Page 10 of His Darkest Desire

If it weren’t for the gnawing hunger in her belly, Kinsley would’ve been certain she was still dreaming. How could any of this be real? Why did it feel like there was something more powerful at play here?

“Hello?” she called.

She swept her gaze around the chamber. There was a closed door to her right and an open door to her left; she followed the curving wall to the latter. When she reached the open archway, she descended the steps beyond into a room with a cold stone floor.

A huge fireplace with iron fixtures for hanging cooking pots dominated one wall. Bundles of dried herbs dangled from the ceiling, pots and pans hung from a metal rack, and the wooden shelves bore neatly stacked plates and bowls, sealed clay and glass jars, and baskets, which were filled with various fruits and vegetables. Water burbled into a large basin carved in the wall, from which wood slab counters ran to either side. Light from another large window that looked out at the forest brightened the room.

There were no electrical appliances, no power outlets, no phones, no wires, not even an old-fashioned wall clock. Not a single sign of modernity.

To Kinsley’s right was an open space with a dining table and two chairs. Upon the table stood a cloth covered basket, a plate with cheese, slices of roasted ham, and fruit, and a pitcher of water with a cup beside it.

Frowning, Kinsley called out again, louder this time. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

The only answer she received was the trickling of water in the sink.

Kinsley’s hunger deepened as she stared at the tempting spread.

Biting her lip, she glanced back toward the kitchen’s entrance. Had the person who saved her set out this food? If so, where were they?

She approached the table. The aroma of freshly baked bread coaxed her closer. She folded back the cloth atop the basket and touched the loaf of bread within; it was still warm. That had to mean whoever lived here had set this up recently, right? Had Kinsley just missed them?

Plucking up a cube of cheese, she brought it to her mouth, but paused to examine it.

What if this is some kind of Goldilocks situation and I’m about to eat the bears’ lunch?

What if it’s poisoned?

Everything about this place, about this situation, seemed so…off.

“You’re just being paranoid, Kinsley. Why would someone poison you after going through the trouble of saving you?”

Kinsley popped the cheese into her mouth. She closed her eyes and hummed as she chewed, savoring the creamy, sharp, nutty flavor. Her stomach chose that moment to growl. Before she knew it, she had devoured the strawberries, melon, grapes, ham, and cheese, had eaten nearly half the loaf of bread, and had chugged two full cups of water. It was like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.

Rather than feeling bloated and lethargic, she felt relieved. Energized.

Kinsley returned to the circular chamber and continued clockwise, soon encountering a pair of staircases that followed the curve of the wall up to another floor. Two open archways stood between the stairs, leading down into a foyer, where daylight flowed in through the windows flanking a closed door.

She walked to the door, grasped the handle, and pulled it open.

“Oh wow,” she repeated as she stepped outside.

The surrounding land was exactly what she’d hoped to explore when she’d left her aunt’s house—Celtic rainforest. The trees and stones were thick with moss, ferns with featherlike leaves sprouted from the ground, and mushrooms clung to anywhere they could get a foothold. And it was all so, so green.

How was that possible in the autumn? All the trees between London and Inverness had been turning.

She swept her gaze around the little path leading away from the door. Low stone walls served as borders for tiered gardens on either side, which were filled with herbs and flowers in full bloom. Standing stones with more of those strange runes carved onto them were scattered about the grounds. The moss clinging to those stones grew around the carvings but never within the grooves.

Once Kinsley was several paces away from the building, she turned to look at it, and her eyes widened.

Fuzzy moss grew on the roof and ivy clung to the stone walls. The center of the two-story cottage was a wide turret, from the roof of which jutted the tree. That mighty trunk split into countless branches that stretched out in all directions, so bountiful with leaves that they served as an immense umbrella that afforded not even the slightest glimpse of the sky.

The cottage was straight out of a fantasy world.

Once Kinsley was able to pick her jaw up off the ground, she again called out. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

The only sounds to follow her voice were the distant songs of birds and the rustling of leaves overhead.

“Where are they?” she asked quietly.

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