AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He wouldn’t,” I stammer, and she stops.
“Are you sure?” The words are almost a purr.
I want to be. I yearn for it. But I’m not. So stupid, I’ve only known him a few days, but already, I trust him. I want to trust him. But…
My gaze falls to my wrist.
He did bind me here, accident or not, and I can’t risk being away from Gran that long. I have to get home, have to check on her.
“What do you want from me?” I ask.
She hops back, her hands behind her back. “You’ll see.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “And if I don’t win?”
She grins. “That’s why I’ll help you.” She holds up one clawed finger. “But you must tell no one about me. If you do, I will not help you.”
My brows scrunch. How would she know?
“Oh, I’ll know,” she says as if reading my thoughts.
My skin turns clammy.
“You need a flower. Quickly, follow me.” She doesn’t wait for me to agree, just takes off into the woods.
It takes all my stamina to keep up with her. Limbs catch at my face and clothes. My chest burns. It’s all too much, like my flight from Jolene’s that brought me here, and I have to swallow down the hysteria threatening to choke me.
The fae woman picks her way through the forest with speedy, practiced ease, barely ruffling a leaf and leaving nothing to show her tracks. On the other hand, I might as well be a bull charging through, for all the noise and mess I make. When she finally stops, I double over with my hands on my knees, trying to suck air into my lungs. Sweat drips down my back and between my breasts.I have got to get in better shape. I wipe my brow and stare her down in envy. Her breathing is even, her countenance bright. Not a hair is out of place in her pink ponytail.
Ridiculous.
She points to the left with a grin.
Cadmums, a whole cluster of them, spring from the ground in a particularly shady spot near a bubbling creek. I let out a cry of relief and force myself toward them.
I glance over one shoulder. “How did you find—”
But she’s gone. As if she never existed.
“Hello?” I call for good measure.
I didn’t even get her name.
I examine the spot where I’d swear she was standing, but not a twig is disturbed or out of place. I shiver. Too eerie. Only time will tell if she keeps her word or not. I rub at my chest, trying to ease the ache that’s settled there. She certainly gave me a lot to think about.
But there’s no time to think about that now. I rush back to the cadmums and wrench a stem from the ground.
Distant cheers, barely audible, tease me.
My shoulders droop. Another jog is in my future, and it’s going to suck.
Two minutes into the run, I know I’m not alone.
It’s like spiders skittering down my spine. The odd rustle—too loud for a small forest animal—catches my attention.
Did she come back?
“Hello?” I stop, listening for any signs over my quick breaths.
