Evie had handed her the certificate of employment and watched her face light up as she grabbed Evie and kissed her on both cheeks.
I did the right thing. So why do I feel like my chest is going to cave in?
Sighing and splashing another bit of red water against her face, she began to list the other upcoming job fairs. Perhaps she could travel to one of the neighboring villa—
Wait… Red?!
Gasping and edging backward into the flowers, Evie felt her eyes widen in horror at the once-clear-blue water now clouded with a deep crimson color.
Blood.
She shut her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. After counting to ten, she got to her feet, nearly tripping over the hem of her long dress, and inched slowly toward the water again. It was clear to see the blood was coming from farther up the stream.
She took a step in that direction, inching one leather boot in front of the other, wholly unprepared for what she might find.
The stream was beginning to resemble a river of blood the farther she walked up it, the opaque red engulfing any remaining blue. It had to have been an injured animal, a large one if the amount of blood was any sort of indication. Certainly not something that warranted Evie’s personal investigation.
And yet, here she was, in the forest that was suddenly getting darker as the sun began its descent behind the trees…following a river of blood.
Shaking her head, she felt plants getting crushed under her feet as she grinded to a halt. She was going to turn around. In fact, her body had been halfway turned when she spotted a beast with black fur hunched over and hidden slightly among the tall grass surrounding the stream and a giant tree.
Whatever manner of creature it was, the thing was alive—groans and muffled sounds of pain were coming from its general direction. Evie crouched, gently lifting her skirts to reach the small blade she kept in a sheath around her ankle for emergencies.
She’d put the poor beast out of its misery. Showing it that much kindness was hardly a burden. But the closer she inched, the less it looked like a creature at all. It almost looked like…
A human hand whipped out from beneath the black fur, which she now realized wasn’t fur at all but a dark cloak. The hand circled around one of her wrists, pulling her down beside it.
“Oof!” She hit the ground hard, her shoulder connecting with the forest floor as an arm banded around her waist and pulled her against their body. She lay on her side, her back pressed tightly against something solid and warm behind her—which was when her good sense kicked in and she started to squirm and shout.
The arm around her waist cinched tighter as a hand closed over her lips. A low voice was in her ear, sending shivers throughout her entire body. “Be quiet, you little urchin, or you’ll get us both killed.”
Just then, Evie saw another foreboding figure across the way—several, in fact. All men dressed in silver. Carrying very large weapons, some of them glowing. The king’s Valiant Guards!
She struggled against the hand, but the man’s other arm was locking her against him and he wrapped a heavy leg over her ankles, effectively holding her still.
“Lwet meh go.” She’d dropped her knife when she fell, so she felt around in the grass for it with her free arm.
“Relax,” he ordered again.
Right. That was likely, considering a strange man, whom she was certain was the thing these men were hunting, had her pinned to the ground. But she’d sought this out, hadn’t she? She’d followed a literal river of blood—what else did she think was going to happen?
“Em suc a fwool.” Evie sighed long and hard.
Suddenly, the hand was gone from her mouth and the voice was in her ear once more. “What are you mumbling about?”
“This is just very typical for me,” she whispered.
“Being pulled to the ground by a stranger?” he said in a tone that sounded suspiciously curious.
“Well, not this exact situation. But if I told someone about how I ended up here, nobody would think it out of the ordinary.” She jabbed her elbow into his ribs, causing her captor to curse and grunt. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did that hurt?” She did it again, making her point.
“Enough!” he hissed before he pointed a tanned hand to the men searching the trees on the other side of the stream. “Those men do not care that you are an innocent who stumbled into the arms of a demon. They will kill you without a moment’s hesitation, and they will do it laughing.”
“A demon?” Evie chuckled quietly, attempting to turn her body to get a look at this man with such a high opinion of himself, but his arms tightened around her once more, keeping her in place.