Page 13 of The Spark that Ignites (Shattered Soul #1)

A shock of impact rocked Emmery’s knees as the ground rose up to meet them on the other side of the portal. Vesper had plunged them forward with such haste, Emmery had inhaled a mouthful of seawater, and it dribbled from her lips, leaving a wretched fishy salt coating her tongue as she choked.

Emmery shoved his chest and wheezed. “You could’ve warned me!”

Glancing down, she found both hers and Vesper’s clothes completely dry. How was that possible? Though she didn’t recall feeling any water on her skin.

“I did,” he said, his eyes shining with amusement and patted her back. “There, there. Let it out.”

Emmery seared him with a venomous look though she knew he did it to keep her from running, and she certainly would have, but it was still annoying. Summoning her remaining scrap of dignity, she straightened her tunic and tucked the loose strands back into her braid.

But Emmery’s stomach knotted as she surveyed the thin, twisted trees reaching for them in a wicked embrace and her uneven breaths casting a snowy mist. Uninvited coldness seeped into her bones as her feet crunched the faded brown blanket of frozen leaves.

The scent of damp earth and disturbed grave plots plagued the air, reminiscent of the Great Purge—the desecration of cemeteries for destruction of all Kenna remains. That memory swelled fear inside her.

This was not what she expected.

Emmery straightened and rubbed her throat. “Where are we?”

“The Waking Wood. Nice name. Wish it were as friendly as it sounds.”

Her pulse spiked as doubt crept in. “Where’s the gate?”

“It’s on the other side. Portal then forest and the gate last. But we need to go over a couple rules.

” Vesper held up three fingers. “Number one: don’t touch anything but the earth beneath your feet.

I mean it. Number two: keep quiet. There are things in this forest drawn to sound.

And number three, the most important: stay close to me.

The forest has a way of distorting distance, and you’ll get lost. Got it? ”

Emmery held up three fingers imitating him. “Don’t touch anything. Don’t make noise. And stay close to you.” She tilted her head, offering a sly smile. “Did I miss anything?”

Vesper scrubbed a hand down his face. “Just ... try not to get us killed. Alright?”

“I’ve made it this far. I’ll be damned if I let some forest ruffians send me to my grave.”

“It’s the flesh-eating monsters you should really worry about.” She stared after him until he shot her a smirk over his shoulder. “Come on.”

Despite her sinking stomach, she followed Vesper into the dark woods.

CURSING HER SHORT LEGS , Emmery struggled to match Vesper’s pace. Between dodging fallen debris and tree roots snaking the forest floor, she could hardly catch her breath. The labyrinth of trees boxed them in, barricading even sunlight. She had never been claustrophobic. Not until now.

No birds sang or wildlife skittered, and the silence struck a violent chill through her. If this place once held life, the evidence was long gone, replaced by putrid death. Once they reached the gate, there would be life on the other side. At least that’s what she reassured herself.

This wasn’t how Emmery imagined the path leading up to the Iron Gate and this dying sliver of land was straight out of one of her dark fairytales. But what had she expected? Baby animals and rainbows? If the forest was like this, what else would defy her expectations?

A foreboding chill slithered along her skin as she drew heavy sips from her canteen, each swallow burning on the way down and stoking embers in her belly. Offering that sweet, numbing relief she desperately needed.

“Hurry up, Sparky,” Vesper whispered over his shoulder. Vision blurred, she squinted at his dark silhouette. He was right, the forest had a way of tricking the eye. Whether he was a few paces away or several arm’s length, she couldn’t decipher.

“Don’t call me like some pet ,” she hissed. “You need to slow down.”

He stalled, reaching for her as she stumbled. “By the gods, would you let me help you?”

With a sigh, she took his gloved hand, gritting her teeth as he guided her over a knot of tree roots. As much as his support helped, she’d rather be ripped apart by flesh-eating monsters than admit it. After regaining her balance, she unsuccessfully tried to tug her hand free of his grip.

A wry smile twitched at Vesper’s lips. “Don’t get any ideas. It’s easier to keep track of you this way.” Dragging her along, he added, “Wouldn’t want you falling behind or picked off by some creature.”

Emmery blanched, her grip on his hand involuntarily tightening. “And how many creatures are in this forest with us?”

“A few.” Vesper winked at her over his shoulder.

Bastard . Emmery’s stomach wrestled with itself as rustling sounded behind her, and she nearly leapt from her skin. “Remember when you said you weren’t evil? I don’t believe that anymore.”

