Page 14 of Enchanted Kisses
Gripping familiar wooden steps nailed into the tree as a makeshift ladder, I climbed the thick trunk.Don’t look down.Heights freaked me out, but the view from the fort was worth pushing through my fear.
At the platform, I brushed aside debris and crawled onto uneven wood planks. Once I had a space cleaned off, I laid on my back and stared up at the flowing branches. Sunlight peeked through the fluttering leaves. The effect was soothing. I closed my eyes and listened to the nature around me.
Birds continued to chirp, leaves rustled, and my name sounded in the pine-scented breeze.
“Lily?” it hummed. “Lily?”
Huh?
4
A Cage Of Vines
Ashadow crossed above. I blinked open my eyes.
A handsome guy leaned over me. “Nice to see you again.”
I shot upright and scrambled backward until I hit the tree trunk.
Unfazed by my panic, the guy sat across from me, resting his back against a branch that jutted through the planks. He looked all wrong here with his pale skin, black hair and eyes, and all-black outfit.
A name flashed across my mind. “Dagan,” I whispered.
His lips curved into a fiendish grin. “You remembered. It’s about time.”
Olson’s. I’d met him in the parking lot, but the details of that night were still too fuzzy to make sense. “How did you know where to find me here?”
Other than Raysa and Caiden, no one else knew about this place.
“Lucky guess.” He picked up a green leaf and twirled it in his fingers.
“I don’t think that’s it.” I also didn’t think I trusted him. Warning bells sounded in my gut.
He blew on the leaf in his hand, which turned brown and brittle.
“You killed it,” I squealed in disbelief. “How? Why?”
He tossed the dead leaf over his shoulder and brushed his hands clean. “You ask a lot of questions. Anyone ever tell you that?”
Caiden used to tell me that all the time, although he seemed to like my inquisitive nature.
“Did he now?” Dagan raised a dark brow.
I shot him a confused look. “What?”
“Caiden.”
“What about him? How do you know him?”
He rolled his night eyes. “I feel like a broken record around you. Always repeating myself. I didn’t tamper with your brain the last time. This must be Caiden’s doing.”
“What’s Caiden’s doing?” How well did this guy know my former best friend? Was that how I met him, through Caiden?
In a flash, he appeared beside me. He sat with his legs dangling over the edge of the planks.
I flinched at his sudden nearness. Part of me wanted to leap away, climb down the tree, and run, while another part of me wanted answers.
“Join me.” He patted the planks.
