Page 53 of Changelings
Imogen never had the words.
She let Chestnut lead the way back to the cottage. Imogen could hardly see through her tears, the hot tracks slipping down to soak her scarf. She wiped at them, but there were always more to take their place.
Fates, her heart felt empty and her mind overfull. Neomi’s words ricocheted in her mind, striking like stray arrows at all of Imogen’s most vulnerable parts.
Could Neomi be right? Had she let her birthmark decide too much of her life?
And how long had Neomi been struggling to conceive? She’d never said anything before. Why hadn’t she confided in Imogen?
Does she feel she can’t?That thought struck her the deepest.
Imogen had been pulling away from Neomi ever since she married Collin, but she never imagined a complete break. That they would never feel and act as sisters to each other. Neomi was her kin, her only remaining family.
If I lose her…
That would be it.
It already feels like I’ve lost everything else.
Although she asked Balar for just a few days, sending him away had felt like its own break.
Why was everything breaking? The harder she tried to hold her life, the more the pieces began to fall apart.
Neomi should have been confident and comfortable confiding in her. Imogen should have been able to put her thoughts and feelings into words.
She didn’t want things to break. She didn’t want to be alone.
Imogen was tired of being scared.
Familiar and comfortable as her fear might be, it was exhausting. Its own kind of mask to hide behind, but its weight just kept dragging her down.
I want better.
I want—
Snick.
One of the goats near the front of the column bleated in terror, jumping feet into the air.
Snick. Snick.
The others panicked, Chestnut whinnied, and Shadow began to bark.
Snick. Snick. Snick. Snick.
Imogen watched in horror as their path turned into a trap of iron and teeth. Everywhere she looked, leaves burst into the air as traps were sprung. Her little herd tried to scatter, bleating and screaming, only to set off more traps.
But we took this path before, there was nothing, who could—
Chestnut’s scream of pain broke her stupor, and Imogen surged forward.
NO!
The goats jumped out of her way and the traps as she ran for Chestnut. She reached for the stumbling donkey, whose leg was caught in the teeth of a trap.
Snick.
Imogen screamed as teeth closed around her leg. Iron sank through her boot, lodging in the flesh of her mid-calf. Warm blood spurted to run down and soak her sock.
