Page 42 of A Lie so Pretty and Poisonous

Celeste and Astorath’s steps softened as we entered the darkened forest. Darragh kept his hand on a silver dagger and his head on a swivel. I was already regretting talking him into letting me come here.

We stopped the horses at a deep and wide ravine. “Let’s head further north for now. It is too steep for the horses to…” Darragh paused. His head tilted, and his body tensed.

We were about half a mile from the barrier, and the air was charged with electric enmity with every step we took toward it. There was a buzzing under my skin, prickling up my spine to the back of my neck. Or maybe that was my fear turning and twisting inside. My chest rose and fell quicker, and I tried to stifle the sound of my increased breath.

Muffled voices carried in the distance, but in this forest, I couldn’t tell if they were close or far away with how sound moved around the thick trees and dense canopy above. I looked at Darragh, and he tipped his head in acknowledgment. The hairs on my arms rose. I was getting a flashback from the dryad attack. It felt too familiar, and my heart raced at the thought of it.

What in the underworld were you thinking, Rory? You aren’t equipped for this.

Darragh laid a gentle hand on my trembling forearm, and my attention went to his chestnut eyes. He put a finger to his lips to stay quiet as more muffled voices carried to us on the wind.

He angled toward me, leaning in close. His voice lowered to barely a whisper, warm breath grazing my rounded ear. “We are going to walk the horses up toward that craggy rock formation there,” he pointed. “It should keep you covered. You will stay with Celeste and Astorath while I go check out where the voices are coming from. Do not leave that spot unless someone approaches. If it is anyone other than me, run Celeste out of this forest as fast as you can. Do you understand, my lady?”

“You’re leaving me alone?” I whispered a little more nervously than I meant to.

“I cannot take you close to voices. Please trust me, my lady.”

“Rory,” I countered.

He ignored me. “Tell me you will stay hidden.” Darragh’s eyes softened.

“I will,” I promised him.

We angled the horses in between the large, jagged boulders so I could look out, but others wouldn’t be able to see me unless they stood right in front of me. He unsheathed one of his silver daggers and handed it to me. “Aim for the throat if you can.” He drew a line across his throat with his finger.

Should I tell him I don’t know how to use this thing?

Astorath nudged Darragh with his muzzle as he walked past him. “I know, boy. It is alright,” he reassured.

“Darragh?” I spouted. He looked back at me over his shoulder. “Please be safe.”

Without another word, he stalked away.

I twisted my fingers, and as I watched raven-black hair disappear down the ravine, an eminent vulnerability weaved through me, and I felt entirely stupid for getting myself into this situation. This would be the cursed portion of my stubbornness. One in which I usually didn’t see until it was practically in front of my nose.

I only heard muffled voices twice more, but the way they filtered through the trees made it seem like they were moving away from my location, thank Clotha. Astorath was getting antsy and kept shifting his weight between legs, occasionally looking back at me like I should know what was happening.

An hour passed. Then two. At least, it felt that long. My concept of time was skewed without being able to see where the sun sat in the sky. With every passing moment, I got increasingly more agitated, twisting my hands with an occasional shudder running up and down my spine. He should’ve been back by now. A low fog rolled in, blanketing the leaf-covered ground as the light of the forest dimmed.

A distant twig snapped, making me jolt in the saddle. I blinked away the flash of memory of stinging nettles twisting up my ankles and a sneering mouth labelling me as weak.

You’re alright, Rory. Breath.

I closed my eyes and took three cleansing breaths. In and out. In and out. In and out. I unclenched my taut muscles and sank more into the saddle.

Another hour passed. My legs were starting to numb from sitting so still in the same position, and the chill was deepening through me.

I have to go look for him. A stupid thought. One in which he would be pissed about. I couldn’t imagine him leaving me vulnerable to attack for so long. My intuition swirled inside me, telling me there was something wrong.

I dismounted Celeste, my legs aching from the amount of time I spent in the saddle. She pawed at the ground in protest at what I was about to do, and Astorath pushed against me with his head as if he were trying to keep me from leaving. “Don’t you two start,” I scolded.

The silver dagger was clenched in my shaking hand, and I hesitated at the entrance of our hiding spot. What if a dryad attacks me? My legs wouldn’t take the step necessary to leave, rooted into the forest floor as much as the trees were. I squeezed my eyes shut. I won’t be bullied by fear. He needs me.

I opened my eyes, pulled an intake of breath, and I strode out of our hiding spot in the direction Darragh had last headed toward. I hoped I’d made the right decision, but I couldn’t sit there any longer. I had to be sure something didn’t happen to him. The stillness added to the eerie energy rolling through the forest from the barrier. Only the occasional rustling of autumn leaves from a light breeze cut the quiet. Everything else was silent, like the forest waited on bated breath to see what I would do or what would happen to me during this idiotic decision.

Miles and miles I walked, focusing on making the least amount of noise possible. Seraph hearing was better than humans’, and I wasn’t sure if my careful steps would even be deemed as soft. I dodged twigs and branches on the forest floor, unsure if I was traveling in the right direction, and I realized too late that I might need to find my way back to Astorath and Celeste alone.

So stupid, Rory!