“Jumping into this carriage wasn’t insane?”

  “Alright, that’s enough,” I said, shaking my head. “Viscount, what are you doing out here?”

  “I asked you first.”

  “Really? You’re going to play that game with me?”

  “This isn’t a game, Avery.”

  “Then what is it? Why did you take a carriage all the way out here, why were you arguing with the Duchess, and what’s in those furs?”

  The Viscount visibly tensed. “You saw a lot more than you’ve let on.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I saw, or why I’m here. What matters is why you’re here, alone, in the middle of nowhere.”

  “That’s none of your concern.”

  “Really? Because the last time you left the house, I’m assuming, was for your little jaunt to Earth, and you brought a whole contingent of merry men with you. Where are they now?”

  “I don’t need to answer your questions.” He unrolled the fur to reveal a number of knives and small axes inside. There were also a couple of strange trinkets I couldn’t identify and didn’t recognize. They kind of looked like corn husk dolls, but they had antlers, and wings, and one of them had a small crown made of twigs. They looked old, and roughly made.

  “Get those away from me,” Rell said, and he leaped into the corner of the carriage.

  “Woah, Rell, calm down,” I said.

  “No, tell him to put those away. Right now.”

  I looked over at the dolls, then up at the Viscount. “What are they?”

  “Repellents,” said the Viscount. “Against his kind.”

  “Exactly, so, could you put them away, please?” Rell asked, “They’re making me really uncomfortable.”

  Looking down at Rell, I could see the usual brightness of his red skin looked like it was starting to fade, to wash away. I reached quickly for the furs and tossed them over the dolls, hiding them from view. Rell instantly started to regain his color, but the Viscount grabbed my wrist and held me tightly to him.

  “Don’t,” he warned, his voice a low growl in this throat.

  “You were hurting him,” I said, gritting my teeth. “And now you’re hurting me.”

  “Touch my weapons again, and I’ll do worse than that.”

  I leaned a little closer to him. “Prove it.”

  The Viscount’s lips pursed together. For a moment I could feel the heat radiating from him, and it bathed me in warmth. My heart was racing at a beat to match my quickening breath. I wasn’t sure what was about to happen next, but then Rell spoke.

  “Alright, let’s not get too dramatic,” he said, “I’m fine, you’re fine, we’re all fine.”

  The Viscount released me, and I settled back into my seat. “You’re the one to talk about dramatic,” I said, “What was that whole act you put on just now?”

  “It wasn’t an act, those things are real repellents—although I reject the use of the word, because it makes my kind sound like pests.”

  “You are pests.”

  “And you’re monsters. Your people use those totems to keep my kind at bay. What you don’t know is that being in their presence hurts us.”

  “We know.”

  Rell groaned and looked at me, frustration burning in his eyes. “See? These people are the worst!”

  “I know that,” I said, “But you need to pipe down, okay?”

  “The worst?” asked the Viscount.

  “You have to admit, you can be pretty cold.”

  “Were you to ask the winter Fae, they’d disagree.”

  “I’m not going around this, who is colder than who thing. I came because I felt like you needed help, and I know you’re too much of a proud asshole to ask for it.”

  “I don’t need help.”

  “That’s exactly what you would’ve said if I had asked you if you needed help. Instead, I shoved myself into the back of this carriage bound for the middle of nowhere, with absolutely no way to get back to the house on my own. I’m here. You can accept my help, or you can take me back.”

  “Or I can leave you here. As I already stated.”

  “Are you seriously going to leave me here? Could you live with yourself?”

  “Touch my weapons again and find out.”

  The look in his eyes, the timbre of his voice, the way his energy crashed into and bowled over me like a wave, it made me shudder. Not out of fear—okay, a little out of fear—but out of excitement. The air felt charged, tense, I could feel in my back, on my arms, on the nape of my neck; a kind of warmth that made the little hairs on my body stand on their ends.

