Page 27

Chapter Fifteen

S erena looked at him in horror, realizing just what Lore had done.

“It’s the story,” she choked out. “The miller’s daughter had to find out the goblin’s name in exchange for helping her. I’m guessing I must do the same in order to satisfy the curse.”

She had begun to shake, and he squeezed her arm reassuringly.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll find a way to outwit him.”

They spent the next half hour going over possible solutions when she had an idea.

“When I was in the other land, it seemed as though Gerda and Kay’s story had already happened.” She looked up at him. “Wouldn’t that mean that these lands are not created by the curse, but rather other worlds that we’re being dragged into?”

He thought it over.

“It’s possible,” he said with a nod. “Especially when you consider how the Faery Trials were the ones responsible for many of the fairytales we know now. If I remember correctly, the Trials sent the heroes and heroines to different places in order to complete their quest. What if those weren’t areas in Faery, but rather different worlds? ”

Serena jumped up and clapped her hands together. “That makes perfect sense! Which then stands to reason that if you’re fulfilling the role of the goblin right now—”

“Then the real goblin is still around,” they said together.

Serena toed the rug nervously, trying to recall what she knew of the tale.

She had read many iterations of it, but none of them painted the goblin in a favorable light, and all of them agreed that he was an incredibly unpleasant being.

But they had no other choice; she needed to remember the name of her companion as soon as possible, before the third night passed, else they would both be trapped here.

She tried to remember more of the tale itself for clues on where to find the goblin. “Where the forest meets the wood, and the hare and tortoise say goodbye. That was where the goblin’s house was.”

“There was a forest near the castle. We’re probably going to have to cross it to get there,” he said, looking out the window.

“We just need to be sure to return a few hours before sundown so that I can turn the straw to gold before the king comes in here. Are you sure no one will come check on you?”

She nodded. “I told them any disturbance will mean no more straw can be turned to gold, and they will have to answer to the king. Apparently, he’s an unpleasant sort, so that was threat enough to clear this entire wing until sundown.”

“Then let’s go.”

They managed to sneak outside the castle, mostly thanks to the man at her side; he was like a shadow as they passed through every guard and courtier in the way.

Not for the first time, she wondered what exactly he had been doing for the spirits these past years, and then got the uncomfortable feeling that maybe she did not actually want to know.

It took almost half an hour to finally get to the forest bordering the castle.

Apprehension was a heavy weight on Serena’s chest. It was denser than the one from the last tale, grimmer.

At least she wasn’t alone this time. As soon as they stepped into the forest, darkness consumed them.

The trees were packed together tightly, hundreds of years old, with roots stretching over each other, just begging to be tripped over.

Tendrils of vines hung low, like spindly fingers reaching down to snatch their prey.

Thorny branches grabbed at her skirts as they snagged and tore further with each step. An animal howled in the distance as she edged closer to the dark haired male walking in front. He seemed unfazed by the darkness and noises in the woods, and that helped to calm her nerves slightly.

She tripped over a huge tree root protruding from the ground, and he effortlessly caught her in his arms. For a minute they stared at each other, him holding her suspended in the air as she felt a now familiar flutter in her stomach.

From this close she could see that his eyes had little specks of green in them, and there was a tiny scar above his left eyebrow.

He seemed to be studying her with similar focus, and they stayed like that for a beat, before he cleared his throat and straightened, righting her as well.

“Here, you can hold on to me for now,” he said, and extended his hand.

“I’m fine,” she lied, but took his hand anyway, grateful for its warmth as they continued their descent into the cold dismal woods.

They had made it a fair way in, when a howl sounded nearby, and her hair stood on its end.

Her companion tensed next to her, and his sword shimmered into view as he pushed her back behind him.

A nearby bush rustled, and she took a step back, not ready for whatever was about to emerge.

A second later, a fox slunk out and then disappeared into an adjacent thicket.

She heaved a sigh of relief and was about to comment on how embarrassing it was to be scared of a fox when she heard a movement behind her. Before she could react, something rammed into her, sending her flying onto a nearby patch of flowers.

“ Serena!” her companion roared.

