Page 9 of Inked in Emeralds (Inkbound #3)

I stared at her, cocking an eyebrow. The differences were more than skin deep, and the deep sadness reflected in her sky blue gaze was hard to handle.

Those eyes narrowed to flat chips as she slowed to a stop. “How do you know my name?”

Duncan bumped my hand with his in a subtle warning, and I nearly laughed. He recognized her as surely as I did. Did he seriously think I was going to blurt out the real reason I knew her name?

“The Munsch Kinfolk mentioned you while we were staying with them,” I said smoothly, a sour taste filling my mouth at how easily the lie came. “We’re friends of theirs.”

She nodded cautiously, rubbing at her lower back. “They’re an alright lot, if a bit loud. What brings you all the way out here, then?”

“We’re just passing through, on our way to The Emerald City.”

My body was still buzzing with adrenaline as I stooped to grab one of the apples, as much for something to do with my hands as anything. She let out a snort as I brought it to my lips, and I stopped short of taking a bite.

“What?”

“Wouldn’t recommend it. They’re full of worms.”

The nearest tree rumbled at that, and my eyes flicked up to the branches as I let the apple fall to the ground with a thud. “Are…are they actually alive?”

“Yup. And they don’t like it when people pick their apples.

” Billy strode over to the one she’d pierced with an arrow and yanked it free, none too gently.

The tree let out a hiss and shook its leaves violently before settling again when Billy didn’t budge.

“The fuckers scare off all the game, though, and sometimes you just need to remind ‘em who’s boss.”

“Thanks for helping us. Is it just you out here or…?” I peered around at the now-still trees and saw no other movement. I had to admit, I was hoping to see Paddy or even Scotty step out from behind a tree even though it might mean getting robbed by The O’Donnelly brothers in broad daylight.

“Just me.” She shrugged. “Been a while since I’ve seen other people out this far from one of the settlements.”

“Is the road not very busy?” Duncan asked.

“As busy as any road this deep in the wilds.” She eyed him long and hard, then Hook, then me, before seeming to come to a decision.

“Let's go somewhere where we can talk. If you’re going to The Emerald City there are some things you should know, and I don’t like being out in the open exposed like this for long. My hut isn’t far.”

“You live out here?” I asked, my eyes drifting to her ears. They were slightly off somehow, pointed a bit at the end in a way that the Billys from the other two worlds hadn’t been. And there was something different about her face, too, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

She turned away, still holding her bow as she led us off the path and into the woods itself.

Low bushes and brambles lined the edges of the makeshift trail, with a thin enough gap between them that we had to walk single file.

She wove her way through the forest gracefully, weaving between tree and rock, to the point that I was nearly jogging just to keep up.

She glanced back at us every few seconds but did nothing to slow her pace.

Alabaster Billy had been a bawdy riot, even when she’d been locked in a dungeon. And Neverland Billy had rode up to us on the back of a saber-toothed tiger in The Weeping Fen.

This one was a badass too, no question, but also a whole different beast at the same time.

Every movement was measured and precise, like a soldier.

It was like Billy minus the underpinnings of joy that took the edge off her.

Maybe she was in some sort of trouble like both times before, and needed her brothers’ help?

I sucked in a ragged breath, shoving down the urge to flat out ask if she had any siblings.

She’d been placed in my path three times now, our destinies tied.

I needed to have a little patience if I wanted to find out how and why, because otherwise this twitchier version of Billy would surely get spooked.

“This is it.” She was already at the door of a small, tidy hut which sat in the center of a clearing by the time I jogged out from the tree line with the guys now flanking me.

She watched impassively, hand resting on her low back again as we trudged up to her. “I don’t have much room, as you can see,” she said, pushing the door open as she spoke, “but feel free to have a seat.”

Five knotty pine stools sat on one side of the meager space, with a makeshift bed—really just a pile of blankets strewn across a wooden frame that could’ve doubled as a torture device—on the other.

No wonder her back was sore.

She ducked to avoid hitting her head on the sloped roof as she made her way to the stools. “I’d offer you something to eat, but I don’t think you’d want anything I have.”

I understood. Shrimp puffs and daintiques weren’t an option when living a life this rugged.

I took one of the stools and Billy and Duncan followed suit while Hook stood over us like a perpetually pissed off gargoyle.

“Why the Emerald City?” she asked, her gaze probing my face like she was some sort of human lie detector.

I tried not to fidget and considered my words carefully just in case she was. Whispers, Tideblessed, witches…who knew what magic this particular Billy might possess?

It was pure gut instinct that had the truth tumbling from my lips. “We’ve put together a team to go see The Wizard of Oz about a prophecy that will help us kill The Wicked Witch of the West.”

The air crackled and it took everything I had not to keep blathering. Short, simple, to the point. Over-explaining would only show weakness.

And still…

“I’m not sure why, exactly, but something tells me you’re supposed to join us and maybe be our guide? That probably sounds weird. It sounds really weird, right? I’m not going to try to convince you if you don’t want to come, but?—”

“Zip it, chatterbox.” For the first time, her lips quirked into some semblance of that familiar, Billy O’Donnelly smirk. “You had me at killing the Wicked Witch of the West. I’m in.”

I blinked. “Oh. Okay, then.” Had we finally caught a break here?

Duncan caught my gaze and shrugged.

“What were you doing in the trees out there?” Hook had both arms crossed over his chest, making no bones that this was no casual question. Duncan and I might be team Billy, but Hook wasn’t sold yet.

She sized him up long and hard before replying. “Let’s just say I’m a hunter, but I have no intention of hunting you. Anything else I want you to know about me, I’ll tell you. I’m willing to help, but I value my privacy. Understood?”

She aimed the sharp question at me, and I nodded. “Understood.”

Hook might not be sold, but her caveat only made me more certain I was right.

If I didn’t get to ask her questions, that meant the same held true vice versa.

Convincing someone to help was a whole lot easier when you didn’t have to lead with, “We’re living inside a book right now, and oh yeah, there are more than one of you depending on what page you land on. ”

When she spoke again, there was no trace of emotion in her voice. “Give me a minute to pack my things, and we can be on our way. If we leave now, we should be able to get some miles in and reach Skunk’s place by nightfall. It’ll be easier to stay there than make camp in the open.”

She rolled to her feet and then got to work, stuffing random odds and ends into her large, leather bag. Her bow came last, and she kept it in hand as she tossed the sack over her shoulder.

“Alright, good to go.”

We headed to the door, and I stepped out to a view of the lush forest. As rough as it was to live the way she did, there was something peaceful about it, too. Being in nature all day long, hearing the birds singing overhead?—

A sick feeling rolled through me as I cocked my head.

Why had the birds stopped singing?

A black feather drifted down from the sky above and Billy let out a snarl.

“Gods damn it, we’ve got scouts! Get down!”