First Kiss (22 page)

Chapter Nineteen

I wake to something like the blankets
covering my face. My hands seek them out but find a large, muscled arm. I push
at the person next to me. The room is black, adding to the feeling of
claustrophobia and making me panic until I feel him stir and I know
it’s
Bash. “Where are we?”

He moans and moves a little, “In bed.
You’re okay. You’re safe. You were so tired you fell asleep and I carried you
here.”

“Is this your room or mine?”

He sighs and pulls me back down to him,
“Mine. Does it matter?”

I nod against his chest, “Yes. We
aren’t
married,
this is not how things are done here.
You know that. This will ruin me.”

He laughs into my hair, “You’ve already
ruined me, Lynnie. I should be focused on what secrets my brother has going on
and executing your mother. Instead, I have tracked you to here and worried
incessantly about my cousin’s affections towards you. I shouldn’t have come
here. I haven’t finished speaking with my father about your mother. All I could
think about was you.”

I can’t fight the smile on my face. “I
didn’t mean to make you suffer.”

“I know, but you have yet to tell me
you love me—me in this form and who I am.”

“I did.” I grab his shoulders and pull
myself up his body, sliding against him. “I told you I loved you when you rode
away and left me in the dirt.”

He cups my chin and lowers his face so
that when he speaks his words brush against my lips. “But I left you in the
dirt like a fool. Tell me you love me again, even if I am stuck this way
forever.”

I nod, “I love you. I have always loved
you, I think the same way you have loved me. You were my first kiss and I want
you to be my last. I don’t care if you are the scarred man or this one—I
see only you.”

His lips move the last inch and press
against mine. Sealing our words with a kiss. His hands try to roam my back but
I push against him, “Not until we are married. I should make you take me back
to my room.”

Bash smiles and kisses my cheek. “No. I
want you close.”

I push away the feelings rushing my
body, and instead of tearing both our clothes off, close my eyes and snuggle
into him, sleeping instantly.

I wake in the morning, but I am alone
when I do. The maid has drawn the curtains and the sun is shining in. I can
smell him on the bed and I think even in my hair. I stretch and climb from the
bed, noticing my gown has been removed and I am in my underwear and a
nightgown.

The door opens and he saunters in,
eyeing up my nightgown. “Are you ready to go? We have to go home today. There
is a ball at home.”

I shake my head, “I need to see the
ancients. The old witches, one must be good. They can’t all be bad. One will
help me learn the magic and get rid of my aunt and my mother.”

He shakes his head, “No. We will
strategize from the castle. I don’t want to worry about you.” The way he says
it makes me see that there is no way to argue the matter. He is firm on his
decision and he has a king’s way of being stubborn.

But
laying
there in the bed, I feel something I’m not sure I’ve ever felt before. I smile
at him, “Let me get dressed and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

He nods and leaves the room, “I shall
wait for you at the door.”

I look down at the nightgown and wince,
but I don’t have anything else in the room. I rush to the wardrobe in the
corner. It’s filled with extra linens and not clothes.

“Shit.” I drum my fingers against my
lips, deciding to just go in the clothes I have on. The door opens again, but
it is a maid with a bundle of clothes, “His highness hopes something in the
pile fits you. Shall I stay and help you dress?”

I shake my head, “No, thank you. I can
manage.” She places them on the bed and leaves the room. I rush to the pile and
pull on the plainest of the dresses in the stack. It is a brown riding dress
and perfect for what I’m about to do, although I would almost kill someone for
a pair of stretchy pants and a hoodie. I stand in front of the mirror on the
dresser and clear my mind. I place both hands on the mirror and take a deep
breath. I don’t know what my mother and sister and aunt were chanting when they
made the portal or the spell on the house, but I decide to say the first thing
that comes to mind.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Listen to my voice
,
hear my call
. I
desire a portal to the old witches. Please don’t make me ride all the way
there, I have no britches.” A smile creeps along my lips. I am an idiot. I
reach forward, feeling the cold glass and sigh. “Please make a portal to the
ancients for me. I desire it more than anything.” The glass doesn’t change. I
sigh, “Please make a portal.” The glass doesn’t change.

I give up and turn for the window. I
open it, feeling the cold breeze shooting in at me. I close my eyes into the
wind, “Baylor, if you can help me, please do.”

I look down, and there in the field,
behind the castle, sits a horse. Not just any horse—my horse. I wave at
him, like he’s a long lost friend, before I realize he has hooves and won’t
wave back. Of course I look around to make sure no one saw me waving at my
horse.

I am never going to properly fit in
here.

I climb out onto the ledge, gripping to
the brick and mortar. At least it has an
amazingly-huge
ledge. My bare feet scrape against the cold brick when I jump to the balcony
off to the side. I land and stumble onto the huge deck. I swing a leg across
the railing and grab the huge pillar and let my feet swing from the edge. I am
hanging about a full story from the balcony, scared to let go. My fingers grip
to the freezing stone. The morning sun isn’t warm enough to heat it. I look
down and see my horse. Oh God, he wants me to jump on him. I close my eyes and
drop into the saddle. He’s off the moment I make contact with him, not caring
about the fact I’ve crotched myself on the saddle and am bent forward into his
mane, trying not to cry. How do they do that in movies? How do guys do it?

I look back as Bash glares down on me
from the window. I know he will go back to the castle—he has to.

I whisper to the horse, “Take me to the
elders. I need to see if there is one of them who will help me.”

He rides hard until the sun is high in
the sky. We passed through the boundaries of Norland some time ago. My horse
hasn’t slowed even a little. My butt is killing me and I am dying of thirst and
hunger.

