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I walked, and walked, and walked, looking for a break in the brambles so I could continue in the direction I had been traveling. But no matter how far I walked, there was no break in the brambles, and I couldn't see any end to the tangle of thorns.
There was no way that was natural.
I looked around, tempted to speak aloud, to ask the forest to please stop playing with me and let me on my way. But I knew better than to make any desperate pleas that might be interpreted as bargaining. The last thing I wanted was to end up owing this forest the blood of my first-born child, or something equally awful.
So, I turned and walked in the opposite direction.
And still, the thorny bushes stretched onward. At one point, I stopped and found a long stick, reaching out occasionally to poke the hedge, to make sure it wasn't just an illusion. It felt solid enough. And after about the third poke or so, the brambles started to writhe and rustle as if they were getting angry. So, I tossed the stick away and quickly hurried along. Leave it to me to anger the sentient poison daggers.
After an equally fruitless and frustrating walk along the wall of plants in the opposite direction, I stopped and let out a frustrated groan. I was almost certain that the capital city lay in the direction that I was not allowed to travel. But the Untamed Wood wasn't endless. It had other boundaries. So, I firmly set off in the opposite direction of where I thought Brightfall must be.
If I was lucky, I'd come out near a small village on the other side of the damned forest. I tried not to think about how, based on my travels yesterday, I might be several days' walk from there. How I'd likely end up spending the night of the wild moon, and a couple nights after that, stranded here with no resources in a place that was teeming with ancient magic and mischief.
The sun crept higher in the sky, and by the time I gave up on the thorn bushes and headed off in what I was pretty sure was the wrong direction, it shone down from directly above, painting the forest in lacy golden light where the canopy was thin, bursting out in fierce afternoon glory when I stepped into the odd clearing here and there. Time was ticking away, and I was still lost.
When I tried to turn back, maybe cut diagonally back toward where I knew I should be headed, there was always some new obstacle in my path. The stories were right. This place was changeable. It was sentient, and it was playing with me, only allowing me to travel in the direction it wanted me to travel. The question was, to what end? Was the forest just amusing itself? Was I being led to something helpful? Or was I being herded ever closer to a hungry predator or a hidden cliff where I would fall to my death?
I thought of Balefire now and then. I hoped he was well, wherever he was. That he had recovered from his injuries and gone home. But I was afraid that was wishful thinking. If the pooka had survived whatever happened with the thugs from before, he would have come looking for me by now. And Bale wasn't a weak human-fae cross. He was a wild fae creature who could easily navigate places like this. If Balefire was okay, I wouldn't currently be alone. Unless whatever was herding me around was more powerful than a pooka.
On that depressing thought, I tripped over a massive tree root that had appeared in my path, tried to turn back the way I'd come, and found a boulder in my way. The boulder hadn't been there seconds before. I let out a tired screech and kicked the stone, my fury getting the better of me. All I succeeded in doing was stubbing my toes and scuffing my boot.
I froze when I heard a sound coming from off to the side. Turning, I saw that a path had opened up in that direction, almost like a deer trail or a walking path, too neat and obvious to be anything but more forest tricks.
"Oh," I said bitterly. "Is that where the flesh-eating plant is? Are we finally done playing this stupid game?"
But fighting the Untamed Wood and all its tricks seemed pointless. I was tired, and the sun was slowly heading toward the horizon as late afternoon flew by. What choice did I really have? Growling, I stomped down the path that the forest had revealed, hoping I wasn't about to stumble into my death.
Chapter 29
The noise I'd heard before grew more distinct as I went, and I slowed when I realized what it was. A voice. Someone was softly singing up ahead, the source of the voice hidden by a bend in the path. The sound was husky and compelling, utterly beautiful. I took a few steps toward the music before my brain kicked in and I managed to stop myself. Dryad. Nymph. Siren. There were a dozen possibilities. Plenty of fae creatures used music to lure unsuspecting people to their deaths.
I looked back over my shoulder and, sure enough, the trees had closed in around me, making it impossible to go back, completely erasing the path behind me.
"Damn it," I muttered. Anger overtook my fear, and I grabbed up a thick tree branch as I stalked forward, rushing around the bend in the path with the thing raised high, ready to club someone to death.
"Rina?"
I froze with my makeshift weapon still raised overhead as I blinked at the sight before me. "Fife?"
The beautiful male looked a bit rumpled, but was no less stunning as he approached, a radiant smile on his face. I took several hurried steps backward, bringing the branch down between us in warning. Mimics could be pretty convincing.
He stopped and frowned at me. "Right. I can tell you are who you appear to be, because I can read your magic—your aura. But you're not a cleric." He sighed. "How can I prove to you that I am myself?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "No clue, and I'm getting really damned tired of this place playing tricks on me."
He sighed. "My mother is the steward of Zora. I am a bard and a cleric. My team entered the tournament to win the hand of a noble so we could protect one of our number from their conniving family. I first saw you in the stables when you were spying on us during one of the challenges." He held up his graceful hands. "Some creatures might be able to draw that level of detail from your mind, but I doubt they'd have access to all the small details of your memories."
A mischievous look crossed his face, and he took a step closer. "I doubt any mimic could tell you that you make a tiny sound when we happen to touch. That I noticed it every time you let out that quick little gasp when we were dancing at the feast back in Astra."
I blushed so hot it was a wonder I didn't catch fire, mortified that he had noticed that. But true as it may be, it could still be a trick.
When I didn't lower my stick, his pretty mouth twisted into a wry smirk. "You could always just come over here and let me touch you. You'd know pretty quickly then that I'm really who I say I am, since you'd still be alive afterward."
I gave him an unimpressed look. But honestly, I could stand here all day arguing with what I suspected was a figment of my imagination, an illusion provided by the forest. All while daylight was running out. Or I could just get it over with.
And I was so tired of all the games.
Flinging the tree branch away, since honestly, it wouldn't do much to defend me if this was some sort of forest predator I was dealing with, I took a few steps forward, putting myself within grabbing range. "I guess it's been a pleasant life while it lasted," I muttered, braced for pain.
