by Chloe Jacobs
Greta had lost everything when she fell through the portal and ended up in this icy place. But in the last few weeks, even the small comforts she’d found in Mylena had been taken from her. Her human friends were gone, her disguise was destroyed, and now she felt like a darkness was eating her up from the inside out.
Last night wasn’t the first time she’d scorched her own bedding, and she was afraid of what would happen if Siona wasn’t there to wake her up the next time. She clenched her hands into fists in the folds of her skirts.
Big fluffy snowflakes drifted down outside the window. Some stuck to the glass and turned to water droplets, tracking down the thick green-tinted glass, while the rest kept right on going.
“I should be out there,” she said. “I’ve wasted the whole day away when today I might have tracked down the boys.”
“It has been a complete moon cycle, danem. What if—”
“No. They’re out there,” she said. “And they’re fine. Probably fine.” She was trying to reassure herself now. “But I have to be certain.” Greta knocked her forehead against the thick, cool glass and closed her eyes with a shattered sigh. “I owe them that, at the very least.”
Wyatt and the other boys had been missing since the eclipse. Greta had left them in the cubby beneath Luke’s cottage before she and Ray went to Agramon’s lair, but by the time she’d recovered from her injuries enough to return, four days had passed. She hadn’t really expected them to sit tight and wait for her, because she’d thought she could track them.
But every time she’d managed to duck out of the castle to search, she’d come up empty. She hadn’t been overly worried at first. Wyatt was a master of survival. He’d kept those boys alive and hidden out in the goblin forest for months, and she’d never had any clue they existed. In fact, she might still never know other humans existed in Mylena if he hadn’t decided to make himself known to her when he’d found her passed out in the woods.
There was a knock at the door. Greta glanced over her shoulder as Siona opened it. One of Isaac’s guards whispered to Siona.
“What is it?” she called out.
Siona nodded at the guard, who spared Greta a cold look and a stiff bow before he left. Siona turned back to Greta with a frown. “Nothing you need to worry about. You should relax and ready yourself for the evening’s festivities,” she said.
Greta put her hands on her hips and glared at her friend. If she’d had her dagger, she might even have been tempted to pull it out and show the goblin hunter how she used it to relax. “Don’t do that. Don’t pat me on the head and send me off for a nap like a child. What’s going on?”
Her lips pressed together. “The guards have found evidence of an intruder in the castle. I must go to inform the goblin king.”
“Didn’t you say that the gates were being opened for the banquet this evening? Why would anyone bother to break in when they could walk right through the front door in just a few more hours?”
She shrugged. “We’ll find out.”
“All right. Let me change and I can come help.”
She shook her head. “Everything is under control. Your skill would be wasted with such a minor thing,” she insisted. “The banquet is soon to begin, and—”
Greta held her skirts wide. “Siona, it’s a dress. How long could it take to put back on later?” She turned around and looked over her shoulder. “Undo me, and then I’ll meet you in the courtyard.”
“Will you always be so stubborn?”
She grinned. “Consider it a gift from me to you.”
Her friend grunted, but she came over and undid what felt like a hundred buttons all the way down Greta’s back. After she left the room, Greta still held the purple fabric to her chest while it gaped to her waist in the back. She heard the door open and then close again.
Her first thought was that Isaac had come to see her. She grinned expectantly before realizing it was more likely that Siona had changed her mind about meeting her downstairs, so she laughed and said, “Seriously. I don’t need any more help with this thing. Go on and I’ll catch up in a few minutes.”
Her chuckle died out, though, as she turned to shoo Siona away—the figure filling the doorway wasn’t Siona. It wasn’t even Isaac.
“I thought you’d be happy to see me,” he said.
She blinked, but the figment didn’t dissolve into thin air. “Wyatt?” Her feet were frozen to the floor.
He hadn’t moved a muscle since slipping into the room and closing the door behind him. Just stood there staring at her like she was staring at him, as if he didn’t believe it was her, either.
