Page 19 of Consumed
The border of this part of the village touched the very edge of a meadow that led into massive trees. Their ancient trunks loomed just metres away, with inky blackness between each like strips of midnight. It was a darkness that wanted to eat—and I knew with every fiber of my being I needed to be consumed by it, for it wasme.
Time to return, the snow-laced wind whispered, brushing back the hood of my cloak, pulling me forward.
“I’mtrying,” I huffed under my breath.
I would come back for Eoin. I would save him and remind him of what he truly desired.
Wine sloshed from my goblet as I staggered toward the trees. My knees gave out, forcing me to slam against the cobblestone well in the center of the courtyard.
“You should know better than to hide, Aisling.”
Footsteps on autumn leaves. Dirt under my fingernails. Gasping for air—
I pulled myself up, making it past the fence that separated the tavern from the dirt path at the back.
“Please don’t do this.”
Something hard and heavy on my throat. “You haven’t left me a choice.”
The memory was a wildfire ripping through the careful walls of my sanity. I cried out, waves of terror and rage that didn’t belong to me crashing through my chest.
I was the forest, and the forest was me.
But I’d never had a choice.
“Please don’t do this.”My own voice echoed in my mind.
I was nothing more than aprisoner. A monster chained in the very place I had—
The door to the tavern opened, and someone stepped out. Cornflower blue caught the corner of my eye before I turned and saw Brianna, a bucket under her arm. She hooked it onto the pulley at the wall, her freckled cheeks still flushed, and a little melody hummed under her breath.
When she caught me staring, her smile became a shriek.
“Oh,Brigid above,you frightened me,” she exclaimed, clasping a hand to her mouth. I supposed I must have been a sight—pale, trembling, with my hair bedraggled. After a moment to compose herself, Brianna masked her fright with a smile. “Have you come in for a bite of food yet? We’ve plenty to go around,and then some.”
“Yes,” I said.
The single rasped word sat between us like a canyon, with only the faint murmur of the celebration carrying on behind the tavern walls breaking our silence. I could see the dancing had become more vigorous since I left, as whiskey began to flow alongside the ale.
Brianna frowned faintly, something maternal and deeply misplaced crossing her features. I didn’t need her charity. She was like a child approaching a god.
She crossed around the well to reach me, scanning me up and down.
“You look quite pale,” she said. “You must be freezing. Won’t you join us inside again, friend?”
She extended a hand to touch my arm, and I fought the urge to bite it off finger by finger down to the bone.
You took him from me, I wanted to hiss at her.If not for you, I wouldn’t be alone.
But I forced a more pleasant, apologetic tone and leaned away from her. “I must be off. I…I am unwell.” Breathing heavily, I peeked at the goblet still clutched in my hand. I raised it to her and softened my gaze. “But I cannot forgo the opportunity to offer a toast to such a kind bride. Please—have the rest. To your good health.”
She pressed a hand to her breast and shook her head. “Nonsense. Enjoy your drink and rest well, my friend.”
Her refusal sent anger prickling up my spine. Perhaps she suspected something—but no, that dull face was emptier than a tree hollow. This creature before me was nowraith. She was a simple, mortal girl who had stolen the life that should have been mine—unworthy for the likes of Eoin.
I pressed the goblet into her hands, kissing her knuckles with all the tenderness of a lover. “Please,” I said softly, “it is my gift.”
I could scarcely recall the journey back to my home. My next moment of awareness came when I set foot in the boundaries of the forest, and my surroundings consumed me like the loving embrace of a relieved mother.
