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When I blinked my eyes open, I was back in bed, the sun falling through the window. I sat up with a frown and looked around.
I didn’t know how much of last night had been a dream.
I didn’t know if any of it had been real.
ChapterTen
Ash
They’re here.
I woke up from a nap in my tree, aware of the forest all around me. The night was still thick—the sun was nothing but a silver line of promise on the horizon, and the darkness held menace. All around me, the trees trembled. Their leaves rustled in the wind, and whispers danced and curled around my trunk.
Let it be. This isn’t drus business.
I heard the warning, the others telling me to stay out of it. They were right—this had nothing to do with me. This wasn’t about us, and as long as we kept to ourselves, nothing would happen to our forest, to our people.
Except, this had everything to do with me now. Since the moment I’d reached out and grabbed Lorraine, dragging her off to safety from those men, the darkness and the menace that hung between the trees was every bit my problem, and I couldn’t help myself.
I slipped out of my tree, ignoring the warnings of the trees around me.
In human form, I couldn’t sense the darkness so strongly anymore. It helped me to block out the whispers and focus on what was real. The darkness, the menacing intent, was what drove these people, but that wasn’t what would hurt her.
It was the men themselves, their presence, who would do that.
I walked through the trees. My footfall was muffled on the mulch, and I moved almost soundlessly. They were here somewhere. Despite moving further and further away from my tree, I could still feel the forest pulsate around me, like a giant vein I was plugged into.
I took a deep breath and strained my ears for a sound.
“What the fuck are we supposed to do now?” A voice sliced through the trees, breaking the silence of the forest. “How does a woman just disappear?”
“The forest is big. It’s not that hard to hide out here.”
“Yeah, you would know, you fucking pussy. You’ve hidden out here before, huh?”
“I’m just saying, it’s not that hard to slip away if you really want to.”
I moved closer to the two men talking. The gruff voices were like sandpaper on my skin, and the air around them was polluted. I stopped before I ran right into them. There were only a few trees between me and them. They moved around noisily, twigs cracking, leaves crunching. I heard one sit down with a grunt.
“For the record, hiding out here doesn’t make me a pussy,” one said. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”
“Yeah? Well, we better find her, or the man is going to have a field day with us.”
“How were we supposed to know she was going to escape? We didn’t know she would be this much trouble.”
One moved into view. I shifted, putting a trunk between us. Not that either of them was paying attention—Lorraine could have walked right by them, and neither would have known.
Fucking idiots.
“It’s the trouble that’s the good part,” one said, and there was laughter in his voice. “When they’re feisty as fuck, that’s when it gets good.”
“I wouldn’t want to take on that wildcat,” the other said. “We had to bang her up twice just to get her in the truck.”
A low growl emanated from my throat. I swallowed it down and balled my fists. Anger was a live creature under my skin.
“Yeah? I told you, you’re a pussy.” The statement was followed by more grating laughter. “What I would give to pin her down and fuck her. It’s a pity we’re not allowed to sample the goods.”
“If you think we’re in trouble now, wait until you fuck the merchandise,” a grumbled response came. “Can’t you control yourself?”
