Page 39 of A Kiss of Embers
But for now…
He scanned the boughs above him. His ears twitched as he listened for anything out of the ordinary. But the only things he noticed were the stirrings of nocturnal creatures, the groanings of trees around him, and the hum of a whispering forest.
However, he knew there was a predator about from his years of experience walking the forest. And gut instinct. Plenty of that, too.
He slowly turned around as his gaze glanced about. But then the tree to his right groaned again. His eyebrows furrowed as loose dirt skittered about his feet, and he leaped backward when a root snapped upward from the ground.
“What in the…”
The tree groaned again, this time louder, as the entire thing rocked back and forth. But instead of falling, the roots pulled out of the ground enough to reveal a pair of knotted legs made of dirtied roots and twisted branches.
Two yellow eyes opened on the upper trunk, blinking several times before they focused on him. Dread fell to the tips of his toes when he realized what he faced.
An ent.
“Sera—” he tried to shout a warning as he ran in the opposite direction, but then a tree limb grabbed his foot and yanked hard enough for him to smash his head against the ground. And then the world turned black.
He was gone.
Seraphina cursed as she darted into an upright position, the fog of sleep disorienting her for mere moments as she glanced around the vicinity. Morning had approached already, and Bastien hadn’t woken her for watch.
An early morning fog crept into the forest, bounding across the ground like a prowling feline ready to pounce on its prey.
“Bastien?” she called out, hoping he might have disappeared to relieve himself or to hunt for breakfast. But only silence answered back.
She lifted her hand and stared at the scabbed cut created from her blood oath with Bastien. If he had left her like he’d sworn he wouldn’t do, then he would be dead. Simple as that. But if he wasn’t dead…then where was he?
Digging her hands into the damp, decaying leaves scattered across the ground, she pushed herself to her feet and scanned the area once more. Leaves layered the forest floor, along with the tracks of several larger animals that must have passed by during the night while she’d slept. And then…
Oh!
Sprinklings of dirt created a path several paces from the tree she’d slept beside. She stooped beside the trail in search of fae tracks or something to indicate Bastien had followed. No footsteps. No imprints in the ground. Nothing.
She followed the trail of dirt until she came across a large crater in the ground, almost as if a tree were missing from—
“Blazes,” she murmured under her breath when she spotted Bastien’s obsidian sword barely visible beneath a mound of dirt.
Giving little caution for herself, she scooped up the sword and sprinted down the opposite side of the trail on light feet, making hardly a sound as she searched in vain for the end of the tracks. But they kept going and going, becoming more difficult to locate as the amount of dirt lessened with each pump of her legs.
But as the dirt dispersed, large footprints became more noticeable. Following the tracks proved easy when the object in question didn’t bother to hide its whereabouts.
Breathing hard, she burst out of the cover of the trees, only to find an ent hovering over her. Its eyes were closed, limbs outstretched on all sides and roots buried beneath the ground. And from one of those branches…
Bastien hung precariously upside down with several thin vines wrapped around his ankles. His body swayed beneath a light breeze while his face turned red from being held head-first. He crossed his arms and glared at her.
Seraphina burst into laughter at the absurd scene in front of her but quickly slapped a hand over her mouth as her gaze darted toward the ent. The tree creature remained asleep, a deep, groaning breath escaping its mouth with each exhale.
Bastien’s scowl deepened as he swayed once more beneath the breeze. “This is not funny.”
“Yes, it is!” She doubled over, unable to help the guffaw from escaping her mouth. “I thought you were supposed to be a ruthless patrol guard. What about getting captured thrice screams formidable and terrifying?”
A huff left his lips. “It took me by surprise. I was expecting something…else. Not for a tree to come to life before my eyes.”
“You’ve never seen an ent?”
Another huff. “We don’t have these creatures in our neck of the woods. I admit I didn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that it was the threat I was facing at the moment.”
“Oh, Bastien,” she tsked as she approached slowly, wary of the giant creature who could wake up at any moment. “What am I going to do with you?”
