Page 131 of Flirting with Darkness

What big teeth you have.

I shivered and pulled my cloak closer.

I was safe up here and warm. It would all be fine.

In fact, this warmth? It was that gorgeous carpenter who travelled through town each spring and always found his way to the tavern and to my table. I closed my eyes and hugged myself. These were his arms around me. I would say something funny and throw him a grin and a wink. We always found somewhere quiet for a bit of fun.

Something shrieked.

The cold trickling through me was nothing to do with the weather. It wasn’t the kind of cold this cloak could save me from.

That sound.

Fuck.That sound.

It was like nothing in Briarbridgeorthe woods. It didn’t sound humanoranimal. It was…

I screwed my eyes shut. They had sprung open at the noise without any instruction from me. I was up a tree: no animal could reach me. For anything less mundane, I had cold iron.

I squeezed the worn leather hilt.

But another shrill cry pierced the night, different from the earlier shriek. This one was sharp and brief. Not close, but still…

My heart pounded, and as much as I tried to keep my breaths quiet, they came that bit too fast and much too ragged, steaming before my face in the moonlight.

I abandoned all ideas of sleep.

A low keening drifted up from the valley. It was a sad sound that made my eyes sting.

Or maybe it was a realisation that made my eyes prickle. A stupid, useless realisation to have up a tree, but here I was.

For all the stories I’d heard from Ari’s pa, I knew nothing about Elfhame and its dangers. All I had was an iron dagger and a pack full of supplies.

And it was not enough.

2

INTO THE FOREST

Imust’ve eventually fallen asleep, because I woke with a start to dawn sun flooding the sky. No howls. No prowling shapes in the valley or the copse below. Only birdsong, trees, and the snowy hillside.

I huffed a sigh that I felt down to my bones and descended the gnarled oak. Considering I’d slept in a tree, I wasn’t too stiff. That had to be thanks to my morning runs.

They were the only times I had quiet. No Peony demanding to be picked up or Rory complaining he was hungry. No child on my hip while I fed another. I loved my brothers and sisters dearly, all twelve of them, but they were a whirlwind of chaos and endless work.

Running was my only break, even if it brought a twinge of guilt. Between that and dagger training, I only needed a quick stretch before I felt ready for another day of walking. I’d known the exercise would come in handy, even if they would never let me join the town guard.

Stupid old men and their stupid ideas about what women could do.

With ahmpf, I dug the loaf from my bag. It was two days old now, so it took some effort to tear off a hunk, but it was edible.

Checking the moss on the trees, I started north again and ate as I went. What had looked like a copse of oaks huddled on the top of this hill actually trailed down the far side, joining the woods crowding a rocky valley.

Where was Ari now? Was she in the wilds or had that fae taken her to a town? Were there even towns like—?

A low howl crept through the trees to my left.

The iron knife was in my hand before I even thought about it. My breaths stilled as I searched from tree to tree, shadow to shadow. No movement. Or was that—?

---