Page 16 of Up from the Earth

Without a word, I jabbed my hand forward, rough and almost violent. My fingers sunk deep into the succulent core of the wine-colored fruit. Juice erupted over my hand, and as I pulled the pomegranate toward me, I let the potent liquid drip down the pale flesh of my arm.

“Yesss…”

His voice was pure lust, and power filled me like nothing before. The intricate patterns of magic that had been woven into my soul finally unlocked. In a moment, the years of feeling stagnant and useless disintegrated.

I cared nothing for the white of my dress or the civility demanded of me in the world above. This was the darkest realm. This was my new home. This was a place where carnality was embraced and lavished. I was changing. Ihadchanged.

And I would not deny myself anymore.

Sinking my teeth into the flesh of the fruit, pomegranate seeds burst open into my mouth. The red blood of the harvest was sweet on my tongue, biting and potent. In raw savagery, I tore into it, swallowing down the little pearls and even the flesh that had held them like a cradle. The gnawing hunger in my belly subsided with each decadent mouthful, and I kept going, taking handful after handful of the marvelous fruit until I was sated.

“Perfect, little beast.” The King’s voice changed as I felt his presence slip away from me. “Your next trial begins now.”

By the time he’d spoken the last word, the dark tone of The King was gone, replaced with the growl of The Wolf. He’d changed, shifted into his other form. I spun around, pomegranate stains coating my skin and clothes. The massive creature stood on all fours in front of me, and behind it, a looming forest materialized out of the darkness.

“Run, little bloom.Run.”

Eight

When Voices Call Your Name In The Woods, Run.

SinceIwasyoung,I’d dreamed of running. That was evidently far from over. Turning on my heel, I sprinted into the darkness beyond the banquet table. As I reached its edge, it was like pushing through an invisible boundary, my ears ringing as the echo cried out once more.

I could feel the breath of The Wolf right behind me, hearing its massive steps pounding against the stone floor.

Run, Cerri. Run.

Zipping this way and that through the shadows, I found myself rushing down endless corridors in the castle. They twisted and turned, and several branches came off them, leading to further infinite distances. Black, wrought-iron scenes were depicted in enormous stained-glass windows that flanked either side of the never-ending halls.

Little bloom. No matter how you run. I will catch you.

I felt the promise in those words, the destiny of them. As much as my heart leaped into my throat for the fear, there was so much exhilaration surging behind it, a dark, primal ecstasy at being the prey to this predator. Was it wrong of me to love this so much?

A deep, rumbling growl cut through the melodic drones that always filled the castle. It rattled my bones, lancing through me and landing straight in my core. My body hummed, a tingling mess of sensation pooling between my legs and in my chest.

I had dreamed of this. I had…wanted this—for so long that it felt impossible.

And still, I was not certain that this enormous, terrible wolf would not simply devour me the moment he caught me, sink his teeth into my flesh, and gobble me up whole. Surely, I was losing my mind to think that this would play out any other way. This was a beast, a hunter, and I was just a silly girl in over my head.

“Yes, little bloom. I could tear you apart if I wanted.”The Wolf’s words roared through my mind.“Shall I? Shall I rend your little body and feast on you? Should I know you down to your core, to the marrow of your bones?”

Panic radiated through my chest, nearly choking me. I sprinted with everything I had, seeking desperately to gain a lead, though I knew that was impossible.

“And where would you go, little bloom? I know every inch of this castle. I control it. Where would you find your mother’s sweet cottage in a realm of my control?”

Running, running, running. It was all I could do, the ache in my feet and lungs burning brighter with every second. I could not make this. I would not survive.

“You have strayed off the path, little bloom. Do you pretend to tell me now that it was not what you wished?”

My steps faltered, and I careened into a wall, impacting it hard. Shoving myself off, I tore down another hallway, this one appearing to double back.

As my heart throbbed in my throat, I heard those words again in my mind.

“Did you really think the path was where you belonged?”

I slowed and slowed further. No. I did not think the path was where I ought to remain. I was scolded more times than I could count for leaving it. That very first time when I’d lost my ring. I knew that I was going to leave the path. I had not admitted it. But of course, I knew.

The warnings had been there, and I had been given a choice: to remain on the path in safety and innocence. But I had stepped off and not looked back.

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