, I know exactly what it is.

‘Abby!’

I freeze. That wasn’t the voice I’ve been following.

I whip around just as a massive silver wolf with amber eyes charges through the trees and into the clearing that could almost be mistaken for Rosewood, except for the fact that there are no buildings here.

‘You scared me,’I tell Quinn through the bond, unwilling to break the silence in case the voice calls to me again.

‘I scared you?! Why weren’t you answering me? I thought Jade…’He trails off, but I know what he means. Of course he would think that.

‘I must not have heard you. I’m sorry.’

Something in his expression tells me he knows there’s more to this.‘What are you doing here?’

‘I was having a nightmare, but when I woke up, I kept hearing my name. It wasn’t Void’s voice, or any I recognized. I had to follow it. It was like I didn’t have a choice.’I’m rambling, but his sudden appearance has brought me back to reality. This could have easily been a trap. I wasn’t entirely in control of myself and if Quinn hadn’t woken up, I might have found myself lost in the forest. For all I know, Void could have been the one to lead me here, and any minute, Guardians will spill out from the trees and surround us.

He looks around and sniffs at the air.‘Why here?’

I point to the thing I’d spotted just before his arrival. As we take cautious steps towards it, Quinn’s eyes dart in all directions. If I’m feeling like this is a good spot for an ambush, then he’s absolutely aware of that fact and is likely formulating multiple plans of both attack and escape.

We come to a stop at the very center of the valley and I crouch in front of the rose that looks exactly like the magical ones that grow in Rosewood.

‘Is that…’Quinn asks, momentarily distracted by the flower.

‘I’m pretty sure it is.’Just as I was when I’d first seen them in Rosewood, I find myself compelled to touch the ashen petals. As my fingers brush against it, the blood-red interior brightens.

And then another flower blooms beside it.

And another.

And another.

Roses bloom around the first and spread outward in a large spiral—just as they’d grown in Rosewood. At the heart of them, the earth splits and a large stone rises up from the soil.

An altar.

My gaze flashes to Quinn and he’s so still that I’m not even sure if he’s breathing.‘I thought you said these roses appeared in Rosewood after you were cursed.’

‘They did.’His tone is flat. Fearful.

‘So then why are they here?’

His massive head nudges my leg, easing me back the way we’d come.‘I don’t want to find out. We should go.’

He doesn’t have to tell me twice. In Rosewood, these roses had been a thing of beauty, but here? In this dark, empty forest? Their presence feels more like a threat than a gift. I don’t know who put them here or why they responded to my touch, but that’s something we can figure out in the light of day.

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