“There’s nothing to worry about; you’ll be riding with me.”
Uh, no.No, she would not be.
She stepped away from the demon horse.
This guy had just slain a shadow skin. If shadow skins were real, the Wood King was too. And the tithe marker in her pocket proved that her grandfatherhadbeen stolen. That he hadn’t merely wandered off.
That Tom and Maisie were right.
As the truth flooded through her, beneath her dread she felt a renewed determination.
She needed a new plan.
As her rescuer reached for the reins of his horse, rubbing the creature’s coal-black nose, Emeline asked, “Can you bring me to the Wood King?”
His face darkened. “Don’t be daft.” He nodded to the north, in the direction of Edgewood. “You need to get out of these woods before something worse than a shadow skin catches your scent. Here.” He held out his hand. “I’ll help you mount up.”
Emeline briefly wondered what was worse than a shadow skin, then quickly decided she didn’t want to find out.
“Trust me: I have no intention of staying any longer than I have to. But I think the Wood King has my grandfather.” She pulled out the tithe marker from her pocket and held it up to show him. It gleamed, frost cold, between her fingers.
He lowered his hand as his eyebrows shot upwards, causing his forehead to crease. “A marble? That’s your proof?”
Emeline lowered the tiny orb. It wasn’t a marble. It was a marker—still cold, despite being in her pocket and close to her body. The colors beneath its surface kept shifting and changing in the murky light.
“It means the Wood King has my grandfather.” It was strange to hear the words come out of her mouth, after she’d so vehemently denied them before.
He studied her openly now, as if trying to decide what to do with her. “I hate to disappoint you, but your grandfather isn’t here.”
But how could he know that?
He couldn’t.
“And even if he were in the king’s court, there’s nothing you can do.” His voice was tense as he scanned the darkening woods. “We can’t linger here.”
He stepped to the side of his horse, waiting for Emeline to join him. As if he expected her to obediently climb onto the massive creature’s back. As if he wanted her to go home, forget about Pa, and carry on as if nothing were wrong.
Her temper flared. She wasn’t going back until she had Pa with her. “If you won’t take me, then tell me the way.”
“Get on the horse, Emeline.”
So he had been paying attention when she told him her name. She wished he’d given herhisname so she could use it in the same condescending tone he’d just used on her.
“I’m not getting on your horse. I’m going to find my grandfather. And if you’re not going to help me, please get out of my way.”
He didn’t. In fact, he stepped closer, blocking out the rapidly fading sunlight with his tall frame.
“Do you have any idea what happens to people like you? People senseless enough to wander into these woods?”
Fury boiled in her blood. She held her ground as he bore down on her like a thundercloud.
“There are horrors here far worse than any nightmare. It’s only a matter of time before another one finds you. I can’t leave you here.”
Emeline fell silent. The only thing she knew about these woods was that the longer she was in them, the more she believed the stories she’d grown up with.
“Then don’t leave me,” she said softly. “Escort me to the king.”
His mouth twisted as if he tasted something rotten. “ThatI will not do.”
