Page 27 of The Spark that Ignites
Slowly, he slid his hand from her mouth and Emmery’s breath thinned. Would his magic hold? What would happen if it failed? There was no reality in which she wanted to find out. Between the earth trembling growls and plummeting temperature ... no beasts in the human realm compared.
Her body quivered as she retrieved her pocket watch and pressed it to her ear. Tuning out the growls, her panic subsided with each steady tick.
Leaning her forehead against Vesper’s chest, buckles digging into her skin, Emmery borrowed his strength. She wasn’t sure why she did it but also didn’t care if it was weak or sad or completely illogical. She needed it.
Her head bobbed with his hurried breaths and his earthy, comforting scent drowned out the noxious death with cool, night winds and daffodils like those outside her cottage. Peace and life.
As the creatures stalked closer and scented the air, Vesper’s muscles strained as he contained the pocket of mist. A single wrong turn of the wind could expose them, and she refused to discover the consequences. Surely, they’d be torn to pieces.
A feral growl, too close to block out, threaded a chill up Emmery’s spine and her eyes flew open and locked on theground. Scattered along the forest floor were bone shards, either remains from the war or the beasts’ prey. Maybe both.
The watch slipped from her fingers, and she clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp. Resting against her boot was—
Gods help her. It was a human skull.
A whimper slipped through her fingers and Vesper tensed, tucking her head under his chin, maybe to keep her quiet or to silently assure her he wasn’t about to let anything bad happen. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for life. Prayed for anyone or anything to save them. The gate was so close she could taste it. Was it about to be ripped away like everything else?
But with each agonizing second, the rumble dulled, and the growls grew distant. Emmery’s numb hand quaked as she tucked the watch into her tunic, straining her ears for any sign of the beasts. The forest answered with that same eerie stillness.
Removing his hands from the tree, Vesper stepped back. His mist dissipated with the ebbing thrum of his magic and retreated inside him.
Emmery’s gelatinous limbs failed and a tremor from the unforgiving mixture of cold and fear overtook her body. Cursing softly, he planted his hands on her shoulders to stop her swaying and gently squeezed.
She couldn’t think through the adrenaline flooding her veins.
Vesper bent and held his face level with hers, searching her eyes like the night in the alley and to her relief there wasn’t a hint of sarcasm in his expression. He glanced over his shoulder before returning to her. “You alright? They’re gone now.”
Emmery nodded mechanically though her heart threatened to implode. She spoke into her sleeve, “You weren’t joking about the monsters.”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “Not so tough now, are you?”
“Aren’tyouscared of them?” she barked, muffled in the fabric.
Vesper responded with that increasingly annoying nonchalant shrug.
Giving his chest a shove that barely rocked him, she huffed, “Ass.”
Vesper inhaled, his nose scrunching and narrowed his pale eyes at her. “Are you hiding something from me?”
She spoke with as little breath as possible. “What do you mean?”
He snagged her canteen, opened the lid and took a whiff. “Bloody Hollow, is this ...whiskey? You’ve been drinking this since dawn.”
Emmery couldn’t help but feel the equivalent to a misbehaving child from his scolding. Biting down on her lip, she cursed inwardly. “Did you want some?”
It took no convincing for Vesper to take a taste. He winced, shook his head, and shuddered. “That’s bloody strong. Did you mix it with moonshine? It’s no wonder you can’t walk straight.” He took another pull and replaced the cap but shoved it in his pack before she could snag it. “Drink some water, you delinquent. You’re probably severely dehydrated.”
“I’mbarelybuzzed. It’s merely ... taking the edge off.” Though her words were steady, unapologetic, her cheeks burned with shame.
Skepticism creased the lines of his face as he tossed her his canteen and crossed his arms over his chest until she swallowed a mouthful of water.
Emmery clipped the canteen to her pack and shot him with a saccharine smile. “Happy?”
“Ecstatic.” He returned a knowing grin before his luminous gaze swept their surroundings. “We need to keep moving.”
“I’m certainly not waiting for thosethingsto come back.” Emmery rubbed her arms, willing warmth back into them as her teeth chattered so violently, they threatened to shatter. She didn’t think she could hate anything more than the human lands, but sheloathedthis damn forest. They couldn’t get out soon enough.
Noticing her hands, he offered, “Take my cloak.”
