Page 2 of Magic in the Woods
I could do this.
The first miles into the woods were promising. My feet felt light. The handle to the pail holding my mother’s frozen body was firmly in my grip. An air of confidence surrounded me. I was on my own. Master—no, mistress of my destiny.
The cloud cover that’d made the entire morning overcast had cleared, revealing the sun was now past its tallest point in the sky. Its rays were hot. The leaves above me provided some coverage, but I already knew more freckles would be sprinkled across my nose and cheeks by day’s end.
Inside my chest there was a pull, an ache that drew me forward. It had started as I’d walked away from Elise and only had gotten stronger as I hiked.
I looked down at the pail. Was I being pulled toward the Coven because I was now Prime? Had my mother once felt this pull? I let the feeling guide me as I walked, and a sense of peace came over me. I was going in the right direction; I just knew it. The feeling was deep down in my gut—I would find the Coven.
The adrenaline I’d been floating on wore off slowly in the hours I walked, and I let that ache in my chest pull me in whatever direction it chose. That direction apparently was full of rocks and sticks—rotted logs that were hidden beneath the tree’s fall shed from last year. I had to keep a close eye on my feet, though it was hard when the breeze rustled the high branches of the trees, the sun light dancing through the gaps, periodically blinding me.
The Coven couldn’t be far away.
The brush and plants beneath my feet tickled my ankles asI walked through them. I should’ve taken my shoes into account when I’d walked away from Elise. They were the same shoes I’d been wearing when my mother had pulled me from the cottage right after she’d…
I shook my head. I couldn’t think about that right now.
My feet stopped moving as I heard barking in the distance. Some sort of dogs…or coyotes. What else was in these woods? Bears? Bobcats?
The sun was already beginning its descent toward the horizon, lowering in the sky too rapidly for my liking. Soon I’d either have to find a place to rest or decide to continue walking through the night.
The coyotes got louder, their barks turning into yips as they got more and more excited. They must’ve caught something for dinner. There was no way I’d feel comfortable enough to sleep out here on my own—that could mean becoming someone’s midnight snack.
Decision made. I’d be walking through the night.
The barking ceased, and I continued through the woods.
The drive to Elise’s parents had been along highways. I was here…on foot, without a car, and without a path. I couldn’t push my body to move any faster, especially not when every rock threatened to twist my ankle and every pile of brush hid a tripping hazard that’d easily send me and my frozen mother flying.
I stopped again. This time I took a moment and looked around. There were no markers, no way to measure how far I’d gone, or even know if I was going in a consistent direction. I could’ve been walking in circles for all I knew.
I had nothing. There was no food in my pockets. I only had the clothes on my back and my mother frozen inside a pail. There was no map—my only direction was the ache in my chest. It pulled me, guided me. My gut told me to trust it, that itwas leading me in the right direction, but there were still so many unknowns.
I wiggled my toes in my too-thin shoes. I really needed boots or something sturdier for the terrain.
Could I do this? Walk miles and miles through these woods?
Walking along a road wasn’t an option. I had a frozen cat in the pail that hung beside me. Anyone I’d run into would ask too many questions—questions I wouldn’t be able to answer.
I couldn’t stop. Not only because I didn’t feel safe resting, but because my mother would thaw if I didn’t pay attention, if I didn’t refreeze her at appropriate intervals.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in through my nose.
I could do this. I had to.
I could push myself for my future. For the Coven.
CHAPTER TWO
Dafni
I letthe ache in my chest pull me for the rest of the evening and into the night. It wasn’t long before I could barely see in front of me. Every sound in the woods made my heart beat quicker—made my feet move faster. I had nothing for protection against what I could come across in the woods. Yes, I had my magic, but there were predators out here who would take advantage of my lack of night vision and attack before I even knew they were there. The only thing I could do was move. I feared if I stayed in place for too long, something would scent me.
My ankles ached from slipping on rocks all night. The woods hadn’t been kind. Tree branches had scraped against my face for hours now, and the heels of my hands were raw from catching myself from landing face-first into the dirt.Blinking didn’t help my dry eyes, and closing my lids only made me wish I didn’t have to open them again.
The grumbling of my stomach was loud enough that I glanced around to make sure nothing had heard it. I’d gotten used to eating well with the shifters; I wasn’t used to missing a meal. Burning calories from walking and the amount of adrenaline still pumping through my veins had me feeling practically ravenous.
There were plants all around me, but I didn’t know what was edible and what wasn’t. I’d walked by several bushes with red and purple berries, and it had taken a strong amount of willpower not to pluck off the fruit and eat it. But I couldn’t risk it. Becoming sick in the woods would be a disaster. I’d be stuck in one place without the energy to refreeze my mother.
