Page 25 of The Spark that Ignites
Emmery shoved his chest and wheezed. “You could’ve warned me!”
Glancing down, she found both hers and Vesper’s clothes completely dry. How was that possible? Though she didn’t recall feeling any water on her skin.
“I did,” he said, his eyes shining with amusement and patted her back. “There, there. Let it out.”
Emmery seared him with a venomous look though she knew he did it to keep her from running, and she certainly would have, but it was still annoying. Summoning her remaining scrap of dignity, she straightened her tunic and tucked the loose strands back into her braid.
But Emmery’s stomach knotted as she surveyed the thin, twisted trees reaching for them in a wicked embrace and her uneven breaths casting a snowy mist. Uninvited coldness seeped into her bones as her feet crunched the faded brown blanket of frozen leaves. The scent of damp earth and disturbed grave plots plagued the air, reminiscent of the Great Purge—the desecration of cemeteries for destruction of allKennaremains. That memory swelled fear inside her.
This wasnotwhat she expected.
Emmery straightened and rubbed her throat. “Where are we?”
“The Waking Wood. Nice name. Wish it were as friendly as it sounds.”
Her pulse spiked as doubt crept in. “Where’s the gate?”
“It’s on the other side. Portal then forest and the gate last. But we need to go over a couple rules.” Vesper held up three fingers. “Number one: don’t touch anything but the earth beneath your feet. I mean it. Number two: keep quiet. There are things in this forest drawn to sound. And number three, the most important: stay close to me. The forest has a way of distorting distance, and you’ll get lost. Got it?”
Emmery held up three fingers imitating him. “Don’t touch anything. Don’t make noise. And stay close to you.” She tilted her head, offering a sly smile. “Did I miss anything?”
Vesper scrubbed a hand down his face. “Just ... try not to get us killed. Alright?”
“I’ve made it this far. I’ll be damned if I let some forest ruffians send me to my grave.”
“It’s the flesh-eating monsters you should really worry about.” She stared after him until he shot her a smirk over his shoulder. “Come on.”
Despite her sinking stomach, she followed Vesper into the dark woods.
CURSING HER SHORT LEGS, Emmery struggled to match Vesper’s pace. Between dodging fallen debris and tree roots snaking the forest floor, she could hardly catch her breath. The labyrinth of trees boxed them in, barricading even sunlight. She had never been claustrophobic. Not until now.
No birds sang or wildlife skittered, and the silence struck a violent chill through her. If this place once held life, the evidence was long gone, replaced by putrid death. Once they reached the gate, there would be life on the other side. At least that’s what she reassured herself.
This wasn’t how Emmery imagined the path leading up to the Iron Gate and this dying sliver of land was straight out of one of her dark fairytales. But what had she expected? Baby animals and rainbows? If the forest was like this, what else would defy her expectations?
A foreboding chill slithered along her skin as she drew heavy sips from her canteen, each swallow burning on the way down and stoking embers in her belly. Offering that sweet, numbing relief she desperately needed.
“Hurry up, Sparky,” Vesper whispered over his shoulder. Vision blurred, she squinted at his dark silhouette. He was right, the forest had a way of tricking the eye. Whether he was a few paces away or several arm’s length, she couldn’t decipher.
“Don’t call me like somepet,” she hissed. “You need to slow down.”
He stalled, reaching for her as she stumbled. “By the gods, would you let me help you?”
With a sigh, she took his gloved hand, gritting her teeth as he guided her over a knot of tree roots. As much as his support helped, she’d rather be ripped apart by flesh-eating monsters than admit it. After regaining her balance, she unsuccessfully tried to tug her hand free of his grip.
A wry smile twitched at Vesper’s lips. “Don’t get any ideas. It’s easier to keep track of you this way.” Dragging her along, he added, “Wouldn’t want you falling behind or picked off by some creature.”
Emmery blanched, her grip on his hand involuntarily tightening. “And how many creatures are in this forest with us?”
“A few.” Vesper winked at her over his shoulder.
Bastard. Emmery’s stomach wrestled with itself as rustling sounded behind her, and she nearly leapt from her skin. “Remember when you said you weren’t evil? I don’t believe that anymore.”
He gave their entwined hands a shake. “How unfortunate you’re stuck with me now.”
Eyeing the hollowed-out obsidian trees and splintered branches barely clinging to life, Emmery’s chest tightened. “Why is this place so dead?”
“It was a war zone before it was sealed away and left to rot. Seems the gods didn’t care to tend to it and stripped it of its magic. Like how they abandoned us.” The last words dripped with the bitter sting of betrayal.
