Page 191 of Bride of the Midnight Prince

“We don’t have time. Go!”

The woman holds my gaze. Others have made to continue, but she delays.

“Go! The only thing you can do to help me is togo!”

At last, she goes. I watch as they leave, vanishing deeper into the Wood until, at last, it swallows them whole. I’ve got to lead Rahk away from them. I have no other option.

I’ve got to leave this Path and plunge into the Wood.

I lost one slipper at some point. I rip off the other one, kiss it with a quick, “Love you, Mama,” and then place it off the Path—close enough that he’ll see it, but far enough for him to know it’s not a red herring. I’m truly diving into the wild fae Wood like a madwoman.

Then I take off running.

Immediately, the voices assault me.

“I know. I know it all.”

“You poor dear—come to my warm embrace and sleep tenderly.”

And then the one that has haunted me for years curls around my head,“I know what you did, Katherine Vandermore. It catches up to you this day. You know it will.”

These voices never could truly touch me on the Path, but now they are like ice cold fingers clutching my heart. They pull at me like ropes tied to my limbs, and when my focus breaks, my feet actually turn toward them. I gasp and rip myself away.

They are going to catch me. They are all going to catch me.

I don’t even know whotheyare, but I run faster. Sometimes the ground is a soft bed of pine needles beneath my bare feet, and other times it turns rocky and sends pains flaring up my legs.

I do not stop.

The half-light of the Wood swirls around me, the towering trees in every direction like prison bars. Slowly, I become aware of my shadow running alongside me. When I look at it, casting long across the ground, it waves back at me.

You know the Wood makes people go mad,I instruct myself sternly.Don’t fall for its tricks. You just have to—

I come to a sudden stop. I look around.

What am I doing here? Where even am I?

The words spill out of my lips as alarm burns through my entire body. “Why am I here? I was doing something. Why—why am I here? Why am I here?”

I clutch my hair, my fingernails digging into my scalp. I came here for a reason. I know I did. But every time I reach out for that place in my mind, the place that knows, my fingers touch emptiness.

Something warm touches my ankle. I look down to find a vine twisted around my bare skin. My scream is locked too far behind my fright to be accessed. I try to yank my foot free, but instead the vine pulls hard. My back hits the ground with a force to knock the wind from me. It drags me toward a tree that suddenlymoves.It cranes toward me, its massive trunk bending down as though to observe me as I wriggle and kick at the grip it has on me.

Branches come down. They touch my hair, run down my arm, fiddle with the collar of my shirt. The trunk of the tree morphs, until its bark arranges into a wide smile.

I finally scream.

The tree reels back as though I’ve struck it. It releases my leg. I leap to my feet, nearly falling in my haste, and sprint away. My shadow runs beside me. It points in one direction. I plunge the opposite way.

A living creature appears before me.

I come to a halt. It is a deer—an actual deer. Like those we have in the human lands. It grazes on a single patch of grass. I cover my mouth. I never thought the sight of a deer could bring so much relief. I step toward it, though I know not if I intend to touch it or just be closer to this piece of home. To my surprise, a bird appears in the air. A bluejay.

It is frozen midflight.

I glance back to the deer. Coldness washes over me. The deer isn’t moving either.

I become aware of my own slowing heartbeat.

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