Page 38 of Wicked Thieves
Aeric watched her closely, his eyes roving over her from head to toe. Not in a salacious manner as she’d seen many men do before, but in a look of appraisal.Admiration, maybe?
When she reached the last step, he asked, “Are you ready?”
Anelize nodded once. Still not quite sure herself but knowing that if this was the one way she would be able to reach a connection to her people, to understand where she had come from before, then it had to be done.
Aeric watched her for a long moment, as if trying to prove to himself that what she said was truth, before he nodded. “Good. Let’s go.”
The Forest of the Dead was a barren wasteland of shadows and snow. The black oak trees surrounding them seemed to watch with silent eyes as Anelize and the others stepped past the treeline. They all seemed to whisper amongst themselves, their branches encased in sheer crystals of ice crackling all around. Thick roots protruded from beneath the earth and blankets of snow, making it easy to miss and trip over if she wasn’t careful.
Moonlight poured over them, painted them all in a hue of pale blue. Still, her vision was compromised in the darkness, making it difficult to see exactly where she was going. She told herself it was merely because of the late hour but...she knew better.
“Stay close to me.” The shadows of the jagged branches around them painted Aeric’s face as she looked to him. “Don’t need you getting lost here. The forest knows how to play its tricks.”
Pushing her pride away, she nodded. Not keen on losing her way here of all places.
None of them spoke, as if they were all afraid the forest would indeed hear them and decide to keep them in its dark labyrinth forever. They slowly made their way down the barely visible path before them. There were no footsteps to follow coming or going. There was nothing at all that could indicate there had ever been a living soul residing within the forest.
They continued walking, until something pulled on her hair and she tensed. Turning around, she found that a few strands had been caught by a low hanging branch. Immediately sensing that she’d stopped walking, Aeric turned and noticed what had been the cause of bringing her to a halt. He grinned as he stepped toward her, watching her struggle to untangle her hair from a thorned branch, muttering under her breath.
She glared at him. “What?”
“Nothing.” He chuckled as he reached for the branch andbegan pulling the strands away one by one, only tugging every now and then when a few grew stuck to the ice. “I merely find your battles quite amusing.”
“Amusing…” She scoffed as she watched him free her hair, running his fingers over the strands before dropping them.
He eyed the tresses before humming and tugging on the leather strap he’d been using to tie his hair back. Letting the black strands fall around his face.
“A problem.”
“What is?”
“When you have to fight for your life or run, it is important to limit the number of ways you can get caught. Greedy hands can easily see your hair and reach for it; take the advantage you’ve set out before them to go in for the kill.” She frowned when he stepped forward and handed her the leather strap. “Here.”
“No one is going to grab my hair here.” She scoffed as she turned toward the group as the twins, and Henry continued pushing through the bramble and branches. The farther away they grew, the harder it was to see them.
When she made to follow, a gentle tug on her hair made her head fall back, a gasp leaving her lips. Forced to crane her neck up, she found herself staring up into amused eyes as Aeric stood over her. His fist loosely wrapped around her hair.
“No one?” he challenged.
She made to elbow him again only for his hand to catch her this time, pulling her until her back was flush with his chest. Aeric clicked his tongue before he drawled, “Behave.”
When she felt him suddenly sink his fingers into her hair, she tensed, and through gritted teeth, asked, “What are you doing?”
“Keeping a rather stubborn woman from getting herself killed.” He mused as she felt the familiar sense that he was sectioning her hair. He began weaving the strands over each other, creating a braid.
“You know how to braid hair?” Anelize asked.
Aeric was silent for a moment then he said, “My sister had long hair. My mother was quite insistent I learn how to do it whenever she was too busy working in the fields.”
She blinked.
Aeric had a sister, too.
Anelize was almost too afraid to ask what had happened to his family, when he said, “They lay here in this forest. As they all do. The only times I come here is when I need to feel…closer to them.”
“You said the last time you came here you were a boy.”
“Yes.” She felt him pull her now neatly done braid over her shoulder before he stepped in front of her and said, “I hardly think I am deserving of feeling anything at all after all I’ve done.”
