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“I-I can’t.” She spun and stumbled in the opposite direction. She had no idea where she was going. Her body felt heavy and clumsy, her legs barely obeying her, but all she knew is she had to get away from those people and the drums and the shadows dancing around the fire.
Cal followed without protest.
The forest around them was filled with darkness, the silence only broken by their hurried footsteps crunching on dried leaves and an owl hooting somewhere in the distance.
Suddenly, they broke free from the trees and found themselves on a small grassy hill overlooking the commune. The bonfire was a distant glow below them now. The air was cleaner here; it smelled of pine and damp earth. Ellie fell to her knees, gulping in a lungful of fresh air.
Cal joined her on the ground, his strong hands gripping her shoulders. “You’re okay,” he murmured, his voice filled with concern. “Just breathe.”
She shook her head. She wasn’t okay. She could still feel the heat of the bonfire on her skin and the weight of Hopeful’s stare in her bones.
“Look at me,” Cal coaxed. She lifted her gaze to his, swallowing hard against the fear lodged in her throat. “You are safe.” He enunciated each word in that calm and steady tone of voice that had pulled many a person back from the brink.
“You’re with me, Ellie, and I won’t let anyone hurt you. Just breathe.” Even in the darkness, the sincerity in his eyes was evident.
The silence of the night was only broken by the distant sound of the drums and their own shallow breathing. She swallowed hard, trying to get a grip on her runaway emotions.
“I’m sorry,” she choked out finally. “I just... it was too much.”
“It’s okay.” He rubbed reassuring circles into her back. “It was a lot of weird. Very…” He wiggled the fingers of his free hand in the air. “Woo-woo.”
She exhaled a laugh and sat back in the grass, swiping at her forehead with the sleeve of her robe. “What the hell did they put on us? It stinks.”
He reached up to touch his own forehead, then held his fingertips to his nose. He made exaggerated gagging noises. “Smells like something Puzzle would roll in.”
She laughed and lightly punched his shoulder. “You’re not helping.”
“Hey, you laughed. I have to be helping a little. Let’s head back to our cabin,” he suggested, helping her to stand up. “Leave them to their rituals.”
She didn’t protest when he led the way back through the trees. His arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders as they walked. They had come with the intention of pretending but in this moment, it was real.
“I don’t like this place, Cal,” she said quietly after a while. “It’s not right. Maybe we should leave tonight before this goes any further.”
He said nothing for a handful of beats. Then, slowly, as if weighing the words, he spoke. “I saw her.”
She pulled him to a stop. “Hope?”
He shook his head. “The girl.”
“Her daughter,” she breathed. “She was there? I didn’t see her.”
“She wasn’t with the group. She was hanging back in the trees like she didn’t want to be seen. I only saw her for a second.”
“Maybe it was someone else.”
“I don’t think so,” Cal said and rubbed his thumb between her furrowed brows. “She had the same anxious look you get—the one you’re wearing right now. And she has your nose. There’s no way you aren’t related.”
“But if she’s part of all this, wouldn’t she want to be involved in the ceremony?”
Cal shrugged. “Maybe she’s not as comfortable with the weirdness as the others seem to be. Or maybe she doesn’t trust outsiders.”
“Then why would she call you for help?”
“Okay, fair point. So maybe she’s afraid of Hopeful.”
Ellie frowned and rubbed at her forehead again. The scent of the oil was as strong as ever. She really needed to wash it off. “Do you think she’s in danger?”
He didn’t respond. He didn’t need to because she already knew the answer. She’d known it the moment Hopeful looked into her eyes, and that was why she’d panicked.