  “I don’t want to argue with you,” I said, “I just want to help you, and I know you need it.”

  “What do you know about me?” he asked.

  “Not much, but I’m starting to think we’re both cut from the same cloth.”

  “A human expression meaning, we’re the same. We aren’t.”

  “No, but we’re similar. I’ve had to fight every single one of my battles ever since I was a child. I didn’t have much support from my friends, my family, the system. Everything I’ve done, I did it alone, I never asked for help, I never expected it, and I wouldn’t take it when it was offered. But I was wrong. You can’t live like that. You’ll die like that, sooner than you think.”

  His eyes narrowed further. I was getting too close to the truth, too close to the secret I was holding onto. I couldn’t let him know that I had listened into the conversation he’d had with the healer, but I also couldn’t pretend like I didn’t know something was wrong. This was a fine line to walk, and I wasn’t sure I was doing a good enough job.

  “The mere fact that you’re here puts both of us in even more danger than if I had come here alone,” said the Viscount.

  “Three of us?” Rell put in.

  “Quiet, half-breed.”

  “I’ll have you know I’m proud to be a half-breed. It gives me character.”

  The Viscount put his hand on his fur cloak and glared at Rell, threatening to open it without saying it. “I want your character to shut up.”

  Rell nodded. “Right, noted.”

  I found the Viscount’s eyes again and took hold of them with my own. “We both know how this ends,” I said.

  “How what ends?“

  “This conversation. It ends with you agreeing to let me come with you, but only after I accept the incredible danger I’ve put myself in. I’ve already accepted it. Unless you haven’t noticed, I’m not scared of much… except maybe heights. I’ve never gotten over that one.”

  The Viscount frowned. “I don’t like that you’re here,” he said. “I don’t like that he’s here. Invidia is going to be furious. Do you have any idea what you have done by leaving the Favoring?”

  “I’m a little sketchy on Fae rules, actually.”

  “The Favoring has to go on, and it will go on without you. If we make it back on time, if we make it back at all, you will be at a great disadvantage. Emerald Hall will have already lost prestige by you choosing to leave the house. Invidia is not one for hiding her anger—someone will pay for your decision to leave.”

  A cold wash moved through me. Guilt. That’s what that was. “Who?”

  “I don’t know. In any case, there is nothing we can do to stop it.” He looked at Rell. “You may want to look away.”

  “Look away?” he asked, “Why?”

  The Viscount pulled the furs open. Rell scrambled back into the corner of the cabin and tucked his head behind my back. “Right, yep,” he said, his voice muffled.

  “What do you want me to do?” I asked, looking down at the assortment of items on his lap.

  “Pick a weapon,” said the Viscount. “You’ll need it where we are going.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Darkness fell, turning the lush, green forest black. What little sunlight remained couldn’t be seen through the chokingly thick canopy of leaves and branches overhead. Only the barest shafts of pale, purple light made it through, and that wasn’t enough to see by. Not nearly enough.

  The Viscount brought the carriage steadily to a halt. I felt it grumble as the wheels slowed, and then I heard the horse make a sound I hadn’t heard horses make before. Maybe on TV, but not in real life. It was a shrill, high-pitched snort pregnant with anxiety and fear.

  It didn’t want to go any further, and I couldn’t blame it. The forest around us had turned sinister in the blink of an eye. I hadn’t seen the Darkwood Forest before, but if I had to hazard a guess, we were already in it, or at least near its edge, and this was as far as the horse was going to take us.

  After a moment trying to calm the horse down, the Viscount stepped off the driver’s seat. I could hear him patting the animal, trying to settle its nerves. He was patient with it, comforting. I was surprised he wasn’t trying to brow-beat it into relaxing, since that seemed to be the only thing the Viscount knew how to do.

  This was different.

  This was something new, a side of him I hadn’t seen before.

