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I stare at him in confusion. “My heart?”
His eyes are wild. “I don’t just want your body, I want your heart. I need your heart, my lady.”
My heartbeat fills my ears. “This… it’s just a kiss.”
A passionate kiss. One that makes me want more. That makes me picture a whole life with him.
“You know it’s more than that,” he presses, keeping me against him in a way that makes it hard to concentrate on his words. “I need to know you didn’t leave me. I need to know that you feel this bond between us.”
Leave him? Why would I leave him?And the bond between us… it’s nothing, just Sulien’s potion. Doesn’t he know that? Doesn’t he understand the difference between a real mate bond and this?
I plan to tell him something to that effect when I startle awake. My body is shivering so much my teeth clatter, and darkness is all around. Darkness and the hard ground beneath my body.
Memories of Prince Zane start to fade from my mind, but for a minute I cling to them desperate not to lose my sense of safety. Desperate not to be alone. Lately, my dreams have changed. They’ve begun to feel so real that I can’t tell them from reality for a time after I awaken.
The dreams were unsettling in the cart. Now? I don’t want to let go of the memory of the tender man, the banquet of food, and the way he touched me.
Yet, no matter how desperately I cling to Prince Zane and our moment together, the dream slowly slips away, even though I wrap my arms around myself the way he did. Even though I swear I can still taste the sweetness of his kiss, and feel the strength of his body. Some small part of me hates knowing that if he was here with me right now, I wouldn’t be alone, or afraid, or anything else, because he would chase that all away.
Shivering, I feel tears sting my eyes. I’m so cold. And uncomfortable. And hungry. And thirsty. If only Prince Zane were here. If only I was with the man who so desperately wants to be with me.
I shake my head, remembering Prince Zane in real life. A cold Winter Fae who was hard to read. A fae who wanted me because he thought I was his mate. He and the man from my dream are not the same.
So forget about him.I try.
It takes me a bit of time to adjust my eyes to the absolute darkness I’m surrounded by and to remember what’s happened. Being kidnapped. My race for freedom, and the men chasing me. I listen, my heart hammering. The only sounds I hear are the sounds of the nocturnal animals in the forest, which means the men left.
Thank the gods.
If the night animals are out, my kidnappers must have been gone for a while. I rub my neck, moving my body around, trying to work out the kinks while I listen. The world seems to have forgotten the men were even here, which means it’s probably time for me to go. If I run in the daylight, they’ll see me. I’ll use the cover of night to get as far from them as I can. Before the hunger in my belly, gets to be too much.
I’m still cautious as I climb out from the tree roots. It takes me a minute of effort but then I’m out, and I’m free. Creeping forward, toward the sound of the water, I kneel down at the river’s edge and drink. And drink. And drink. Slowly, the water slates my thirst, but it somehow makes my stomach, empty of food, feel even emptier.
This can’t go on for days.Ican’t go on for days. I’ll have to put more distance between me and the men, then start hunting and scavenging. If I don’t, I’ll never make it to the Summer Court. I’ll be too weak.
Rising from beside the river, I blink into the darkness, listening to the sound of the water. Knowing I need to keep going upstream. I have to start running, but it’s darker than I imagined. A sliver of the moon is in the sky, but the stars are hidden by clouds.
It’s okay. I can do this. Just put one foot in front of the other.
I start walking and immediately trip.Shit!The damn rock blended into the shadows perfectly. I’ll have to be more careful if I want to do this.
Picking myself up, I move slower, hoping I’ll sense or feel anything in my path before busting my ass again. I’m wrong. I fall again, scaring a bird out of a tree.
Damn it.I don’t think I’ve made it far, and now I’m out in the open. My best bet is to put as much distance between the Death House and myself as possible, hoping that’s where the kidnappers are holed up for the night.
But I can’t do that if I can’t see.
“I need to start a fire,” I whisper to myself as I sit on the ground.
Crawling carefully around on the ground, I feel around for rocks and anything I can use to start a fire. I gather little bits of wood, leaves, and a few twigs. When I find two small stones that I think are big enough and dry enough to start a fire, I slam them together over the pile I've gathered. A few sparks fly, but nothing else happens.
I scowl and slam the rocks together again. I don't even get sparks this time.Fuck.I'm shivering and starving, out in these dark woods alone, but I keep trying and trying. Rubbing, smacking, slamming the rocks together, watching the tiny sparks with hope.
Hope that’s repeatedly dashed away.
My heart sinks and my eyes burn.How did it get like this? How did this become my life?I didn't ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be matched with four princes. I didn’t ask to be kidnapped by a troop of idiots. And I damn well didn't ask to be lost here in the woods, freezing my ass off and not being able to make a fire.
Pissed, I decide the hell with it. “You will burn, motherfuckers, or you’ll regret it!” I position everything perfectly and start slamming the rocks together over and over again, squeezing my eyes shut in frustration. “Light on fire. Fire. Make a fire. Be a fire, damnit!”
