Page 3 of The Warlock's Kiss

Her jaw dropped. “A prude? I amnota prude. And where the hell did you learn that word?”

A slow grin stretched across his lips. “From one of yourromancebooks.” He puckered his lips and made kissing noises. “Oh, he’s so handsome, so strong, so virile. And his co—”

“Okay, that’s enough! New rule: you’re not allowed to read. At all. Ever again.”

“I learned about women in that book too, like—”

“We are not having this discussion. Didn’t Mom and Dad talk to you about sex?”

Danny snorted. “Mom was even more prudish than you and told Dad to do it. I let him stammer on about it for a while and pretended that I hadn’t already learned it all from the internet and other kids at school.”

Adalynn twisted in her seat to look through the back window. “Where’s that revenant? I think I changed my mind. I want it to catch me.”

“But the sex in your romance book was pretty hot. Just sayin’.”

“If you don’t get your much-too-young-to-talk-about-this-stuff ass out of the car right now, I’m taking that knife from you and I will not be held responsible for what I do with it.”

“Okay, okay.” Danny laughed and opened the door. He stepped out of the car, pack in hand, and muttered, “Prude.”

Adalynn couldn’t hold back a chuckle as she exited the vehicle. “I am not! I’m the one that had the book to begin with. I just don’t need to hear mylittlebrothertalking about it.”

“I could talk about killing revenants instead,” he said, thrusting the knife forward as though fighting an invisible opponent.

“Daniel,” she warned, glaring at him as she quietly closed the car door.

He froze, staring at her with eyes wide, and lowered the knife. “You sound just like Mom when you say my name like that.”

There wasn’t any humor in his voice now; they’d healed enough to laugh and joke, to remember their parents with happiness and humor, but losing them still hurt. Adalynn knew that as much as it pained her, it was worse for Danny—and he put a lot of effort into hiding that pain.

She sighed softly. Slipping her arms through her bag’s straps, she rounded the car and stopped beside Danny to give him a hug. “Let’s go. We still have time before dark, but I’d rather not get stuck out here.” She pulled away. “We’ll walk in the woods to hide but stay close to the road so we don’t get lost.”

“’Kay.” He sheathed the knife and clipped it to his belt before swinging on his pack. He shuffled away from the road and up the small embankment into the forest.

Adalynn checked the road one last time before following him past the tree line.

They kept close to one another as they walked, striking a balance between speed and quiet that Adalynn was satisfied with. Too slow and they risked being stuck out here at night, when the scariest things in this new world seemed to be most active. Too quick and they risked making enough noise to alert others—both the living and the dead—of their presence.

Out here, in the middle of nowhere, the chances of encountering anyone were slim—which was why Adalynn had been leading them away from most towns and cities. Of course, the lone revenant on the road was proof that low population wasn’t synonymous withnopopulation, but it was still better than a ravenous pack of dozens.

She saw it as a trade of risks—a smaller chance of being set upon by revenants in exchange for more potential difficulty finding food. Most of what they’d eaten over the last half-year had been scavenged from abandoned stores and homes. There were fewer of those places out here to search, but if they found the right place while there was still time, she could teach Danny to grow his own food.

Danny was quiet and alert, and Adalynn was grateful for it. She loved her conversations with him, but he was still a kid despite the growing up he’d been forced to do. The longer he talked, the more excited he became, and he tended to speak louder and faster as he went on. Addy had trouble keeping up with him sometimes even in the best circumstances, and right now, when their hike was combined with the weather—overcast but oppressively hot and humid—she knew she wouldn’t have been able to breathe if she had to walk and talk simultaneously. She was already sweating after only a few minutes, and each step seemed to make her head pound a little harder.

Please let us find somewhere soon.

Though these headaches often started slow, they could be debilitating when they ramped up, especially when they led to nausea, dizziness, and seizures. Sometimes, she’d recover from those seizures within an hour or so. Lately, they’d been draining her more and more, and she often lapsed into unconsciousness for hours afterward. If it reached that point before she and Danny had shelter…

It wouldn’t be the first time Danny was forced to hide them under a blanket in the middle of the woods overnight, but she didn’t want him to have to go through that again. It was terrifying enough being out here together; she couldn’t imagine how much worse it was for Danny while she was seizing or unconscious. He was helpless during her episodes and had no way of knowing if she’d make it through an attack—no way of knowing if it’d be her last.

Shehatedthat she put him through that so often.

Before long, the back of her shirt was soaked, sticking to her skin and pressed in place by her backpack, and sweat was trickling down her face. Before she’d fallen ill, a hike like this would’ve been enjoyable and refreshing, even in this weather.

Now it was a trek through hell.

Though she kept the road visible to her left, she didn’t see any mile markers as they walked; it was impossible to gauge how far they traveled as they marched on.

“Hey, look,” Danny said, turning to face her and jabbing his thumb toward something up ahead.

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