“Lucas!” Horror rises within me, and instinct takes over. I grab one of the dead goblin’s thorn swords and plunge it into the flesh of the rotten dog’s leg. Black tar-like sludge spurts from the wound and it lets out a yelp of pain.
Lucas pushes it off him. The creature rolls, falling off the edge of the gully and into the tangle of thorns below.
With no time to find the rifle, Lucas pushes himself to his feet, and we take off in a sprint, going in the direction we came. Ahead lies the rosebush, the red flowers beckoning. Beyond that bush is safety. There’s a deep agony knowing my father is still in this place, but I can’t search for him if I’m dead.I’ll come back.
Something snatches my ankle, and I tumble, clattering over the edge of the cliff, a scream erupting from my throat. I jerk to a stop as my scarf snags on one of the giant thorns. I desperately reach up and grab the fabric, managing to hold myself up. Below me is nothing but the dark gully, a tangled briar of spear-like thorns. Goblins cluster around the edge, snickering and watching to see if I’ll fall.
“Lucas!” I scream.
He’s almost at the rosebush, far ahead of the goblins now that they’ve stopped to watch my torment.
“Lucas!” The scarf rips, and I jerk downward. It’s holding on by a few fibers.
“Down, down, down she goes,”the goblins sing.“All the way to Mother. Down, down, down, she goes.”
My feet kick over the open air. I definitely do not want to find out whoMotheris. “Lucas!”
He stops running and turns to me. His hazel eyes widen.
The scarf rips and I fall, plunging into the briars. My head knocks against the cliffside and my vision goes blurry.
Something firm snakes around my waist, and I jerk to a stop. I’m moving slower, as if drifting through water, as something guides me through the twisted maze of thorns. I feel solid ground beneath me and whatever has me uncoils from my waist.
Everything is hazy, but the briars rustle as the goblins crawl down. Their yellow eyes glow through the darkness. I force myself to roll over and begin to crawl, belly dragging on the ground. A shooting pain radiates through my head.
The world comes to life, spinning, spinning, spinning. But no, not the world. The thorns are moving.
Horrid squelching shrieks pierce through the night. Black liquid drips down around me like rain. My vision fades to the silhouette of goblins impaled on rows of thorns.
Arms wrap around my waist and lift me up. I’m pulled against the broad chest of a man. Did Lucas return to me?
I blink, trying to focus as I look up and am struck by eyes black as shadows and hair the same color.
“Rest, princess,” a smooth voice whispers in my ear. “You’re home.”
7
Rosalina
Everythingisablur.I sit up, rubbing my head and trying to make sense of my memories through a fog of confusion. I must have passed out after… after…
What was that?Whowas that?
What the fuck just happened? My mind reels and my body aches.
This isn’t real. Can’t be.
And yet the face dances through my mind clearer than any dream. Eyes dark as shadows, hair black as pitch, and the slightest frown on his lush mouth that I wish I could see as a smile…
Okay, what the fuck is wrong with me? I definitely whacked my head because the first thing I’m thinking about cannot be some random guy instead of the actualmonstersthat tried to kill me.
Not just me. They tried to kill Lucas too. Where is he? Last I saw him, he was abandoning me as I dangled off the side of a cliff. I rub my left forearm. Why am I surprised? Because he’s saved my life once before?
And he’d asked me to marry him…
Okay, I definitely can’t think about that right now, or I will seriously lose it. I need to get my bearings and find Papa.
My throat seizes and tears prick my eyes. What if those things found him first and he’s—? No. I have to keep faith. He’s out there. I’ll find him and we’ll go home together.