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She looked prettier in person, even with her ebony hair stuck to her forehead and ash smudged against her cheeks.
Her heart-shaped face was feminine. The curve of her high cheekbones made her look younger than I knew her to be.
Before she thought I was a lunatic, I stretched my hand out to her, since words were unfathomable at the moment.
Like the gentleman I tried to be my gaze drifted to the top of her ripped t-shirt. A groan formed in my throat and guilt followed it.
What was wrong with me? I’d seen plenty of beautiful women in my life. This was madness. Everything about this woman called to me. Her smell. The shape of her small button nose. The tiny dimple in her chin--stop.
She called to a part of me that I thought died many moons ago.
“Who are you?” she asked in a soft voice.
Trusting a strange man in this forest would be foolish.
What other option did she have?
A small smile tilted upward on my mouth without permission and I was ripped away from her, darkness following.
I woke with a start. Rain pelted down on top of me, soaking my t-shirt and jeans. Groaning, I swiped my palm down my face and attempted to wake myself up.
Surprisingly, I slept longer than I anticipated.
The sun was up beyond the trees, not much sunlight making it to me, but I knew it was morning nonetheless.
A swift black orb flew toward me and landed on the toe of my boot.
That damn crow ...
Before I could kick it, I realized it had something in its mouth. A long golden thread. He flew away as I gripped the edge of it and pulled it from its beak.
The thread was thick and an oddly bright gold.
It felt almost real.
Shoving the thread into the depths of my pocket, I stood and dusted off my jeans which were covered in dried mud. I’d thought the rain was just part of my dream, but obviously, I’d slept through the storm.
Tilting my nose into the air, I took a deep breath of smoke.
It was coming from the south, deeper into the forest than I ever wanted to go, but there I was—on my way to face death for a girl I’d never met.
The small mug beside me was full of water. I downed it in one gulp feeling relief that touched my soul.
Swiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I grabbed my bag and tossed it over my shoulder.
The nonexistent trail made it hard to walk but after a while, I became numb to the thorns tearing at my skin. After what seemed like hours of walking, a clearing opened in the woods.
I fell to my knees and looked up at the sun, feeling the warmth on my skin as tingles raced down my spine. The terrain merged from a deathly forest to a deserted land with no grass or life.
In the distance, I made out what looked like a castle nestled into a mountainside. The sight of it chilled my blood. It was her castle. Josephine was yards away from me.
So was Deidamia.
Standing to my feet, I stared out at the valley between us. It looked harmless enough. However, something told me Deidamia would not make it so easy to get to her.
In that valley held what kept her inaccessible.
A dragon? Alligators? There was no way of knowing without enduring it. My fighting skills had developed over the last few decades, but my rationality hadn’t obviously.
