Page 8 of Stolen Thorn Bride

What might be on the other side? Did it look just like this side? Or was the magic so comprehensive that it divided two completely different worlds? No one ever talked about the world before the Hedge, so perhaps no one in the village even remembered.

“Ah-hah!” She exclaimed aloud, so relieved was she to spot the impression of a pig’s foot in the soft earth underfoot. The sowhadcome this way!

Kasia followed the trail of occasional prints, eyes on the ground, never straying far from the Hedge. She was so absorbed in finding the next print, it took her a moment to comprehend what had happened when the trail veered to the left and went…

Went straight through the Hedge.

She blinked for a moment, certain she was seeing things that weren’t there.

Things like a perfectly arched gap in the Hedge. A gaping hole in the impenetrable barrier that separated the lands of the elves from the humans of Abreia.

And things like Gianessa’s escaped sow, who had tripped blithely through that hole and was even now rooting in the dirt on the other side, without the smallest idea of how dreadfully she was trespassing.

A million panicked thoughts crowded into Kasia’s brain and tried to shove their way to the forefront.

What was the penalty for allowing a pig to cross the border? Would the elves kill the pig? Or the pig’s owner? Had Kasia inadvertently triggered a chain of events that would end in Gianessa’s execution?

Or would it only matter if Kasia herself crossed the border? Maybe she should run as far and as fast as she could and pretend she’d never found the hole. Never seen the pig.

But then Gianessa would have lost an expensive and much-needed animal, and it would be Kasia’s fault. She should have found a way to fix the pen yesterday when Gianessa brought it up.

Panicky solutions presented themselves one after another, none very appealing under the circumstances. Perhaps she could sneak over and herd the pig back through the Hedge. Peering through the hole, which proved the Hedge was about half as wide as the main road through the village, Kasia noted that the forest on the other side didn’t appear odd or unusual. It certainly didn’t look as though it wanted to eat her, and the pig was obviously not harmed. And anyway, it wasn’t as if the elves would know if she only stayed for a moment.

Would they?

It was a terrible dilemma. Kasia blamed herself for the pig’s escape—she should have kept the pen in better repair, so she had to make it right. But if she crossed, what did she risk? Was there any way to know unless she tried it?

Gripping the walking stick in both hands, Kasia took one step beneath the arch of thickly woven firethorn branches and held her breath.

Nothing happened.

So she took another, ducking her head almost instinctively as she passed through the center of the Hedge.

It was tempting to run her fingers across the branches beside her as she wondered—what could have made such a perfectly formed hole in the bushes? If it had been anywhere else, she would have said it looked intentional. As if it were meant to be a doorway.

With every sense on high alert, Kasia made her way cautiously across the remaining distance. It felt like miles, but in reality, it was only a few steps before she reached the far side and looked out onto a land no human had seen for over a hundred years.

A land that looked exactly like the one on the other side of the Hedge.

Was it all really just a story, as Ellery suggested? Or was that what the elveswantedthem to think?

If it hadn’t been for the pig, Kasia might have judged the entire experience to be nothing but an illusion and gone running for home. But she couldn’t bring herself to return to Gianessa and say that she’d managed to lose something as valuable as a pig. And besides, the sow seemed unharmed by her experience. Surely Kasia could dash out of the gap in the Hedge, round up the animal, and herd it back across in a matter of moments.

Surely.

Mustering what little courage she actually possessed, Kasia gulped a lungful of air, shut her eyes, and took that fateful step forward. Out of the Hedge, and into the unknown…

Her foot was still in midair when something caught her.

A yelp escaped her lips, and her eyes flew open to see vines snaking out from beneath her feet. Creeping canes tangled themselves in her coat, wrapped around her wrists, and snared her ankles in an unbreakable grip.

Kasia let out another whimper of terror and struggled against the vines, but it was too late. She could barely move.

At least that was one of her questions answered—the elves most definitely knew when someone trespassed.

Meanwhile, behind her, the Hedge began to rustle and creep. Kasia was able to turn her head just far enough to watch in horror as the branches wove themselves together once more, covering the gap and erasing her view of the forest on the other side as though it had never existed.

There was no way home. Stunned by the realization, Kasia stopped straining against the vines that held her and suddenly heard the echo of Gianessa’s cryptic words.

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