Page 48 of Cruelest Kiss and Fairest Blood (Tales So Wicked #2)

It’s quiet outside. I can’t hear a single animal. No bird songs. Nothing. Not even a breeze to rustle the browning leaves of the decaying trees. Are my animal friends safe? I don’t see a single one. Usually a few appear to greet me as soon as I’ve exited the castle.

I move from bush to bush, using the shrubbery as a shield. Hiding would have been much easier if the leaves and flowers were still blooming.

My sights set on the main gates. How will I get past the sentries on duty? I don’t have a horse. I doubt I have any chance of outrunning them on foot.

My lungs seize as a tickle forms in my chest. No. I can’t let the cough out. If I make a sound, they’ll discover me hiding here. My hands slam over my mouth, as if I could seal the noise with my palms. My body lurches, struggling against the need to release the cough. A small sound slips through.

Blood spills into my mouth. I swallow it, but too many coughs are coming too fast. I can’t breathe. I can’t hold it in. When I finally let go, the mass of blood runs free. The wet rattling of my damaged lungs echoes across the barren land.

“There she is!” one sentry shouts.

The castle doors burst open, revealing a slew of Catreena’s guards.

The front gates are no longer an option.

Spinning, I race the opposite direction.

If I can make it to the woods, maybe I can find a place to hide until nightfall.

It’s difficult to determine how far away the cabin is.

We rode there on horseback. If I run the whole way, I could make it there in a couple hours.

Another fit of coughs barrels out of my lungs.

I’m wheezing, already straining to draw breath. How can I continue this pace?

Ahead of me, another group of guards bursts around the corner. They fan out. The new formation cuts off my access to the woods.

A banging sounds out from the castle itself. I whirl. More guards are coming out of the panel Winnie led me through. They shouldn’t have been able to fit. I don’t know if she made it out before they got inside. I pray she’s alright.

They’re closing in on either side and now streaming in from behind. What do I do? Where can I go?

Fuck !

A chill slides down my spine as I look in the only direction not occupied by guards. Terror latches on to my already-palpable fear, stoking it. I bite back a scream. They won’t follow me there. No one would be foolish enough to cross that border. I have to try. It’s my only chance.

I break into a full run, praying to the gods above, and head straight for the ominous, outstretched arms of the dark forest.

Apple. Forest. Air. Moth. Poison. Spider. Death.

“ Harrow !”

I scream at the same time my eyes open. The last thing I remember was being in the dark forest. I clambered my way through the cloud of ash, got bit by that moth.

Then there were those people in the web.

Being chased by that nightmarish spider is the single most terrifying experience of my life.

I fell, hit my head and ended up… in someone’s room? I didn’t get eaten.

A rotted wood ceiling hangs low above me. Every inch is coated in cobwebs and dust. I’m not in the castle. My nose wrinkles. A putrid smell wafts past me. What in the world ? It’s gone just as quickly, replaced by something sugary sweet and freshly baked.

Someone lets out a low whistle. “That’s quite the set of pipes you’ve got on you.”

I bolt upright. Spots flicker across my vision from the abrupt movement.

When the fuzziness clears, I find seven figures, each one only a few feet in height, peering at me over the foot of the bed.

Their faces are soft and round, reminding me of the gnome statues my mother and I decorated when I was a child.

“Oh, good god.” Miniature men are not what I was expecting to see after I dropped into unconsciousness in the middle of the dark forest. My gaze darts around the room.

How far away am I? Is that dreadful spider still hunting me?

The scent of something rotten appears and disappears again.

I shudder, clutching the sheets to my chest. “Where am I?”

“You’re safe in our cottage,” a man with a trim brown beard and bulbous nose answers.

“And the dark forest?”

“We live on the outskirts of the forest,” the smallest of the men squeaks. He appears the youngest, with large doe-like eyes set in his youthful face and childlike ears that protrude from the sides of his head.

“Why would you want to live so close?”

“There’s a well of magic that spills from between the trees. It draws many fair folk to this area,” a third man chimes, adjusting the spectacles on his nose.

“How did you find me?” I got near the edge of the woods ?

But how? I had just fallen into the heart of the forest when I stumbled across the spider.

My thoughts return to that thick web and its tragic inhabitants.

Flashes of it have my hand involuntarily flexing at my side.

The tenderness makes me flinch. I raise it, inspecting the misshapen fingers. They look completely normal.

“That hand of yours was in bad shape. We reset your fingers and peeled off the remaining pieces of webbing. You may be sore, but should be able to use it fully in a few days.”

“What were you thinking grabbing onto that web?” the young one asks.

“It was an accident. I was just trying to find my way—” A cough racks through me. I throw my hand over my mouth, catching the spill of blood.

“A tincture for her lungs!” one man calls out. Several scurry off. “Lie back, miss. You need rest.”

A miniature mug of something warm and herbal is pressed into my hand. I sip it, breathing a sigh of relief as it soothes my throat. So much screaming. I’m raw. I lift the mug to my lips again and halt. “Wait, you never said how you found me.”

“We mine rare gems that can only be found in the caves of the dark forest.” He gestures to a barrel in the corner. Its contents are overflowing. Vibrant jewels in cobalt blues, grapefruit pinks, sunflower yellows, and jammy purples spill over and onto the floor.

“They’re beautiful.”

“We trek through the dark forest every morning and each evening. On our journey home, we found you, out cold and in quite a state.”

“Swiss cheese?” I peer over at the curious little man who’s snuck quietly to the head of my bed. It’s the first time he’s spoken. I don’t see any cheese.

“Not right now,” one chides. He pats my leg through the comforter. “Try to get some rest.”

As if activated by his words, a yawn rolls out. I just need to close my eyes for a minute. Tiny voices whisper around me. With hardly a moment’s thought, I drift into a dreamless sleep.