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I’m somewhere, with a horse, in the woods without my beast, with no idea what to do or how to get help, but these shadows are familiar.
It takes more effort than it should, but I push through the pain to lift my arm. The shadows coil from my fingers and twirl through the air, making swirls and pretty little designs before curling around a low branch on the tree. It’s strange; they don’t seem dangerous at all right now. If anything, they almost seem playful.
Maybe I was afraid of the wrong thing.
Shadow huffs as one of them ruffles his fur, but he doesn’t move away, and it settles me even further. Surely, something so gentle can’t be all bad. Hopefully.
Before I get the chance to think further about it, the pain in my head intensifies to the point that my vision blurs.
I feel the grass against my cheek but don’t remember falling. I try to blink through the pain and see through the tears that distort everything around me, but it’s no use; my eyes fall closed once again. Through the pain, I catch glimpses of thousands of moments that play like a movie sped up far too fast for me to understand. Over and over, it loops as I lay, unable to do anything but watch and wonder as I wither in pain.
After so many times I lose count, I start to pick out things here and there.
A dragon.
A boy.
Red hair.
Flying.
A bond.
Darkness.
Her scent lingers everywhere, no matter what I do. No amount of dark magic will cover it, not the cooking stew, candles, nothing. I’m half tempted to burn the whole cabin to the ground and start again before I remember how her eyes lit up when she saw it.
By the gods.
I can’t do it. Not only would it be a pain in the ass to remove everything of value before doing so, but it would probably take me at least a month to rebuild. That’s time I don’t have, not now that he’s back.
No, I need to keep her safe from him. He can’t know that anyone was here, that I helped someone… That I cared.
It’s almost funny to think about. For years, I’ve felt all I’ve had was time—so much of it that I never knew what to do with it. That’s why I stay in the woods, or one of the reasons, at least. It’s why I have so many books and also why I have no idea how I ended up with her here in the first place.
Nobody outside of Father and I have ever been here before. Why would they ever come to visit us? Even the poor towns have homes that are better built, not to mention they aren’t in the middle of the Forest of the Lost—a big plus for anyone with common sense. I’ve never run into anyone in the forest before. Well, nobody but the monsters.
If anything, the fact that we resided here only made them more likely to stay away. It was smart, but it was also lonely.
I’d been ready to defend myself from the moment I found her. But she didn’t seem dangerous, and something about her was intriguing. I might not know people, but I’ve seen enough of them to know she wasn’t normal. When she asked about the cabin, I was prepared for her to hate it and intent on telling her she could always try her luck with the forest. I hadn’t needed to, though. Rena had looked at my home with wide eyes as if it was worth looking upon. It wasn’t the first time she threw me off since I stumbled upon her, and it certainly wasn’t the last.
Leading her out of the forest this morning was harder than I had imagined after only spending a short time with her, but I knew I had to. She wasn’t safe here anymore.
Nobody’s safe from him, not even me.
I didn’t dare subject her to him. Just the thought sends a shiver down my spine. I don’t know why I want to protect her, but I do, and if that means never seeing her again, so be it.
He’s a monster who’s done his very best to ensure I follow in his footsteps.
And I have.
I know what and who I am, nothing more than a tool.
My whole existence has always been about him and what I can do for him—waiting for Father to jump at his commands, to be seen, always waiting. It’s miserable; I was miserable. None of it felt worth it, not anymore.
At least not until two nights ago.
“Ryker!”
