Page 58 of Evil Hearts

Chapter Eight

He stalks toward me, a smirk on his face as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Thanks,” I whisper, scared to ruin the moment. This whole situation is surreal. Why has he been dreaming of me, and why do I feel like I know him on a soul level? This world isn’t supposed to be real, but here we are, fighting for our lives.

Ganesh tilts his head to the side, analyzing me before nodding once. “We need to move. There are nasty things that go bump in the Devilwood at night. Things even I can’t fight back against.”

He gestures toward the path leading out of camp, and at the mention of monsters, I get moving. “Where are we going?”

”Far from here,” Ganesh replies, keeping his voice low and his eyes scan the trees around us. “I’ll get you to the village. It’s the least I can do for someone who came to rescue me.”

I snort. “Fat lot of good it did. Innkeeper, huh?”

As we move through the woods, I glance back at him, the firelight flickering behind him casts his face in a weird shadow. My heart is racing, and not with fear this time, but with an odd sense of exhilaration.

For the first time since waking up in this strange place, I feel a strange sense of belonging. Maybe I don’t need to go back to the real world…

He chuckles. “I’m an Innkeeper now. That’s all that matters.”

“Those bandits seemed really excited to have captured the Almighty Orc.” I prod, tripping over a rock hidden on the forest floor.

His strong hands wrap around my waist, steadying me, and I freeze. “Let’s just say my previous employer isn’t super thrilled I’ve escaped. Haven was supposed to be a place far from his reach, but they seem to have found me.”

The grumble in his voice leaves me with more questions than answers but I follow him through the dense forest, silently. Lost in my own little world, the thoughts in my head no longer feel like my own. I barely catch the few muttered words he utters under his breath as we make our way closer to town.

Every move he makes is with purpose, the kind of purpose that comes from years of running, hiding, and surviving. He’s been doing this for a long time.

As we emerge from the forest, the small town of Haven’s Edge comes into view. A cluster of weathered buildings nestles between hills, the faint glow of lanterns flickering in the dim evening light. From a distance, the town seems peaceful. Quaint even, but I can feel an undercurrent of tension in the air.

Ganesh leads me toward a modest building at the far end of town, and we don’t see a single person. The town looks lived in, but it’s like no one is home. There is just an eerie stillness that doesn’t sit right with me. But he doesn’t waste any time, pushing open the door with a quiet creak. He gathers clothes and trinkets, food, and potions, tossing it all into a large satchel with practiced efficiency.

“We need to move,” his voice is strained, eyes refusing to look at me. His broad hands work quickly to pack everything neatly into bags. “They’ve found me before, they’ll find me again. And now they’ve seen you.”

Ganesh pauses, looking up at me. His eyes hold a startling seriousness. “You won’t be safe in the city village any longer.With my absence, they’ve all scattered. They will return when they know it to be safe, but that could take weeks.”

My body is tense in the doorway. The weight of his words is almost suffocating. The bandits from the forest, with their hungry touches, and malicious leering… they could come after me. Or at least, others like them could. I know that much, but what I don’t understand is why my soul physically yearns to be near him. I know he can keep me safe, and I don’t want to go anywhere else. But that means leaving the real world behind…

My gaze drifts back to the door, out toward the darkening town, then back to Ganesh and his frantic packing. The sounds of his hurried movements seem amplified in the small, quiet space. And a sense of dread creeps over me.

”Where would we go?” I ask, voice shaking slightly.

He pauses in his movements, watching me with a seriousness that sends a chill down my spine. “Far away. Anywhere they won’t find us. I’m used to living in hiding, but it’s not just me I need to worry about anymore. They’ll come for you too.”

Ganesh continues packing as if it’s a done deal. “There’s a settlement through the forest, up into the mountains. It should be safe.”

I blink as my mind races, the weight of his words settling into my chest as truth. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that he’d be putting himself at risk. He’s a stranger for God’s sake, someone I’d just met by chance, and yet he’s already decided to help me, to take me with him.

“Why me?” I croak out, needing to know the answer. His kindness feels like a burden, but it also feels like something I desperately need.

He stands slowly, stalking toward me as if I am a frightened animal. He pulls me further into the room, shutting the door behind me. His hands grab mine softly, settling them on his large chest.

”I told you in the forest, Warrior.” He chuckles, “I’ve dreamt of you for years. There was a day that your soul felt like it was fracturing. It gave me the strength to run from my old life, with the hope that I’d one day be strong enough to put the pieces back together. I came to Haven’s Edge, to wait for you.”

My fingers dance absentmindedly across the wide expanse of his chest, while his larger ones encompass my waist, holding me so tightly it will probably be bruised in the morning. My heart flutters in my chest at our nearness, urging me to be even closer, and before I can talk myself out of it, I jump into his arms knowing he will catch me.

With my legs wrapped around his waist, he has no choice but to hold me closer. My lips slam down onto his. Tentatively at first, waiting for him to give me some sort of sign. Shit. Did I misread everything?

Before I can pull away, his mouth opens, tongue probing against my closed lips. I let him in, needing to taste him. A deep growl, filled with need pours out of him as he pushes my back against a nearby wall. Trinkets and charms lining the walls all rattle and chime at the invasion. His thick hands find the front of my shirt, ripping it in half before he begrudgingly pulls away.

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