Page 156 of His Darkest Desire

“I know how all this is going to sound,” she said, “but please, just…hear me out, okay?”

“Of course,” Emily said.

Aiden reached across Emily’s lap and gave Kinsley’s knee a reassuring squeeze. “We’re here for you, baby girl.”

“All right.” Kinsley drew in a steadying breath and began her story.

Surprisingly, the beginning was the hardest part to tell. Everything she’d felt that night came rushing back—her fear, her grief, her longing to live, her understanding that she was going to die. The crushing loneliness of being in the middle of nowhere, unable to get help, unable to say goodbye.

With tears in their eyes, her family sat quietly and listened as she described how Vex had come upon her. The deal he’d offered. She’d decided not to leave out any of the magical, supernatural things she’d experienced, no matter how unbelievable. The more she shared, the easier it came.

The only parts she didn’t mention were her intimate moments with Vex.

By the time she finished, she was crying again, but the tears felt just a little cathartic. The burden had lightened, if only a bit.

Her mother, father, and aunt sat there in lingering silence, uncertainty upon their faces, eyes downcast. That hurt a little, but it was such a small hurt in the face of everything else.

Aunt Cecelia broke the silence. “I saw a wisp once.”

Emily looked at her, brow furrowed. “What?”

“When we were little. Remember when dad hired that caravan, and we went camping in Wales with our cousins? It was dark, and the adults were sitting around the campfire while we played hide-and-seek in the woods.”

Emily frowned, but her eyes soon rounded. “I do remember. Tommy was so cross with you because he couldn’t find you. You were hiding so long that we thought you got lost, and we were about to tell mum and dad you’d vanished. Then you came back all wide-eyed and smiling.”

“I was lost. Scared out of my wits. But then I saw this beautiful blue light.” Cecelia smiled. “It didn’t make a sound, but I swear it called to me. I followed it, and it led me back to everyone.”

“You never told me.”

“Would you have believed me?”

“I…don’t know.”

Cecelia chuckled. “No one would have. But I saw it.” She looked at Kinsley and smiled with warmth and understanding gleaming in her eyes. “And I believe you, Kinsley.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

The forest was at once familiar and alien to Kinsley. There was no mist, no crystals, no lush summer foliage. All around, the boughs were largely bare. Instead of green—or the golds and reds from before her accident—there was only gray, brown, and white.

There’d been a dusting of snow overnight. Just enough to break up the drabness. Just enough to confirm that she’d made it through autumn, that she’d weathered the changes. Just enough to remind her that even in the bleakness of winter, there was beauty to be found for those willing to look.

But regardless of its appearance, and no matter the season, this place felt the same. It resonated in her soul. It…sang to her.

Kinsley could imagine her father pacing in the cottage living room, ready to rush out the front door in pursuit of her. But she could also imagine her mum and aunt, their sisterly bond strong as ever despite how far they lived from one another, blocking that door together. Telling him to have patience. To have faith.

Though he’d been surprisingly accepting of Kinsley’s story, he’d become even more protective after listening. Only after some convincing had he begrudgingly agreed to let her step out alone this evening.

As Kinsley walked, snow crunched softly under the boots she’d borrowed from her aunt. These woods were unknown to her, but she had no fear of losing her way. Something within Kinsley guided her. Something within her knew the way.

When that sixth sense compelled her to stop, Kinsley did so.

She glanced down to find herself right where she’d meant to be—the center of the fairy ring. The mushrooms were untouched by the snow, and the ground around each was clear, as though the fungi were too warm for any frost to stick. Yet the snow gathered within the ring was deeper and purer than elsewhere.

She crossed her arms over her chest. Her breath came out in little clouds that lazily floated away before dissipating. She could just imagine herself beneath the tangled roots of Vex’s mighty tree, surrounded by glowing standing stones.

“Did you think you could get rid of me that easily, Lord Asshole?” Voice louder and harsher in her anger, she demanded, “Did you?”

In the back of her mind, she could almost see his seductive smirk, could almost hear his dark chuckle and teasing retort. She wouldn’t admit to herself that it was just her imagination. Wouldn’t acknowledge that, even if he’d heard her, he wouldn’t have understood her words.

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