“Oh, thank God you’re okay.” The words burst out, and she finally took a step forward. So did he, and then he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms and was hugging her so tightly that breathing was iffy. “I’ve been so worried,” she gasped.
She felt his heart beating strong and fast and her knees went weak with relief. Thank God he was real and not part of her nightmares.
His arms tightened, and he bent his head to the curve of her shoulder. She was still so surprised he was there that she was at a loss for words.
“You’re alive,” he murmured, his voice hoarse.
She felt his hands on her back where the dress gaped. She’d forgotten all about her state of undress. Her breath caught, and she reached between them to clutch the fabric to her chest. She took a step back, clearing her throat. “Of course I’m alive, and I’ve been looking for you everywhere. What happened to you? Where did you go?”
She peered into his face. It was all hard angles and deep lines, and he’d lost weight. So different from the last time she’d seen him, which hadn’t really been that long ago.
She remembered the worry in his eyes the moment before she left him. The eclipse had been imminent, every creature of Mylena caught in its vicious thrall. And she and Ray—impulsive, impatient Ray—were going to Agramon’s fortress to free the rest of the human boys held captive there. He’d hated the idea of staying behind, but Jacob, Sloane and the others needed him. And Wyatt was ever, heartbreakingly, reliable.
“When you and Ray didn’t return after the eclipse, we all thought you were dead.”
Alarmed, she clenched his arm. “Ray didn’t come back?” He’d pushed her into Agramon’s portal, somehow thinking that he was doing her a favor by sending her back to the human world. But as the darkness descended, she remembered seeing him run. She’d just assumed that he escaped the fortress alive.
A devastating sadness settled into Wyatt’s expressive blue eyes as if she’d just dashed his last hope. “Don’t assume the worst. He could still be out there,” she insisted for the benefit of the both of them.
“Yeah, of course. He’s a resourceful kid, so he’s probably just lying low.” He didn’t sound confident, but they both had to let it go.
After a moment he blinked and looked over her shoulder. She felt him stiffen. “When I heard you were here, I knew I had to try to get in and find you.” He paused, gaze falling on the bed. “It looks comfortable.”
Her cheeks burned. Even though she didn’t owe him any explanations, she remembered their kiss, the questions and promises that had been locked up in it, and felt compelled to try. “I was hurt during the battle with Agramon. The goblin king saved me.”
Wyatt’s jaw visibly clenched, but he nodded. “I understand. I guess I knew something was up when I kissed you, but—”
“That was probably a mistake.” She knew she started blushing as soon as he said the word “kiss,” because she could feel it in her cheeks.
“Have you kissed him? Was that a mistake?” he asked in a tight voice. “At least I would never lie to you, manipulate you, or hurt you. Can you say the same about him? How many times has he done it already?”
Greta put her hands on her hips , but her bodice started to fall and she remembered the dress was still undone. She readjusted her grip on it. “Whatever is between me and Isaac is none of your business.”
&
nbsp; “You’re right. I don’t want to know.” He grimaced.
“He’s a good guy,” she said anyway. “And because of him, it’s safe for us to be in Mylena. Humans no longer have to worry about persecution just because we exist.”
He looked incredulous. “You’re so sure about that?”
She stepped back. “Yes,” she said firmly. “After Agramon was banished, Isaac went before some kind of council and argued on our behalf. If it wasn’t true, do you think I would be standing here getting ready for a party instead of locked up in the dungeon down below?”
“If everything’s so perfect, then why have there been hunters out scouring the woods ever since the eclipse, and why did I have to break into this place like a criminal?”
“Did you even try knocking on the front door instead?” She crossed her arms. “The gates are closed because there’s been some unrest in Isaac’s kingdom recently,” she admitted hesitantly, feeling a little guilty for sharing Isaac’s business. “But they’re being opened tonight because Isaac is throwing a big event to…ah…introduce me to his people.”
