When the Woods Go Silent (Haret Chronicles: Dark Fae #1)

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

R OSE

“This truly is amazing, Ruby,” I whisper in her ear as I pass, on my way to serve another tray of fancy book-themed mocktails.

And it is. Our grand opening night is a success beyond what I’d dreamed - Ruby came through on every promise. The bookstore has been packed all night, full of tourists and people who drove from nearby cities, drawn in by her genius social media posts.

Everyone is enjoying our theme of “bookish blind dates and mocktails,” and so many of the guests have dressed up in party clothes, like Ruby suggested.

Our tables full of gift-wrapped surprise books are nearly empty, with almost every person here buying a chance to find a hidden gem. We’ve sold lots of other books, too, and the hors d’oeuvres and sweets from Goblin Market were an instant extra buzz. Ruby’s phone has been vibrating constantly with new updates to our social media, as readers tag us in their pictures and update their locations.

I have to admit, it feels like I always hoped it would, even though a big part of me doubted it would actually happen. Even more, it’s a refreshing reprieve from all the drama we’ve been dealing with lately.

This is why we came to Clearwater, I remind myself, scanning the room again and soaking it in, committing everything to memory. We’re here for the books and the besties.

We’re here to create our own kind of magical future, no matter what the guys we’ve met might want from us.

This is our life to live, not theirs.

Taking another slow round of the rooms, I top off drinks and empty the trash before taking my turn at the register. Normally, we’d be closed by now, and we haven’t set a true end time for the party, but as night dims the windows around us, the bulk of the crowd seems to be thinning.

The line of customers is dwindling at the register, too, and I finally sit, taking it all in. Ruby is smiling down at her phone, and I can’t wait to hear her litany of congratulations and comments from all her channels. Not for the first time, I thank her Goddess that she’s happy taking care of all of that, because I’d rather go jogging in the forest barefoot than be in charge of all that media.

“So, the food?” Ruby whispers, sidling up next to me.

“Ah-mazing. I actually doubted he would pull through, after all the mess with the restaurant,” I admit.

She nods. “Yeah, plus he was supposed to be out of town already. Out of world?” She shrugs and giggles, but my grin feels suddenly plastic. I don’t want to talk about Torrence, or any of the fae or gobbelins.

Several minutes pass without anyone coming to the register, and although it’s been amazing, I’m glad the night is winding down. I’m looking forward to leaving the cleanup for tomorrow and collapsing on the couch with Ruby to check out all the receipts, shares, and posts we accumulated tonight.

“So,” Ruby begins, and I hear the thread of anxiety in her voice. She’s going to say something I don’t want her to. “I might duck out for just a minute - quick, Rosie, I promise. Super quick, and we’ll shut all this down together. It’s just... Torrence hasn’t left yet, apparently, and I really want to tell him thanks for all of this.”

I bite down hard on my lip as the bitter words flood my mouth. I don’t want to fight - not tonight. Not ever again, because of stupid boys.

“Now?” I manage, trying to keep my tone light, and failing.

“He’s about to leave for real this time, or I swear I would wait,” Ruby says, placing her hand over her heart and giving me those big innocent black eyes. I swallow what I’d really like to say. He should just come into the shop like a normal boyfriend would, instead of asking her to leave her own goddamn party. But nothing about him is normal, now is it?

“Ten minutes, Rosie. Pinkie promise.” She holds her hand up, crooking her littlest finger to hook with mine.

“Ugh,” I sigh, my finger doing the motion without my true consent. “Ten minutes. Go, suck him off in the woods as your thank you, and come the hell back to our opening night.”

Ruby gasps and pretends to be scandalized, but I catch the twinkle in her eye. I just gave her an idea, damn it.

“I love you forever,” she calls as she ducks into the hallway, heading for the back door so she won’t be seen sneaking out of her own event.

I try not to be angry, I really do.

But ten minutes go by, then fifteen, and she’s not back.

I whip out my phone and text her, glaring at the screen.

Time’s up. Finish him off and fix your lipstick.

Smirking to myself, I wait for the reply, but it doesn’t come. Cursing, I tap my toes and watch the screen, but no dots appear to indicate she’s typing.

“Great party,” a voice calls, and I whip my head up, realizing I’ve been ignoring a customer. I’m relieved to see someone I recognize, though - Abby, the barista from the coffee shop down the road. I plaster on a smile I hope she can’t tell is fake, heading around the counter to mingle with the night’s final guests.

Goddamn it, Ruby. Where did you go?

RUBY

I can’t find Torrence, and it’s been way longer than ten minutes.

I haven’t answered Rose’s text yet. I’m embarrassed to be out here - I know I shouldn’t have left the party, but he said he has a surprise for me out here. Why is he being so secretive?

“Torrence?” I call into the dark woods, following the trail I know by heart. The trees are quiet again tonight, but magic crackles through the air as branches sway in the sweet, early summer breeze. I should have just told Torrence he had to come to the bookstore. Why didn’t I do that?

Why do I keep letting him run everything?

I have to get my lady balls in working order, if I want to do more than just play at being on top. My cheeks heat as I remember being on top last night, his mouth pressed against my pussy. Ugh, that was so good.

A branch snaps behind me, and I whirl, scanning the trees.

