Page 10

Names but no faces–at least not in full. I did my best to memorize what I could. Burn their images into my mind. All I can conjure is Armand’s white knuckles gripping the knife, the glint in Hunter’s blue eyes, and the sleek bow slung against Damon’s back.

My heart beats like a drum, like the sound of footsteps on the ground. The sound of a dance beat–One, two, three, four…

Snap!

They’re coming.

Fear ratchets across my nerves and I look back. A mistake. I stumble, toe kicking into a root, arms flailing, striking something big. Something solid but warm.

Something–someone–with hands. Panic rises in me, a scream lodged in my throat. I wait for the dark laugh, the sneer of conquest, but in the pale moonlight I see the arc of a full-face mask looking down at me.

A Shadow.

He can’t hurt me. The King said so.

Still, I spin, running back the opposite way. I slam into something again, this time rough and biting into my flesh. Pressing my back against the tree, I exhale, allowing my eyes to shut.

Not far away I hear a coy voice call out, “You can run, Sister, you can hide, but I’m going to find you…”

Calm, Arianette. Stay calm.

Nothing can hurt me.

I’m in control.

“You’re in a field, right? Sun beating down. Warm breeze. Flowers everywhere.”

The reminder comes like a whisper, and I take one breath, then another.

“What color are the flowers?”

“Periwinkle.”

The color. Soothing purple. Warm like a blanket. Safe.

Wrapping myself in it, my breath grows steady–sure. Nothing can get me when I’m here. Not the Shadows. Not the dog. Not the beast. It’s too bright. Too exposed.

The whistling sound hurtles toward me.Hurtles,like it’s carried on the wind. Not a whistle. An arrow.

I duck. Inches above my head the bark splits, ripped apart by the tip.

The bark scrapes against my shoulder blades as I inch around it, taking tiny steps to get to the other side. I’m crouched there, feet up on the roots, heartbeat pounding in my ears as the footsteps approach.

“Dammit.” The swear raises every hair on the back of my arms. I hear a grunt and the sound of the arrow being pulled from the tree trunk. “Where the fuck did you go?”

Sure he’s going to find me, I wait, bracing myself for the moment. I must imagine it when he walks in the opposite direction, his heavy feet stomping over the dead leaves. But after a moment it’s just me, my heartbeat, and the darkness. Steadier, I push away from the tree and look up, catching a glimpse of the full moon. It’s shifted, night is passing. The minutes eat away at the clock. My eyes adjust, the world a moonlit-soaked gray.

I’m too exposed here, there must be somewhere safer.Run!But I know better. Running is loud. It’s obvious. Dangerous. I slow. Creeping through the forest, I use my hands as my eyes, running over the rugged trunks, feet careful over the rocky terrain. Ahead there’s something dark. Up close I feel thick leaves, bendy branches. Dropping to the ground, I crawl underneath, pushing into a thicket, and pull my knees into my chest, making myself small.

The minutes pass, my heartbeat slowing until all I hear is crickets chirping and night creatures roaming. How many are Shadows, I’ll never know. They could be a foot away, an inch, living and breathing, keeping me within the boundaries of this game.

They are both my protectors and enemies.

I’m so lulled into a sense of quiet that when I hear the footsteps crunch on fallen leaves, I think I’m dreaming. I hold my breath, wrapping my arms around my legs to make a tight ball, listening.

One set of footsteps.

He stops and starts. Moving slow. Careful. Meticulous. Then I hear, “You out here, Sister? You close?”