Page 22 of Horsemen and Hot Chocolate

Her brow furrowed, and a sharp exhale escaped her lips. “Yes, he approached me,” she admitted, keeping her voice steady but firm despite the frustration bubbling within her. “I was trying to appease him so he would give me more time, but I do not wish to marry him. Surely you know this?”

Silence expanded the growing abyss between them.

“Yes,” he said, his rumbling voice a strange, resigned sound. “But he is… a man. Real and alive. He is a fine match.”

“No,” she insisted, taking a step closer. “I wish to be with someone who sees my worth. Brom only sees what he will gain from me, and I refuse to be content with someone who will not love me as I am.”

“But you will marry him.”

Katrina’s lips parted. The Horseman’s rigid posture wavered before he twisted his shoulder toward her.

A flood of confusion filled her mind. She didn’t understand why he would sound distraught over her inevitable future with Brom. Yet, something fluttered in her stomach.

“Yes, I must,” she said, unwilling to let him evade her. She stood in front of him, forcing him to stop. She took a step forward and another until she was mere inches away. “But I do not take pleasure in it. I wish I could be with—”

She bit the words back before she could say them. Her eyes widened at the truth that nearly slipped from her mouth. The Horseman leaned toward her, and her breath hitched. It shouldn’t have been possible, but heat emanated from his body as if he were a living, breathing man. She stared up at the gaping hole in his neck and couldn’t help but imagine his eyes locking on her and his face softening. A silent tension stretched between them before she averted her gaze.

“We’re here,” he murmured. Katrina’s head flew up in surprise as the Horseman gestured to the glade before them.

Towering trees with claw-like branches stretched over the small space. Leaves littered the ground, and a breeze kicked them up in a swirling dance. Inferno clomped forward to graze on the brush, and they slowly followed him.

“This is the last place you remember?” she asked.

“Yes. This is where I awoke.”

Katrina frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I was lying there.” He pointed to a spot before them. “I woke up and found my head missing. But I had Inferno and the pumpkin beside me. That is how I came to be.”

Her lips thinned into a line of thought. She didn’t imagine ghosts manifesting as he described; rather, she figured they might rise out of a grave rather than in a peaceful glade.

“Do you feel anything when you’re here?” she asked. “Are there any emotions or memories?”

“No.”

Katrina expelled a long sigh. Perhaps it would have been too easy if he had suddenly regained all his memories by coming here.

“I am sorry,” he said, his chest leaning forward as if his imaginary head bowed.

“Do not be,” she said, “it’s not your fault you cannot remember.”

“I know, but I also wish to apologize for doubting you. I thought you might have misled me with your intentions for Brom, but I see I was wrong.”

Katrina’s face softened. “It’s all right. It must have appeared as though I was encouraging him. But I put on an act so he could leave me alone.” She sighed and craned her neck to look at the night sky. “Sometimes I wish heaven could arrange the stars so I could escape the road before me.”

“Perhaps they have,” he said quietly.

“What do you mean?”

“My path is altered because you are here with me… perhaps it is the same for you.”

Her heart stuttered. It was true, though, in a way. She was alone in the woods, in a quiet glade, with a mysterious figure. Her life had diverged in this strange way thus far, and maybe it had more plans for her than she expected. Although she should’ve been afraid of him, she felt peace in his presence. Being with him, this time they shared, was what she looked forward to most in her day.

“Perhaps,” she said. “I cannot say I expected to spend time with a specter like yourself.”

“Nor I with you. I will be remiss when this is over.”

Sadness panged her heart at the thought. “As I will, too,” she admitted.