“You’re intriguing,” Hawke commented as Setti trotted ahead of Airrick.
“Intriguing is your favorite word,” I told him.
“It is when I’m around you.”
I let myself grin because no one was watching, and I wanted to. “Why am I intriguing now?”
“When are you not intriguing?” he said. “You aren’t afraid of Descenters or Craven, but you’re shuddering like a wet kitten at the mere mention of a barrat.”
“Craven and Descenters don’t scurry about on all fours, and they don’t have fur.”
“Well, barrats don’t scurry,” he replied. “They run, about as fast as a hunting dog locked onto prey.”
Another shudder made its way through me. “That is not helping.”
He laughed. “You know what I would love right about now?”
“For there to be no talk of giant, people-eating rats?”
Hawke squeezed me, and I felt a dip in my chest. “Besides that.”
I snorted.
“Do me a favor and reach into the bag by your left leg. Be careful, though. Hold onto the pommel.”
“I’m not going to fall off.” I held on, though, stretching forward and lifting the flap of the bag.
“Uh-huh.”
I ignored that and reached inside. My fingers brushed over something smooth and leather. Frowning, I grabbed hold of it and pulled it out. The moment I saw the red cover, I gasped and shoved it back into the bag.
“Oh, my gods.” I sat up straight, my eyes wide.
Hawke burst out laughing, and ahead, Kieran looked over his shoulder at us. Could he see how red my face was?
“I can’t believe you.” I turned at the waist, and for a moment, I got a little lost in that dimple in Hawke’s right cheek. The left one was starting to appear, too. And then I remembered what was in the bag. “How did you even find that book?”
“How did I find that naughty diary of Lady Willa Colyns? I have my ways.”
“How?” The last I’d seen it, it was shoved under my pillow, and with everything that had happened, it hadn’t even occurred to me that someone might find it and have questions.
Lots of questions.
“I’ll never tell,” he replied, and I smacked his arm. “So violent.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You’re not going to read to me?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Maybe I’ll read to you later.”
That was even worse. “That’s not necessary.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
His laugh was low and soft against my neck. “How far did you get, Princess?”
I pressed my lips together and then sighed. “I almost finished it.”
“You’ll have to tell me all about it.”
That wasn’t likely to happen. I couldn’t believe he’d not only found that damn book but had also packed it. Out of everything he could’ve brought with him, he’d grabbed the diary. The corners of my lips twitched, and before I knew it, I was smiling and then I was laughing. When his arm tightened around me again, I relaxed against him.
Hawke was…intriguing.
Our pace picked up after that, and it almost felt like we were racing the moon. I didn’t have to look ahead to know that we were losing.
And then I saw it.
Ice drenched my skin at the first glimpse of red. And then it rose into sight. A sea of crimson stretched as far as the eye could see.
We’d reached the Blood Forest.
The horses carried us forward even though every instinct in my body screamed in warning. I couldn’t tear my eyes from the forest, even though it felt like a sight that would haunt my dreams for many, many years to come. I’d never seen it up close, having come to Masadonia through a different route that would’ve added days to our trip. What I saw was a twisted mass of red and a deeper shade that reminded me of dried blood. Under the pounding hooves, the ground became rockier. Something crunched and snapped. Was it twigs? Branches? I started to look down— “Don’t,” ordered Hawke. “Don’t look down.”
I couldn’t stop myself.
My stomach churned. The ground was littered with sun-bleached bones. Skulls that belonged to deer and smaller animals. Perhaps rabbits? There were also longer bones, too long for an animal, and— Sucking in a sharp breath, I tore my gaze away. “The bones…” I said, swallowing. “They’re not all animal bones, are they?”
“No.”
My hand went to the arm around my waist. I held on. “Are they the bones of Craven who died?” If they didn’t feed, they withered away until there was nothing left but bones.