Page 140
Story: A Strange Hymn
I wave the question off. “I’ll be right back.”
The Thief of Souls has been hunting during Solstice, and now I know just where to find him.
Chapter 46
I walk through the Flora Queen’s sacred oak forest, frowning at the soldiers shadowing me.
“It’s not safe for any of you to be here.”
Had I taken a moment when I left the ballroom to consider the fact a handful of Night soldiers would be guarding me, I’d have tried to slip past them. At the very least, I’d have requested all women, considering the Thief of Souls isn’t trying to capture them these days. Of the six soldiers surrounding me, only one is a woman.
“King’s ordered that we guard you,” one of them says.
It’s the same answer they’ve given me the last several times I’ve tried to shake them off.
I turn back to the forest ahead of me. Other than a few warm droplets of blood on my skin, I haven’t found anything suspicious or unsettling about this place.
Fairy lights hover between the boughs of the trees, casting the woods in an ethereal glow.
“You could always return to the dance,” another soldier suggests.
Ugh. Back to those schmoozing, scheming fairies? Back to Mara, with her cloaked insults and brittle smiles, or the Green Man and his leers?
“Give me a few more minutes.”
Just thinking about the Flora rulers has me rubbing my skin. There’s something off about those two.
“Callypso…”
I pause. “Did you hear that?” I ask the soldiers.
Two of them nod, their faces grim. One of them grabs my upper arm. “Time to get back to the ball, my lady.”
Of course they’re right, but I still hesitate. Finally, something slightly spooky happens out here, and now I’m about to be whisked away to safety.
I let them steer me back toward the gardens anyway, which I can just barely make out in the distance.
“Enchantress…”
My spine goes stiff. I glance back, toward the origin of the voice. For a split second, I catch sight of a shock of white-blond hair in the darkness.
“Des?” I whisper, before I can help it.
As soon as I breathe his name, my guards hesitate, looking back to the woods for their king. But where he once was is now dark as ever.
One of my guards yelps.
I whip around. “What happened?”
They glance at each other, each one as perplexed as the last. It takes a few seconds for all of us to put together what exactly is off about the situation.
A second ago there were six soldiers at my side.
Now there are only five.
“Move, move, move!” one of them shouts.
The soldiers don’t stop to search for their comrade. They grab me and begin hustling toward the gardens.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140 (Reading here)
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160