She looked up to see him locked in combat with what looked like an ogre.

Incredibly tall, with a disproportionate head that was too big for his already huge body, he had scraggly hair of different colors and lengths sticking out from his scalp.

His eyes were the size of ostrich eggs, colored a murky brown, while his mouth was stretched into a gruesome grin.

The cloak he was wearing looked disturbingly like human skin, and Serena realized with a wave of nausea that the hair sticking out of his scalp was not his own.

He held a club that her companion was currently holding off with his sword.

The ogre swung it once more, sending him flying into a nearby tree .

He then marched toward her with a smile that gave her chills, two large teeth sticking out of his mouth like tusks.

“Pretty hair,” he crooned. “Pretty, pretty hair to add to my head.”

She scrambled back from him, feeling around for a weapon.

Her hands closed around a heavy stone, and she threw it at him with all her strength, only for it to bounce off of him as it was nothing more than a tiny pebble.

He howled again, and in his gaping maw, she saw rows of sharp pointy teeth that would soon be stained by her blood as well, if she didn’t get away.

He swiped at her and she rolled over, but not before his claws slashed through her arm, drawing blood.

I’m going to die here .

She let out a harsh sob as the thought crossed her mind without warning.

She shrank back, closing her eyes as the ogre bared its teeth and leaned forward, hot breath staining her wet cheeks. Raising her hands, palms out as one last weak defense, she waited for him to attack.

Come on, silver crystal, this would be the perfect time to intervene like the last time.

Nothing happened. The crystal truly did have a will of its own, just like Nerida had said. The ogre was looming above her now, his eyes fixed on her hair with a hungry look in them.

“You will be a lovelier addition than that man at least,” he grunted.

Her arm was burning now, blood running down in rivulets, and she desperately wondered if her companion was okay. She had not seen him since he had been thrown by the beast in front of her.

Just as she was about to lose hope, the monster reared back and let out a bloodcurdling scream, and blood gushed out from his chest, spraying her face. Swaying once, his face a study in anger and pain, he collapsed onto the forest ground .

And then he was there, desperately raking his hands over her, his eyes wild and his lips thin. “Where are you hurt?”

She looked at him, slightly mesmerized by his panicked searching.

“Serena? Goddammit, tell me where you’re hurt.”

“My arm,” she managed to say, the pain and adrenaline now making her lightheaded.

He tore a strip from his ridiculous tunic and paused. “Stay right here.”

A few minutes later, he was back with the rag now wet. Where had he found water? He cleaned her wound with startling gentleness while throwing her concerned looks in between.

“Talk to me,” he ordered. “Tell me where it hurts.”

“I’m all right,” she said in a barely audible tone.

The truth was, she felt disconnected from her body. She hadn’t gotten much more than a paper cut since she was a child, and the blood that was gushing out of her arm made her feel like this was not truly her life—it couldn’t be.

He was wrapping her wound in another strip of cloth now. The pain wasn’t as bad as before, but her arm still hurt. She looked at him, a glaze of tears blurring her vision.

“It hurts,” she whispered.

He looked like she had just torn out his heart and stamped on it.

“I know,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

She shook her head.“It wasn’t your fault.”

He looked away, and the shame on his face made her heart ache. “I shouldn’t have let my guard down,” he said through gritted teeth. “I should have fought it off faster, and that way, it would never have gone near you in the first place.”

Serena cupped his cheek, and their eyes met .

“It’s not your fault. If you blame yourself every time I get hurt, you’ll never get a good night’s rest with all the brooding you’ll have to do.” She managed a wobbly smile.

He sighed and leaned forward, resting his forehead to hers.

“It’s funny,” he said, his eyes closed, “I’ve gone through my entire life alone, never feeling like anything was missing, but now that I’ve met you, Serena Rose, I feel like my life will never be the same without you in it.”

Serena felt her heart crack and mend all at once.

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.” She didn’t want to cross a line further than that, not just yet. Not when what they had was new and fragile and so beautiful.

“And you, mine,” he murmured, and her heart lifted at the realization that this was the first time he had called her his friend.