Page 91 of Kingdoms of Night

And—he was still following her. That heavytramp trampof his worn boots couldn’t be ignored.

Why? Why was he following her? He hadn’t been willing to give her the time of day or even civil answers back in the village. And now he was trailing after her like a pup? Nothing made sense.

She shot him a glare over her shoulder as she reached the base of the hill.

He held the teapot out, as if it were unpredictable. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“Well, you did, all right? Just because you don’t intend to hurt someone doesn’t mean you don’t hurt them.”

“We need to work together, and neither of us will get very far without the other, as you saw.” Though he was right, none of what he was saying was persuasive at the moment. “How can I fix this?”

Fix it? She couldn’t even stand to look at his stupid dumb face right now. “Just leave me alone for a bit.”

“Idalno, I’m sorry. I am. Come back and talk.” He lifted the teapot as if to drink from it. “See? I’m drinking the tea. Does that make you happy? See? I’m feeling better!”

Was he patronizing her like a child? This might have worked on his young daughter, but she was a grown woman. “How do you, of all people, not understand I want to be left alone?”

“Idalno,” he said, dead serious, any trace of patronization gone, “there’s—”

She turned away from him and kept walking. “I just need space—”

Hoofbeats sounded in the distance.

They both halted and looked into the forest. The Wild Hunt?

She swallowed. Maybe it was best to put that behind them and get moving again. She took a step forward, her neck still craned in the direction of the hoofbeats. “I guess we don’t really have time to—”

A horse, more a specter than an animal, appeared alongside her. Between its ghostly teeth it clamped down on her shawl, drawing her forward as it leaped. Her hand shot to the clasp, all too slowly.

With a sharp yell, she tumbled forward. The ground fell out from beneath her.

Down, down she fell, plunging with the spectral horse, splashing into cold water.

Choking, she splashed up to the surface and realized she was in a large murky lake.

And somehow… somehow this wasn’t the same forest anymore either.

She’d fallen into a new place entirely.

CHAPTERNINE

FERON

Hoofbeats pounded in the distance like thunder, not one rider, but many.

A chill shuddered through him, some sort of deeper knowing. He halted, his feet rooting to the ground. Not again. Was it magic?

They were coming, whoever they were. The Wild Hunt?

Puck had said they should run, that they shouldn’t be found by the Hunt, or so Idalno had said.

Need to go now.Hawthorn nudged his leg.Can’t let them find you. Either of you.

Especially not you.Buttercup ran to his other side.Hurry. We need to go before they get your scent.

Yes. They were right. But his feet refused to move, worse than at the cavern with the wyrm. There was something—something in that sound of hoofbeats that called to him. No, to the wolf inside of him.

A sharp yelp jolted him from his trance.

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