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They'd never been caught sneaking out together before, but that didn't mean their route was ever entirely safe. Rosalie was just extremely careful. The entire way through the castle, she held her breath, startled at every noise that wasn't her own breathing.
Ten minutes later, she finally released the pent-up anxiety in her muscles when she breathed her first gasp of fresh air. Outside was bright with the high noon sun, and after a long night of living at Dominick's whim, she was grateful for the sunlight and the opportunity to escape the reach of the palace vampires.
Jay let out an excited whoop as they stepped out into the warm air, a pleasant contrast to the cooler interior of the castle.
She squeezed Jay's hand tighter. "Come on; we’re almost safe."
His gaze lingered on all the large stone statues of gargoyles and monsters sitting in imposing positions around the garden, some intentionally wrapped with dangerous thorny plants to make them seem even more intimidating. Rosalie knew he wanted to spend more time in the garden to pick the flowers and climb the statues, but they couldn't risk it. The garden's hedges weren't high enough to block the view from the entire castle, which meant it was possible for Dominick to see them.
The only truly safe space was the forest on the outskirts of the western side of the palace, which came into view just as they wove their way through the sprawling garden and broke into the open meadow between the garden and the forest.
Glancing back at the garden, she confirmed that they were too far away to be spotted easily, and Rosalie finally allowed herself to slow down and relax her grip on Jay's hand.
When she looked down at him, he was already looking at her with an excited grin; they both knew what this meant.
"What did you want to do today, my son?" Rosalie asked him as she continued leading him toward the woods.
"I want to play tag with the animals that live in the forest," Jay said, showing his innocence.
Rosalie laughed; this was all too familiar. She'd taken Jay out to the forest every chance she got to explore, and most days, he was content to sit and watch the animals as they went about their day without prompting.
"We shouldn't disturb the animals, my love," she said. "They like to play with each other, but not creatures much bigger than them, like us humans. But of course, we can venture forth and see what we can find."
Their footsteps were light on the carpet of fallen leaves as they talked about all kinds of things along their way—Jay's newest book about botany, their plans for when they left the castle, and anything else that came to mind.
The adventurous pair were so caught up in conversation that Rosalie almost didn't notice when the canopy of trees appeared overhead. But Jay didn't miss it. The two of them had made it to the woods, and he ran ahead, shouting with joy at his newfound freedom. Rosalie followed behind, watching as he disappeared into the trees with a wide grin on her face.
He ran around and played by himself, kicking up leaves and waving around branches while Rosalie just basked in the cool air and the sunlight filtering out of the trees. She rarely got out of the castle anymore unless she was with Jay, so she treasured these moments just as much as he did.
Deeper into the forest, they came to a familiar section where the trees thinned out, and a stream trickled along one side, and small wildflowers grew around its edge. It looked like someone had been here since Rosalie brought Jay this far last time. Several stones had been arranged into a circle, with two larger ones jutting out like steps at opposite sides.
Rosalie smiled in delight at this unexpected discovery and pointed it out to Jay. "Look, honey. Isn't that neat?"
Jay crouched by the careful arrangements, running his fingers along the uneven stones. "Did the faeries make this?"
"No, my dear, there are no fae here."
There was a rush in the trees behind them, branches rustling and swaying. "Are you sure about that?" a mysterious voice echoed through the trees.
Rosalie jerked up to her feet, turning around to find a bright orange fox appeared from between the trees. Her eyes widened as she stared at the fox. "You're ... you can talk!"
She dragged Jay to her side, holding him protectively. "Mom ... did the fox really talk? Can I play with it?"
"Shhhh."
The fox laughed, a sound more human than animal. "Of course, I talked. All animals can if you listen with your right ears. But I'm no fox, child."
Rosalie swallowed. "You're a fae? Really? What are you doing here?"
"I was just minding my own business, wandering from wood to wood as the seasons changed, when the king prick was cursed, and anyone on his grounds was trapped here with him. Unfortunately, that meant me, too."
Rosalie hesitated, her eyes sweeping over the fox's well-manicured pelt and golden, mischievous eyes. Something wasn't adding up about this. "If you're a fae, why stay as a fox? The king would welcome you into the palace. You could have been hunted and killed by bored vampires!"
The fox rolled her eyes. "Catch me? Please. Vamps are too slow. But I can see you're skeptical of me. Since I need your help ... I'll show you a bit of trust."
"My help? What do you mean?"
But instead of answering, a cloud of orange light burst around the fox, and her bones began to stretch and change, spreading out like a flower in bloom. Rosalie gaped as the light slowly waned, revealing a beautiful fae woman with long golden hair and skin that glowed with an almost ethereal light. A brisk wind lifted up before the light faded completely, shoving hundreds of green leaves toward her body, covering her skin in a shapely gown of fluttering leaves that couldn't quite sit still.