Wyatt stepped forward and took her arm. Anger simmered in his gaze. “I haven’t had a nice cushy bed to sleep in at night or a fire to warm myself with the last few weeks. I’ve been out there”—he pointed out the window—“where you used to be, too. And let me tell you that no matter how much your goblin king boyfriend wants it to be true, his subjects and the rest of Mylena aren’t even close to giving up hundreds of years of hatred for humans. If you go in front of the entire kingdom tonight, what makes you think they won’t revolt against you both?”
“That isn’t going to happen.” She jerked back. Her grip tightened so hard on the collar of her dress that her knuckles ached.
“You’ve got a lot of confidence in someone who would have killed you with his bare hands just a few weeks ago.”
She swallowed, shook her head, and glanced over his shoulder at the door. Could she say for sure that if Isaac came in right now, he would welcome Wyatt with open arms? Or would he be angry? “Things change,” she said determinedly.
“Not that much. Don’t fool yourself.” He matched her step back with another step forward and lifted something in front of her face. It took a split second to focus on the gold chain dangling from his fist. Her locket. He undid the clasp and placed it around her neck, his fingers soft on her skin.
She opened it slowly and let out a long breath at the sight of her parents’ photo. Wyatt gently took her hand and pressed something else into her palm. She closed her fingers over the hard, round object and swallowed hard. “He’s never going to understand who you really are. He’ll never be able to understand why you kept this walnut in your pocket all these years. And he won’t understand why you asked me to take care of the only two things in this world that you cherished.”
No fair. “You underestimate him,” she said.
“Mylena is never going to be where we belong.” He held out his hand. “Come with me, Greta. Let’s get out of here before something awful happens to prove it to you.”
She swallowed, ignoring his outstretched hand. “I can’t.” Her throat burned and her chest ached. “I can’t just leave. I care about him, Wyatt. I’m sorry, but I have to try and make this work.”
“What if I told you that I found the portal out of this world?”
Her breath caught. “What? You did? Where?”
“I’ll tell you, but you have to come.”
She hesitated and felt guilty. If she went with him, Isaac would be devastated. Everything he’d done for her…
But if she didn’t go, that would be admitting once and for all that she was never, ever going home.
He dropped his arm and backed away. “I suppose I have your answer.” His voice cracked as if tears clogged his throat, and he looked so disappointed that she bit her lip.
He turned to leave without another word.
“Wyatt, wait,” she pleaded, blinking back tears of her own. “You don’t have to go right away. Stay and meet Isaac, and you’ll see that—”
“I can’t stay, Greta. You shouldn’t, either, but I don’t have the time to convince you. I have to get back out there.”
He sounded more than just disappointed. He sounded worried. “What’s going on?” A sliver of suspicion and fear pierced her sadness. “Wyatt, is something wrong? Where are the boys?”
A knock at the door startled them both. Wyatt spun around, and suddenly there was a dagger in his hand. “Wyatt, no!” She reached for his wrist and held him back. He tugged against her.
Something rose up from her core, like a cloud of ash barreling to the surface. She sputtered and coughed, her vision blurry and her fingers tingling with heat.
Wyatt gasped and jerked away just as Siona entered the room.
She took in the situation in the span of a heartbeat. She very slowly closed the door behind her and put her back up against it. “Do you require assistance, danem?” she said calmly, searching Greta’s face.
It was hard to concentrate. She itched and burned, like fire ants crawled beneath her skin. Greta glanced at Wyatt, horrified that he might see what she’d been trying to hide from everyone. He gripped his wrist with a confused look on his face. Oh, God. Was his skin slightly red there, like a burn?
Greta sucked up Siona’s serene confidence in great gulps and, finally, control seemed to return, pushing the dangerous energy back down. Thankfully, Wyatt seemed more concerned about their visitor and had failed to notice her discomposure.
She swallowed. “What are you going to do, Siona? Kill the dangerous human for me?” She made it a joke, but Wyatt didn’t look like he found it funny.