  I heard a twig snap somewhere in the distance, and body started to prickle all over. I gripped the small axe I had chosen as a weapon tightly, so tight my knuckles turned white. Looking around, all I could see were thick, deep, dark trees, and more trees, and more trees. Nothing was moving back there, but anything could’ve been back there.

  The seconds passed, and I felt my grip on the ax slowly loosen. An owl started hooting, making a sound I was familiar with. I was grateful for it. It grounded me, reminded me of home, of the owls that lived in the tall trees in the park near my old apartment.

  Kady’s apartment, now… the bitch.

  When the Viscount suddenly appeared in the small window in front of me, I almost jumped out of my own skin. My heart rapidly shifted into high gear, and it showed on my face and on his. He frowned as he watched me, surprised at my surprise.

  “Did I startle you?” he asked.

  I took a second to compose myself. “No,” I said, “I don’t startle easily.”

  “You look startled.”

  I shook my head. “Just drop it. What’s happened? Why have we stopped?”

  “We have reached the edge of Darkwood Forest. The horse will go no further.”

  “I heard.” I looked across my shoulder at Rell sleeping on the seat. “Rell seemed to have enjoyed the trip.”

  The Viscount looked across at Rell, then at me. “Good for him,” he said, and he moved around the back of the carriage to open the trunk again.

  I couldn’t see what he was up to, but I also wasn’t totally convinced I wouldn’t immediately die as soon as I stepped out of the carriage. The woods were deep, and dark, and it was getting darker somehow. How that was even possible, I didn’t know, and I didn’t think I’d ever know.

  Taking a deep breath and steeling myself against my own fear, I placed my hand on the door, trying my best to stop it from shaking. Swallowing hard, I pulled on the handle and nudged the door open. Even though the window was already rolled down, opening the door seemed to unlock the sounds and smells of the forest around me, as if it was waiting for me.

  The air outside was stale and wet. I couldn’t smell flowers, or fresh, dewy grass, or even the leaves of the trees from before. These trees were damp, and cold. They had deep, dark moss growing all over them like veins. Broken, rotting fruits lay strewn across the ground between smelly, black mounds I could only assume were bits of animal crap.

  Lots of animal crap.

  “Alright,” I said to myself, “I’m not scared of this place. Let’s do this.”

  “Just get out already,” Rell said. “And shut the door, it’s drafty.”

  “Alright,” I said, glaring at Rell, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was asleep, curled up in a corner of the carriage. He was kind of adorable, but I would never tell him that.

  “He already knows,” Rell said.

  “Dammit!” I hissed.

  Shaking it off, I took my first step out into the Arcadian wilds. The ground was soft, and cold, and wet beneath my feet. I was wearing flat shoes, but considering the moisture was already seeping through to my toes, I didn’t have high hopes about how long they’d survive out here.

  A moment passed, then another… the forest was silent, save for the rustling of leaves and the odd hoot of an owl. At least, I hoped they were owls. The owls I knew about were cute, but the ones here were probably giant monsters.

  Once I was confident that the forest wasn’t instantly going to kill me, I walked around the carriage to meet the Viscount. He was rummaging around in the trunk, a trunk that was surprisingly a lot fuller than I had expected it to be. Considering how quickly he’d fled the house, I didn’t know where he’d found the time to pack it.

  “You’re pretty well prepared,” I said, “You know, considering this was a spur of the moment decision.”

  “Don’t you humans pack go bags?” he asked.

  “We do, and I’m surprised you know what they are.”

  The Viscount continued digging through the trunk. There were more furs there, changes of clothes, a pack with something that smelled like food, and a couple of jars filled with a slimy, rose-colored substance. I almost didn’t dare ask about what he’d packed, so I asked the obvious question instead.

  “Okay, so… what are we doing here?” I ventured. He didn’t know that I already had the answer to that question but hearing it from him would have allowed us to talk openly about it.

  “That’s not relevant right now.”

  “Uh, yes, it is. How can I help you if I don’t know what we’re doing at the edge of this creepy-ass forest?”