Silence. Then, from mere inches behind me, “Are you afraid, kitten?”

A scream hurtles from my throat out of reflex and nerves, but I turn and find Torrence standing there in the wispy fog, and I sag into his chest, the scream dissolving into giggles that echo through the forest.

“That was so creepy,” I say, tilting my head back to grin up at him. “Let’s do it again sometime.”

His amber eyes flash dangerously at me, and his arm tightens like a steel band around my waist, pinning me to him.

“Again, and again, and again,” he whispers, his mouth drawing closer to mine with each word.

My eyes slide closed in anticipation of the kiss, but it doesn’t come. Another, tighter band draws around my thighs, something cold as ice pressing them together as my eyes fly open. What the hell?

“Stop that,” I snap at him, squirming against the magic. The ice is so cold it nearly burns against my bare skin, where my skirt is riding up. “Seriously, Tor. I have to head back. I’ve been gone too long already.”

“Back?” he asks, stepping slightly away so he can run his eyes up and down my sexy little cocktail dress.

“Back to the party. Opening night. It’s still happening - I just came out here to say thank you for the food.”

“You don’t need to go back,” he says, his voice like velvet as he tugs on the magic and forces me to spin on my toes, thighs still pressed together. I feel like a broken doll, twirling awkwardly, and I don’t like it at all. I reach out to smack at his arms.

“Let me go.”

He laughs, and something creeps up my spine. Something I would normally call fear, but I shouldn’t have any reason to be afraid of him. He’s had so many opportunities to hurt me, and he hasn’t. Tonight won’t be any different.

“You haven’t answered my question, kitten. Are you afraid?”

“Afraid of Rose, if I don’t get my ass back to the party soon,” I snip, stumbling a little as he continues to twirl me like a jewelry box dancer.

“If I let you go, would you run? You know what would happen if catch you, right?”

I giggle nervously. I’ve had a few dreams about that. “You don’t have to chase me for sex. Just wait until after the party.” The ice bands seem to glow around me in the foggy darkness. Torrence only watches me with an unreadable look on his gorgeous face.

“You should be afraid. If I were you, I’d run.” He hisses the last word, yanking away the magical band of ice so quickly that I turn another two and a half times, stumbling almost to my knees as I fight to regain my balance.

“What the hell?” I snap, the words dying on my lips as I scan the woods and realize he’s gone. Like, completely vanished. This is so unlike him.

Run, Ruby .

The whisper comes from everywhere, all at once, and a streak of real fear finally flares across my chest. What game is this?

Run .

Something crackles in the brush nearby, the sound like icicles falling, and I skitter away, still trying to decide what to do. This was supposed to be a quick little sexy thank you, not a game of chase through the woods. We’ve played at this sort of thing, too, but never quite like this.

Ice licks at my calves like tiny needles, and I break into a sprint, angling myself back toward the bookstore. I’m not far. I’ll take charge of this weird game and lead him there instead.

“If I were you, I’d hide.”

The gravelly voice drifts to me on the fog, glittering around me now with ice crystals. The temperature has dropped twenty degrees, and it no longer feels like an early summer evening. Skin prickling with cold and anxiety, I dance in a quick circle, still not seeing Torrence, and even less certain now that I want to.

His voice is different tonight. Colder, less teasing than normal, and I wonder if what we did last night has made him more possessive over me.

I duck behind a wide tree trunk, crouching down between its rough bark and a tangle of brambles. I’m not hiding, exactly, but it gives me a chance to send Rose a quick message.

I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left. Something isn’t right.

“If I were you, I’d be afraid.” His voice swirls toward me, closer this time, and the tone is more sinister than I’ve ever heard him. Our game suddenly feels like a trap, and I’ve gone from confident to terrified. I really shouldn’t have come out here.

I feel like I know him, but I don’t, not really.

He’s a magical creature that drinks blood. That eats flesh, if Kier told Rose the truth.

And maybe I’ve only made it this far because he was playing cat to my mouse. Maybe this is the night I finally get caught, pinned to the forest floor by sharp claws and teeth, ripped apart by an animal’s hunger. Maybe this is the night I get truly fucked.

I’m so sorry, Ros-

I don’t get to finish the text before he grabs my ankles and drags me out of the brambles, sharp twigs scratching at my bare legs. My phone goes scuttling across the leaves and moss, and my shrieks echo in my ears but no farther.

My screams don’t reach the trees, or the road, or the bookstore.

Because I’m being dragged underground.

Daggers of ice shove into the black earth, opening a deep chasm that I slip and slide down into, scrabbling my fingernails against the dirt and roots.

Screaming.

Sobbing.

Absolutely helpless to save myself.

Rough bark splinters into my palms as I desperately try to hold onto the roots as I slide past them, deeper, down into the freezing black earth. My nose and eyes and ears are filling with soil, and my mouth is packed with crumbs of it, choking down my throat as I’m dragged even deeper down.

“If I were you, I’d be afraid.”

His voice croons in my head, barely even a voice at all, and I can’t deny its power. I am afraid - I’m the most terrified I’ve ever been. I should have trusted Rose when I could. I brought this on myself with my stupid obsession with magic, and now I might never find my way out.

Never find my way home.

Never find my way back to Rose, the only person I’ve ever truly been safe with.