He gave their entwined hands a shake. “How unfortunate you’re stuck with me now.”

Eyeing the hollowed-out obsidian trees and splintered branches barely clinging to life, Emmery’s chest tightened. “Why is this place so dead?”

“It was a war zone before it was sealed away and left to rot. Seems the gods didn’t care to tend to it and stripped it of its magic. Like how they abandoned us.” The last words dripped with the bitter sting of betrayal.

Emmery’s brows drew together. “What do you mean abandoned?”

“Long story.” Vesper’s attention fixed ahead. “Now this forest is home to all sorts of creatures. They’re a last defence if any humans somehow slipped through. Kenna too, I suppose. Deimos lets his beasts run free here.”

Her stomach bottomed out. “The flesh-eating kind?”

His slow nod did anything but calm her nerves.

The further they ventured, the colder the woods became.

Eyes hidden in the shadows watched them and the ground under Emmery’s boots grew harsher than the crunch of leaves as the scent of acrid grave dirt flooded her senses and slathered her tongue.

Body trembling from the temperature drop, Emmery’s ankles rolled on the uneven ground.

Sighing with impatience, Vesper turned, firmly grasped her waist, and lifted her over a short ridge. She scrambled, loose dirt raining down while he ascended with ease, his long strides providing an unfair advantage. As Emmery dusted herself off, she caught the blood draining from his cheeks.

Vesper’s jaw clenched and he breathed, “Don’t look down.”

The urge swept over her, and it took all her restraint not to, but Emmery obeyed, thanking the gods for the obscuring mist hovering at their knees.

Squinting through the sun starved shadows, she noted the trees bore deep, jagged grooves.

The bark was shaved from trunk, like skin from bone. As if a beast sharpened its claws.

Emmery swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

Distracted, her toe caught a rogue root and sent her careening toward the ground. Vesper snaked an arm around her middle, his long exhale brushing her cheek. Emmery gave him a humbled smile but couldn’t read his expression. Was he angry? It was impossible to see past his cool exterior.

“It would be easier to carry you,” he jested, a toothy grin lighting up his face. “I could toss you over my shoulder.”

There was the obnoxious humour. Her head spun as she righted herself.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking on my own,” she snapped back, ignoring his outstretched arm, ready for her next stumble.

“I wouldn’t be so clumsy if we hadn’t been walking forever.

Let’s rest for a moment. My feet are raw from these damn boots. ”

It wasn’t a complete lie. Her feet did hurt. Emmery dropped her pack, and bliss replaced the burdened weight from her back. Pulling her cloak tighter, she fought off another tremor, her teeth chattering, and stiff, cold fingers aching.

Vesper mumbled a brief, “If you insist.” His bag joined hers as he leaned against a neighbouring tree, scrutinizing her struggle with her canteen lid. He watched her wince after taking a lengthy swig though he didn’t retort with a smart remark.

Emmery propped herself against a tree and rested her head against the cool, rough bark. Her stockings were caked with blood; she was sure of it. After they escaped this endless forest, she would burn these godsforsaken boots.

Busy mulling over Vesper’s comment about the gods' abandonment, she disappeared into her thoughts. It was only when he sucked in a sharp whip of a breath that her attention snapped to him. By then it was too late. She couldn’t make sense of it, his strange reaction, before he wedged her between himself and the tree.

Emmery’s breaths rasped as panic rose and choked her words. Her limbs pinned helplessly under his hold reducing her to a taxidermy butterfly. Was this a trap? Is that why he lured her here? Had he lied?

Stupid, stupid, stupid .

A scream clawed up her throat, but Vesper clapped a hand over her mouth, and she was forced to swallow it.

How could she have trusted him? Anger barrelled through her, and she shoved his chest with her own, but his rigid body may as well have been a brick wall.

His eyes captured hers and, in the stillness, his magic hummed with each thump of his heart.

“Don’t move,” he hissed, his warm breath misting her face.

She wasn’t having it. Every thread of her being shrieked for freedom and she thrashed, her magic leaping to her rescue as sparks snapped from her fingers, singeing the toe of her boot.

“ Emmery ,” he snarled, his voice low. “Stop.”

A rumble quaked the ground and shook the barren branches overhead.

No, not a rumble.

A growl.

But what kind of monster could make a sound like ... well, like that ?

The chilled breeze carried a staleness of air locked within a stagnant tomb. It circled them, seeping into their marrow, whispering a warning to flee and that whatever was coming—whatever those things were—they were well acquainted with Death. And if they stayed, they would be too.