Chapter Nineteen
He led me in silence to a wide, empty field of tall grass with a monstrously huge oak tree towering in the centre of it. None of the other Folk followed, so I assumed each match took place away from all the others.
“We’ll do it here,” he said flatly, finally turning to face me. “Try and get the favour in whatever way you can.”
My eyes darted down to the tiny feather nestled in the hollow of his throat. “You mean… actually get it? Get the necklace.”
“Yes.”
My gut sank. I had no chance. I couldn’t manipulate him with words into giving it to me, and if I tried to use brute force, I was fairly certain he would overpower me in seconds. The Folk were freakishly strong, but Lonan was anassassin.
I exhaled, feeling my shoulders sag. “Okay.”
“Let’s begin, then.”
I blinked fast when Lonan… suddenly wasn’t there anymore. In his place was a curling tendril of black smoke that vanished after a second, and a crow burst from the air and flew away.
I stared after it, dumbfounded, my eyes bulging out of my head when the crow twisted in the air and Lonan suddenly reappeared, landing nimbly on the ground halfway across the field.
I heard him huff.
“You can’t just stand there,” he snapped, his voice faint.
I jumped when he shifted back into the crow, still unable to move as he flew back towards me with big, powerful flaps of black wings that gleamed in the sunlight.
Lonan… could turn into a crow.
Did that mean he could turn into other things?
I stared at him when he reappeared in front of me, my heart thudding hard against my ribs.
“Are… are you them?” I asked, barely able to breathe.
He froze, before his gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Am I who?”
I licked my lips, feeling nervous for voicing it out loud. What if I was wrong and he stalked the cottage, waiting for the cat or the wolf to show up so he could slaughter them?
“The… the cat and the wolf that visit me.”
Lonan huffed, lips pulling into a sneer. He gestured down at his long, lean frame. “Do Ilooklike a cat or a wolf, mortal?”
My cheeks got hot. “No, but you just turned into a fucking crow.”
“So that must mean I turn into every wild animal that comes sniffing round your home, must it?”
Okay, I was being stupid. There was no way this arrogant prick was the sweet cat who curled up beside me on the bed, purring loudly, or the doting wolf who snuffled at my hair and rolled over for belly scratches constantly.
“Forget it,” I muttered, trying to will the blood to fade from my hot cheeks. “Are we doing this?”
There was a pause.
“Yes,” Lonan said stiffly. “Let’s get this over with. Are you actually going to do something this time?”
“Well how am I meant to do anything when you turn into abird? Am I supposed to try and snatch you out of the air? Is the necklace even still there when you turn into it?”
“It’s not my job to tell you how to win, mortal.”
I wanted to groan in frustration. “But how do I even have achanceto win?”