My palms stung where I’d caught myself, and frustrated tears burned in my eyes. Frustrated… and maybe some sad ones too.
I missed Maddox. And Briar. And my gentle Lake. They were all waiting for me at the cottage, while I was being dragged through the forest; hungry, muscles aching, and anxious about what this jerk had in store for me.
“Stop crying.” Sighing, he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. “Tears solve nothing. They only make you look weak to your enemies.”
“Is that what you are?” I asked through my dumb sniffles. I couldn’t stop them. “My enemy?”
“I’m not your anything. I’m simply guiding you from one place to another.”
“Guiding me,” I said with a sneer. “Yeah. Right. You abducted me and now you’re taking me out to the freaking middle of nowhere where I’ll probably be torn apart and eaten as some sacrifice to a forest god or something. You should know I’m not a virgin. So if itisa human sacrifice or something that requires that, you’re shit out of luck. I have three men who fuck me good and hard on a nightly basis. No virgin in this blood.”
“Three men?” he asked. “I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything less. Your title certainly appeals to most. Men and women alike.”
“My title? I’ve been called a Muffin Lord once or twice.” My attempt at humor fell short. It only reminded me of Maddox. I knew all three of my men loved me, just as I loved them, but Maddox was the protector of our family. My knight in shining armor who often hid his emotions behind a carefully constructed wall.
“If I lost you… I wouldn’t survive it, Evan. Gods, I wouldn’t.”
The memory of his words made me freeze in place. I should’ve been more careful. I should’ve stayed with Kuya at the beach instead of wandering off on my own. So many ‘should haves’ I saw in hindsight.
“Why did you stop walking?” the thief asked, then pushed against my back. “Move.”
But I couldn’t. My knees had started to shake. “I want to go home.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that won’t be happening. Now walk. Night will be upon us soon.”
It felt like I was on autopilot. My body moved, but there was no one running the show. In the shroud of the forest, it got dark fast. I caught peeks of the darkening sky through gaps in the thick branches, spotting a dusting of stars.
One then shot across the sky. A shooting star.
My chin quivered.
“If you need me, say my name. No matter where I am, no matter how far away, I’ll find you,”Lake had once told me.
“Lake,” I whispered, my chest so tight it hurt.
“What?” The thief looked at me.
“N-Nothing.” I kept walking, even though I felt like I was about to fall apart. Something settled over me then. A determination that gave me strength.
I couldn’t fall apart. Not now. Not ever. I had to make it home.
Somehow.
***
“You need to eat,” the thief said, offering me a sliver of dried meat. “You’re good to no one if you starve.”
“Not hungry.” My stomach chose that moment to prove I was full of shit as it growled. I drew up my knees and wrapped my arms around them, staring at the fire.
We had made camp once it got too dark to see in front of us. If you could even call it a camp. It was a spot we’d found between some trees that provided decent shelter. He had then made quick work starting a fire, as though he’d done it a thousand times. He probably had.
“It’s not poisoned.” He took a bite to prove it. “See?”
There was something familiar about his statement, but I was too sad to think on it. I hugged my knees tighter and made myself as small as possible.
“You’re not what I expected,” he said.
I looked at him. Firelight flickered across his face and made areas of his dark-auburn hair pop, bringing out the lighter strands. He was like an ember, tame at the moment but with the potential to set everything ablaze. “How do you even know who I am?”