Siona crossed her arms. “I was thinking more that you may need help with that dress after all,” she answered with a smile.
Greta squeezed Wyatt’s arm. “This is Siona.”
“What is she? Goblin or faerie?” he asked, looking the hunter up and down quizzically.
“She’s a friend,” Greta said sternly with a sharp look. “A friend who saved my life and who’s been helping me try to find you all this time.”
Wyatt had the grace to blush and immediately apologized, those Boy Scout manners of his kicking right in. “Nice to, uh, meet you, danem.”
“It is good to see that you are finally found, Dolem Wyatt,” Siona replied in her most unexpressive hunter’s voice, but her eyes sparkled as she looked him over with an equal measure of interest. “What can we do for you this moon rising?”
He ignored the question and turned his back to their curious audience. “Whatever’s going on with you”—he looked down at her hand as if it might shoot balls of fire, so he obviously hadn’t been as oblivious as she’d hoped—“we can deal with it together.”
She shook her head. “It’s not…nothing’s going on.” She tried to sound reassuring. “I just need to give this a chance.”
His expression hardened, and his voice dropped so only she could hear. “I won’t waste more time begging you to come with me. But please don’t trust them, Greta,” he pleaded. “Don’t trust anyone.”
“Wyatt, nobody here is going to do any—”
“Just be careful,” he said urgently. “I’ll wait two nights before I take the boys to the portal.” His finger trailed up the line of her bare shoulder and the column of her neck until he cupped her cheek, his strong, callused hand flat on her flushed skin. Her eyelids fluttered, and she bit her lip. “If you change your mind or if you need me, I’ll come, okay?”
She let out a long breath and nodded. Was this it? If he’d found a way home and she remained here…did that mean she was never going to see him again?
“Wyatt?” she whispered, voice cracking with emotion. Don’t go. Don’t leave.
She couldn’t say it. He had to leave. He was right about one thing—he would never belong in Mylena. There was nothing for him here.
Is he right about me, too?
Was she deluding herself that things could change, that this wo
rld could accept her and she and Isaac could be happy together?
His hand slipped to the back of her neck. He was going to kiss her.
Not fair.
Greta sucked in a hard breath and drew back. She owed Isaac better than that. She owed Wyatt better than that.
She pushed against his chest hard enough to let him know kissing her wasn’t an option.
“Are you going to deny that you feel something between us?” he said.
He needed to go, and it was already too hard to let him walk away.
“Of course not,” she said. “But the time for us is…”
“Over?”
Impulsively, she threw her free arm around his neck. “Be careful,” she whispered.
He squeezed her tight. “Once I knew you weren’t dead…I had to at least try, right?” he murmured. When he stepped back, he threw her a crooked grin. “Who knows, I might not be going anywhere if I can’t make it back out of this castle.”
She looked down at herself. Had she really been standing here all this time with this stupid dress undone? “Give me a minute and I’ll take you to the gates.”
Siona interrupted. “The goblin king requires your presence in the hall, danem.” She tilted her head and smiled at Wyatt. “But I will personally ensure that Dolem Wyatt makes it to the front gates without incident.”
“Thanks, Siona.” She turned back to Wyatt. “Not everyone here is out to get us. There are people in Mylena who can be trusted.”
He squared his shoulders and dropped his arms. “I hope you’re right.”
A coldness settled over him as he turned and walked through the door, chin held high as if he expected Siona to take him directly to the dungeons, no matter what she’d promised.
He didn’t look back.
Chapter Three
Greta was alone again, and she felt it in more ways than one. Turning back to the window, she peered out and down, but she was on the wrong side of the building to see the gates.
“This is quite a sight.”
She spun around at the sound of Isaac’s deep voice. Her gut clenched, and her heart pounded. No matter what doubts she had, or how often they clashed, or how aggravating he got, his voice was enough to remind her why she continued to believe that working through it all might just be worth it.