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“I was hoping you could tell me.”

She jerked her head up and shoved both palms straight out in front of her. A powerful blast shattered that bubble and sent Hel and War flying backward. It wasn’t until he was on his ass outside the barrier to the night territory that he realized Valeen said she feared nothing, but that lily mark terrified her.

“Val,”Hel called in the darkness of the forest. “Come out, love, I promise I won’t bite.”

Chapter15

LAYALA

Layala pressed back into a wide tree. The decaying, knotted branches hung around her in gnarled and twisted ways. Every rustle of a bush, every hoot of an owl, or snap of a twig sent a jolt of panic to her already racing heart.This was a bad idea. Leading him in here might get your ass killed too.Beady glowing eyes seemed to peer out from every direction watching the new intruder. She was allowing the past to get the better of her. This forest reminded her of giants and the near death of Thane, the moment they’d been ripped apart. And to top it off, she was being stalked by the most deadly being in Adalon.

“Valeen,” he called again, closer this time.

Dropping into a crouch below a bush, Layala took in deep cleansing breaths and searched the darkness around her. A centipede half as long as her skittered over the toe of her boot. Holding in a scream, she shot up, and flung out her leg, sending the thing flying.Disgusting.After a moment there was a sudden crawling sensation on the back of her neck.Oh, it better not be…She slapped at whatever it was and whirled around to a thick web entangled in her hair with a group of spiders as large as her head sliding down from the treetops. She squealed and slapped at her head then took off east.Maker above, why did I come in here?She leapt over downed trees and darted around mid-sized boulders, hoping it would lead her out but still away from Hel. This was worse than the dreams he’d haunted her in months before.Damn spiders.

Low-hanging tree branches whipped her in the face and across her body as she sprinted. One sliced open her cheek and she hissed at the sting but quickly swiped at it with her shoulder and kept running. Nothing in this area looked familiar, and there was no path in sight. The smell of a bog hit her moments before she stumbled into thick mud that quickly rose around her ankles.Get it together, Layala!

But there were things worse than her own death in life. Like watching him torture and kill Thane.

“You’re letting fear get the best of you again.” Hel’s voice echoed all around the area making it impossible to know where he was now. “You can’t hide. I can hear your racing heart.”

Damn elven hearing.If her own thundering heart wasn’t so loud she could hear him too. Layala glanced back. He was somewhere close now, but his form was not among the fog, the thick twisted branches, the tall ferns, or the little glowing eyes in trees. A clicking noise from a bird pecking echoed in the forest. There were no luminor crickets here, no other light than the meager amount that showed through the cracks in the canopy of trees.

You got yourself into this mess. Now you’ll have to get out of it.She threw out her vine, wrapped it around a thick branch above and swung across the mud pit. Her legs carried her so fast everything around her became blurry, and her eyes burned with tears from the speed. The stomp of something colossally heavy shook the ground, and Layala skidded to a halt. She waited until a giant scorpion, half as tall as the hundred-foot trees, came into view, then waited until she spotted Hel too.

His taunting smile faltered when he realized she’d led him into a trap. With a smirk, Layala took off, running directly at the giant scorpion’s pincers. It let out a high-pitched shriek and swiped at her; she dove through its open pincer and dodged its massive legs stamping and quaking the ground. Her feet carried her faster and faster, getting her out of harm’s way. She darted to hide behind a massive decaying tree trunk. The beast lost sight of her and turned its attention to Hel.Let’s see you get out of this,Layala grinned and ran without looking back.

She finally burst free from the unnamed forest out into the open and sighed in relief at the moon’s light shining across the land and kept jogging into the field of waving golden grain, a small bit of comfort. After getting far enough away from the woods that she felt safe, she slowed and finally faced the forest. A wail sent a shiver down her spine. It didn’t sound like a dying man. The openness of this area gave her no place to hide and nowhere to run. The castle was at least fifteen miles from here.

The breeze carried with it the faint smell of sweet smoke and a shiver ran down her spine. Layala gulped at the feeling that scent evoked in her. Had he taken down the scorpion already? He was going to be pissed now. She whirled around to run then felthispresence behind her. Every muscle in her body froze. There was no point in fleeing now. With a deep breath, she readied herself to face him and with a slow turn, she found Hel standing right behind her and jerked back ever so slightly.

“Boo. That was clever, Val. I’m proud of you.” He smiled as if this was the most fun he’d had in a long time. “Oh, did I spoil the game? If you want to keep running, I’ll turn around and count to thirty. Hide and seek is my favorite pastime.”

Layala’s brows furrowed, and she clenched her hands at her sides. She would no longer be his source to laugh at and make fun of. Turning on her heel, she started toward the castle. Showing her back to him was the biggest move she could make.

He appeared in front of her, eyes glowing red. “You didn’t learn to not turn your back on me last time?”

“Don’t you dare touch me again,” Layala said and pulled a throwing star. The pointed metal was slick in her damp fingers. “This horseshit of you treating me like a puppet is over.”

“I guess we’re back to where we started.” He took a step closer. “Or you’ll what? Try to kill me?”

Breaths coming faster, Layala put the star’s sharp edge to her own throat. “No, but I could kill myself.” Even she didn’t know if she’d do it.

His jaw muscles feathered, and his eyes darkened. “You wouldn’t.”

“Iwill.”

They stared each other down for what felt like too long. “I think you’re lying,” he said. Layala pressed the steel star harder, its point piercing her flesh and slowly slid it; warm blood oozed down her throat and the sting made her wince.

His eyes blew wide. “Don’t.”

“Then stay away. I swear I will end my life, Hel. Then eventually you’ll die too because you won’t have my blood to keep you going. You won’t get my memories. Your life will be over.”

His throat bobbed and his gaze flicked from her bleeding neck to her face. “Valeen—”

“It’s Layala.”

In a flash, he vanished and reappeared before her and ripped the star from her hand and threw it far into the shadows of the wheat stalks. His warm hands gripped her face and he said with a shaky voice, “Don’t you ever do that again. Not ever. Gods, you drive me insane.”