AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What were you planning to do?” I asked Phantom as I stepped over the first unconscious fellow I’d offered food to earlier. “Kidnap me?”
He spun and held out his hands, jokingly replying, “If you want me to,” before disappearing up the stairs.
Such a flirt. I watched his perky ass bounce as he moved. Shadow’s strong, muscular legs carried him away. Flare’s toned but scarred back flexed as he jogged after the other two panthers. All three of them were handsome in their own right. I’d never been around so many striking men at once. Phantom had youthful charm and a comforting presence. Shadow exuded sturdiness and determination. Flare had that sexy, older man thing going on. Yes, I counted Flare as handsome; in fact, he’d be downright gorgeous if he wasn’t such an asshole, his face always twisted with hostility. That aside, how lucky was I to be surrounded by such fanciable males? Frankly, it made me a little steamy inside my dress.
At the top of the staircase, I paused to watch them vanish along the corridor. Why had the sea god thrown us all together? It certainly wasn’t to entertain my eyes. What greater purpose did we serve? Or were we doomed to become victims of that evil witch? How many would have to die before she was stopped?
Along my travels to get supplies, I didn’t encounter anyone in the halls, likely due to it being the middle of the night. The path remained clear until I reached the storage cupboards, where two cooks wandered down the rows of food, searching for ingredients.
Back pressed to the wall, heart lurching into a rapid beat, I froze.
“They can have porridge,” one dwarf said.
“What about croissants?” the other dwarf answered.
Oh, god!They were arguing over what to cook for breakfast.Hurry up!Otherwise, I’d be stuck here. I had to meet the panthers and escape before the resistance turned into a bubbling hive of activity.
I peeked around the corner.
“Croissants?” the first shrieked, throwing his hands dramatically in the air. “What do you think this is? The royal palace?”
“We’ve got the flour and butter,” the second grumbled.
“Make the porridge,” said the first, thumping the other in the chest with a sack of oats before trudging off.
“I’ll stuffyouin the porridge,” grumbled the second little chef, dumping the bag and kicking it before stalking out of the cupboard.
It was now or never. Taking a long breath, I snuck in, stuffing a satchel full of bread, cheese, and dried fruits and meats. My bag bulged with all the food, enough to feed ten people for a week. On my way out, the cook entered again, and I ducked beneath the shelf dividing the room.
But he must have seen me because he said, “What are you doing in there? There’re no extra food rations. I can’t make exceptions. Otherwise, Buster will kill me.”
Buster? What was with these dwarf names?
“Nothing,” I said. “Just wanted a cup of tea.”
The dwarf shuffled around the edge of the shelves to take a better look. “Then what’s in the bag?” he asked, pointing to it.
Flipping hell.Drastic times called for drastic measures. I brushed a jar from a shelf next to me, and it tumbled to the ground, smashing.
“George, you buffoon!” Buster’s companion yelled from the other room. “What’d you break now?”
The dwarf who had cornered me jumped and spun around.
Time to make a run for it.On my way out, I grabbed some knives to cut the butter and cheese with and then disappeared into the hall, headed for the exit. But halfway along the corridor, I remembered my mirror, and the thought of leaving it behind created an ache deep in my stomach. What if I needed it for some reason? Like gazing upon the location of my stepmother, and finding out if she or her minions were closing in on us? Worse still, what if my power diminished if I was away from the damn thing? With this in mind, I spun around, heading back to my room.
In moments, I burst into my room, passing my made bed, to dig around in my top dresser drawer. I lifted the few items of clothes provided to me by the resistance, finding the mirror at the bottom. The silver rim around the edge of the mirror lit up, and the sound of tinkling glass piped in my ear whenever I touched it. Such a strange, mysterious, and magical item. Where had my friend Nyssa found this? Why had it chosen me as its owner and blessed me with startling powers?
Intrigued to discover more of the mirror’s secrets, I tucked it into my satchel next to my rolled-up cape. From there, I carried my belongings all the way to the exit, where the panthers waited for me. Shadow and Phantom were dressed and wore capes to keep them warm as we progressed into the higher altitudes and lower temperatures of the mountain lands. Flare, as usual, remained topless, and I wasn’t complaining. All three of them carried satchels, which I assumed contained spare clothes and capes.
Shadow tipped his jaw, acknowledging me.
Flare scuffed his bare foot on the ground, as if he were anxious to get moving.
Phantom left his companions to join me. “Got everything?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked one last time.
I gave him a nod, and he took the lead, with the panthers keeping their distance about fifty feet behind Phantom and I.
Grimm was going to have a fit when he found out we’d left. Poor Mama Jo would fret about her pet Snow. But I couldn’t just stand by and let things worsen with every passing day. Wouldn’t sit here and do nothing while Shadow and Flare lost their humanity, their lives, their families.
Call me crazy, but I had to do this—for Shadow and for myself. Every day I wallowed in pity within the walls of the resistance, my stepmother progressed with her plans, and she got wealthier and more powerful as her magic soared. That could not go unchecked. The mirror insisted I played a part in this. What that was, I wasn’t sure of yet. But life had a funny way of revealing things. I supposed I was about to find out—assuming the panthers journeying with me or the other hunters out to kill me didn’t get to me first.