When we reach a field, he runs even
faster. I look behind us as a dark dust rushes towards us. I grip to him,
screaming for him to run faster. He leaps into the woods, the dark, scary
woods. Of course, why wouldn’t they be the creepiest woods ever? Even the dark
dust doesn’t try to come in with us. We lose the afternoon sun almost
immediately. I grip to the horse for dear life but after several steps, he
stops.

I can see he will go no farther. He’s
scared. If he’s scared, I am screwed. I jump down, falling into the dead grass,
leaves, and branches. They scratch my bare feet and legs as I walk. I look back
at the huge horse, “Wait here, ok?”

He nods his head, making me shake mine.
I love that horse. I turn and tiptoe over the crackling ground, deeper into the
forest. I hear a sound, a branch breaking behind me. I open my mouth to scream
until I see the gray eyes of the creature before me. My trembling lips close
but my heart doesn’t stop pounding. I sigh, “You should have gone to the
castle. You shouldn’t be here.” He growls at me, making me a little uneasy. But
the huge wolf walks closer, rubbing his huge body against mine. I dig my
fingers into the dense fur, rubbing him. He growls and lowers his body, leading
me into the forest.

I drop to my knees when we reach a
village deep in the woods. I can just make out the houses. Bash turns and looks
at me. I shake my head, “You can’t come with me.”

He lowers his face, letting me scratch
his nose and ears. He is an adorable wolf; dark and frightening when he comes
upon you in the woods, but friendly and sweet if he knows you.

He paws me, rubbing
himself
against my arms. I wrap my arms around him, “I don’t know how to keep you safe.
Can you just stay behind until I need you?”

He whines again. I sigh and lift his
muzzle up to look him in the eyes. “I do love you. I ran because I want to keep
you safe. I’m scared of them. If they’re like my mother and my aunt, they’ll
kill us both in a heartbeat.”

I get up off of the forest floor and
walk past him. I am no longer the girl who was locked in the closet. I am no
longer the girl who was beaten into submission, believing she let her small
sister die. I am new—I can feel it writhing around inside of me. I walk
directly to the cluster of houses, small cottages actually. They have chimneys
going and a large well in the middle of them all. A child sees me. She opens
her mouth to scream perhaps but stops. She smiles, “You are one of us.”

I nod.

She runs at me. I brace myself but she
leaps at me, wrapping
herself
around me. She hugs me,
“I welcome you, sister.”

I have no idea what’s happening. She
grabs my hand and drags me toward the houses. “My name is Elsie Lomond.”

I smile uneasily, “I’m Erralynn
Devereaux.”

She gasps, “Truly?”

I nod. She drops my hand and backs away
from me, “You are one of the black blood?”

And the situation changes, I can see it
in her eyes. She no longer welcomes me. A woman comes around the corner to
where the girl and I are. “Who is your friend?”

I look at the woman, “I am Erralynn
Devereaux.”

Her right eye twitches but a smile
crosses her lips, “You never went to the dark ones? You came to us?”

I look back at the dark wolf lingering
behind me. He’s not going to be any help, so I turn and give her a
head shake
, “I have been banished from this land for a long
time. Only a year has passed here, but where I was, I aged ten years. I suspect
my mother and my aunt killed my older sister and want to kill me. I don’t know
who you are or who the dark ones are.”

Her eyes find Bash behind me, “Strange
pet for a girl such as yourself.”

I shake my head, “He is not a pet.” My
tone is dangerous. “I am the one you want.”

She smiles wider, “Excellent. One such
as you only has one hope in the world.”

A scowl has permanently claimed my
face, “What is that?”

“True love. Only true love has a chance
at saving something like you.” She nods at him, “Your Highness.”

“What am I?”

Her eyes find me again, “A daughter of
the black blood. You’re in a dream right now but soon, my love, you will awaken
and you will have to make a choice.” She looks past me, again at Bash. “The
only thing that can save something like you is
him
—true
love.”

I am about ready to just pull her
friggin’ hair out, and mine, and maybe burn the village to the ground. I am so
tired of non-answers and half answers and no answers. I open my mouth but she
shakes her head, “Just give it a moment. It’ll settle in here in a second. The
fact you have found us means he has found you, and you are close to the
surface.”

“Can you help me?” I ask.

She shakes her head, “No. I can only
tell you that when you awake, you must not fall for the traps they lay.” She
looks back at Bash, “You must go and find her. Keep her safe.”

I turn and watch as
Bash
runs into the woods, away from me. I look back at the woman. She walks towards
me. Her dark hair and dark eyes seem familiar. She is stunning, and yet, the
most frightening thing I have ever seen.

She lifts a pale hand up to my face,
running her fingertips down my cheek. “You are so special. It is time for you
to awaken and claim your rightful place amongst us, protector of the king of
wolves.” She leans in, pressing her ruby-red lips against mine. They are cold
and suddenly I am in the dark.

I am alone in the dark, looking up at
the night’s sky. There are stars everywhere but I cannot lift my head. I have a
horrid feeling that I am lost in the woods and none of it was real. I have gone
crazy like my mother. I have killed myself in Lakeland and none of this was
real.

My breath is ice and my body is stone.
I am alone in the dark. I watch as a star shoots across the sky. It doesn’t go
in a straight line. Instead, it arches and drops. I watch it fall, getting
brighter and brighter. Suddenly, it’s in my face and I can feel the heat of it
as it lands. My eyes shoot open and I am in a dark room. The light is burning
me inside. My body doesn’t want to move. I am frozen still, but there is
a warmth
there with me. I blink, forcing my eyes to focus on
the stone ceiling above me. A star is carved into the ceiling. I can barely
make it out in the gray light.

“Erralynn?” I turn my head, wincing at
my sore neck. Bash is there, hovering next to my face. I smile as a tear rolls
down his cheek, “I found you.”