  “You can help by doing exactly as I say, exactly when I say it.”

  “That’s not going to work, and you know that.”

  “Avery, I don’t have the time for this. We have to make our way into the forest. Now.”

  “Now? Have you looked around? It’s dark as hell.”

  “I don’t have time to argue with you, Avery.”

  “Why? What’s the rush? We should just wait until morning when the sun comes out, and then at least we’ll be able to see where we’re going.”

  “I just told you, there’s no time.”

  I placed a hand on his and lowered my voice. “So, explain it to me… I just want to help.”

  The Viscount looked at my hand, then up at me. The last time I had reached for him like this, he’d warned me against doing it again. Granted, I had gone for his weapon pouch, but still. Right now, I could feel the warmth of his skin and the soft, but hurried, pulsing of his heart under my hand.

  “I am running out of time, Avery,” he said.

  “What’s happening to you?”

  “I wish I had time to explain, but the longer we wait, the weaker I will become, and I need to reach the heart of that forest. A forest my kind are forbidden from entering because it is far too dangerous. Because none of us come back out alive.”

  I shook my head. “If you know that, then why come here?”

  “Because I do not have a choice. There is a parasite growing within me, and if I do not excise it quickly, it will worm its way into my brain and make me into a puppet. I could not live with myself if that were to pass. I would rather die first. But inside that forest lies my salvation. If I can reach its heart quickly enough, and escape with what I need, I may just survive.”

  I paused, listening to him speak, realizing this was the longest I had heard him speak since we’d met. Or, maybe not, but there was a difference, here. Every time we had spoken before this, he had been strong, tough, and confident. Right now, I thought I could sense something like vulnerability coming from him, and that was something I never thought I’d see.

  “I did this to you, didn’t I?” I asked.

  The Viscount frowned. “Do not concern yourself with that.”

  “It’s true, isn’t it? You saved my life, and now yours is in danger.”

  “It is not that simple, but… yes.”

  I nodded, and a wave of relief—and fresh fear—washed over me. Relief that I had made the right choice by my own conscience, and fear that… this was real. Everything the healer had told him was going to happen unless we were able to find the black rose.

  “How long do you have?” I asked.

  “I have been given a few days before the parasite takes hold of my brain,” he said, “But its toxin is already working through me, weakening me with every passing moment. That is why we must hurry into the forest. Now.”

  I shook my head. “That’s a terrible idea for a couple of reasons. Number one, I don’t know if you can see in the dark, but I can’t.”

  “I can see perfectly in the dark.”

  “Good for you. Number two, it’s getting really cold, and number three, that place looks dangerous as all hell. We should wait until morning, until we get a little sunlight, and then make our way inside.”

  “I don’t have time to waste.”

  “You aren’t wasting it. You need to rest as much as I do. If you’re getting weak, then you need to eat something and get some sleep. Then tomorrow, we can head in there, do what we have to do, and get out.”

  “The second part of that statement is going to be tricky to pull off.”

  “Well, I doubt if a human has ever set foot in there. Maybe I’ll prove to be a good luck charm.”

  “I don’t believe in luck.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and shut my eyes. “Of course, you don’t,” I said. “Look, you were doing really well once you dropped the tough guy act. Don’t bring it back up now, okay?”

  The Viscount took a deep breath in, then exhaled. “Alright. We should perhaps wait until morning, however, this place is called Darkwood for a reason.”

  “Let me guess, it stays dark?”

  “At night, the darkness is thick enough to trouble even the Fae. During the day… it is merely gloomy.”

  “I can do gloomy. Seattle was gloomy. I can’t remember the last time I saw the sun back home.”

  “It’s also a cursed, haunted place where we send our criminals to die.”

  I thought about it, paused, and nodded. “Yeah, sounds a lot like the neighborhood I grew up in.”

  “I am trying to tell you, this forest is unlike anything you have ever faced before.”