Page 67 of Through the Wicked Wood

Then it strikes me.

His words from our ride to Loxley weeks ago. The way he laughed it off as we spit questions back and forth to each other.

“Ah, this? A rash decision. A teenage regret.”

My head pounds from the voices of the souls trapped in the trees. From the voices trapped inside my head. From what Sorin has done.

Sorin bargained his soul to save Sam all those years ago.

It’s why she was so sickened about coming back here. It’s why he has been so withholding with me. And now, he has agreed to give it to her another year sooner. Give himself another year sooner.

Himself.

My eyes snap to Grawgeth to find her already staring at me. Her smile exposes not one, but two sets of razor-sharp teeth.

“Ah, so now you see, Dyrsjel,” she says. I grimace as she drags her bony fingers down the side of my cheek. Her sharp nails prick against my skin but I refuse to flinch. “You can keep your soul, Enchantress,” she whispers as if to comfort my nerves, “but his is already mine. In a short time, he will belong to these woods. But before you go, you and I,” she whispers, bending down so she’s inches from my face, “let’s have some fun. It is not every day I meet a Dyrsjel.”

“That wasn’t part of the bargain,” Sorin says, stepping between the nymph and me. My pulse quickens as my chest heaves. Lungs burning with exertion, I reach for my magick but nothing greets me back. Whatever wards Grawgeth has on the Wicked Wood has dampened my magick. Even my bond with the wolves is hazy. Their voices muffled through the swarm of others now thrashing in my mind.

“You said I couldn’t have her soul,” Grawgeth growls. “Not that I couldn’t have her. Next time, be less reckless with your terms.” She laughs, snapping her fingers before Sorin can mutter another word. A second flash of blinding light encompasses the tunnel. Then, with no warning, I am transported from the woods and into nothing but pitch black.

* * *

The force of whatever magick the nymph used leaves me crashing onto the damp ground. I wince as my hands take the impact on the rough stone floor.

“Sorin! Alaric! Ruse!” My voice echoes through the darkness. Pushing myself up, I wipe my bloodied hands along my cloak. My eyes work unsuccessfully to adjust to the deep darkness, so instead of straining them, I slam them shut. Focusing on my breathing, I reach my hands out before me to get a grasp on my surroundings. I call for my magick but am met with silence.

Alaric? I try the bond between the wolves and I, but it’s eerily quiet. I can’t feel them as I usually do.

Nothing but jagged stone lies before me. Slowly, I move my hands along the rock wall, careful not to push too hard against the cuts now lined along my palms. I drag my hands until they meet a corner, then I pivot my body. Repeating this motion over and over, I feel for any change in texture. Any opening.

Panic crawls over my skin as my eyes open, adjusting slightly to the darkness. There is no way out. Totally encompassed by stone, I am trapped. My lungs burn with panic as my breathing becomes ragged. Uncontrollable.

I am in a cage.

Caged.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

I command myself. Over and over again. “This is a test,” I tell myself. “Panicking isn’t going to help you accomplish it. Get. It. Together,” I grit the words through my teeth. Sure enough, I begin to regain my composure.

Breathe.

My fingers trace the lines of the stone cage again, looking for any weakness, cracks.

Nothing.

Alone once more.

My hands freeze against the stone as the familiar voices in my head grow louder. The voices I’ve pushed down and silenced for years, now let loose. The invisible wall I built to keep them and the memories out crumbles to bits and any last control I’ve had over them is gone.

I let out a scream. An animalistic, barbaric scream, covering my ears to mute the voices. Another voice. Another scream. And another, and another. As the memories become clearer, my screams turn to sobs. Cade’s body being dragged away. My mother’s throat. Blood upon freshly fallen snow. My dagger as it slices through that guard in Copenspire.

Murderer.

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