Chapter Thirty-three

Chapter Thirty-three

Kellan

The Dark Woods sat several yards in front of us. The depth of them looked menacing. The silence was heavy in the air. The walk through the forest felt like years. It felt like years since Josephine left.

Every noise I'd heard gave me hope they were traveling through the portal with the spindle.

The longer it took the more nervous I grew. Had her parents not let her come back? Could she not figure out who took it?

Ernest put his palm on my shoulder and drew me out of my trance. "It's getting late. Perhaps we should camp here for the night?"

I nodded, though I didn't meet his eyes. Ernest was very observant and knew when I was fighting something inwardly.

"Sure. Let's make camp over there, out of sight of the Dark Woods."

I poured my strength into starting a fire and hiding us from the sights of the Dark Woods. Sweat trickled down my body before I sat at the base of a giant tree and braced my elbows against my knees.

The sun set over the hills, and night crept upon us. Ernest ate his half of our last loaf of bread, while I pretended to rest my eyes.

I'd thought of nothing but Josephine since they left through the portal. How in the hell was I supposed to know if they were on their way? Or if they were even safe?

Sliding my sweaty palms down my thighs, I looked up to see Ernest staring at me. "Kellan," he said. "You've been quiet all day. Say it. How are you coping?"

I chuckled and rested my head against the tree trunk. "I'm okay," I said. "I'm worried about her. I don't think they should have gone without me. What if her parents won't let her back? I'm afraid I'll never see her again."

Ernest pursed his lips and stroked his long beard for several seconds. "Now do you believe me?"

I cut my eyes at him. "What?"

"You believe that she's your soulmate now?"

I shifted. "Yes, Ernest. I do. Thank you for that very obvious ‘I told you so.'"

He laughed. "I deserved to say that."

I smirked. "You're right. I'll give you that one. That's it, though. Next time, I"m gonna let you have it." Standing up, I grabbed our canteens and looked around. "I'm going to get some water. I'll be back. If you hear me screaming, come running with your magic, please."

Ernest groaned while he made himself comfortable.

"Better try to survive first. It takes a minute just to get up."

The thick brush was hard to get through. I felt scratches and tears in my skin until I broke through to a clearing. The small river was more of a creek that trickled through the forest over large rocks and moss. I dipped down to my knees and put the top of our canteens into the water.

The feeling of being watched slithered over me. Glancing up, I saw two sets of eyes staring back at me. They were familiar.

It was the talking wolf. I didn't run instead I finished filling our canteens and tossed the straps over my shoulder. "Do you think I'm going to run?" I asked. "I've beat you once."

He chuckled and stepped into the moonlight. I'd forgotten how big he was until he stopped closer and dipped his head for a drink. "That you did. You also stole your girl back from her. Impressive, I might say. I've been with her a long time and I've never seen anyone get over on her."

I shrugged. "I'm not afraid of her, wolf."

He grinned in a sinister way and jumped across the creek to stand in front of me. "No, but she's afraid of you, Kellan."

I waited on him to continue. There was so much knowledge in his eyes. "What do you know about her? Isn't she your master?"

He snarled his lip at me. "I'm here because she made me this way. I do her bidding because she'd kill me if I didn't. Just like that stupid bird. We weren't always this way. I'm ..." He looked out into the forest, as if he saw someone. "I know Deidamia from her time before this."

I shifted. "A time before what? Before becoming a witch?"

He shook his head and laid down at my feet, still almost eye level with me because of his size. "Before she became wicked."

Curiosity swarmed me. "So, she's always been a witch?"

He nodded once. "Just not a wicked one. Just like every love story, it starts with a man."

"A true love?"

The wolf blinked. "A different kind of love. Her father. When her mother laid with another man, he killed her, remarried and tortured Deidamia almost every day. That's when the evil came to her, in her lowest hour. She accepted her fate of becoming evil to kill her father and his new family. The evil consumed her. She became the demon that tempted her." The wolf chuckled. "She hates love, Kellan. It's the one thing that evil can't fight against. True love."

True love. Soulmates.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked softly.

The wolf jumped to his feet. His gaze swept behind me and then over his shoulder. "Because we both know why you're here. You have to kill her in her true form," he whispered. "The dragon comes out at night. He's always hovering beneath the surface, ready to shift. You have to bring him out. Threaten her. Hurt her. Then kill it. You kill it and you kill her. It's that simple."

I scoffed. No pressure. "Then why haven't you tried to do it yourself?"

The wolf began to backtrack out of the forest and toward the dark one. "Don't you think I've tried?" he asked. "Why do you think I'm this way? Plus, I'm not the hero in this story. You are."

He grew more distant until his glowing eyes were the only thing I could see. I found my way back to the camp. Ernest was knocked out around the fire, snoring into the night, while I sat down in my usual seat.

Chugging the water, I wiped away the droplets that escaped down my chin. The night slid over me like a warm blanket. Sleep moved on me, and I attempted to close my eyes.

When I woke the next morning, Ernest was up, cooking what looked like a few quail eggs he'd gathered and warming the last loaf of bread. "Good morning," he said with a yawn. "Sleep well?"

I groaned when I stood up. "As good as the base of a tree will let you. I had a chat with the talking wolf last night."

Ernest stood up straight. "A talking wolf?"

"Yeah, I beat him to get to Josephine that first night. He told me a little about Deidamia. He said her father killed her mother for cheating on him. Then tortured her while starting a new family. Evil came to her in her darkest hours, and she became what she is now."

Ernest poked at the eggs with a stick. "Sounds about right," he mumbled. "The Dark One likes to recruit people while they're suffering."

I plucked a piece of bread from the fire and tossed it into my mouth. It'd been so long since I had a good meal that I was sure I would have lost my strength by now.

"He said true love is her weakness because she doesn't trust men. She doesn't trust relationships. She hates love."

He made a low sound in his throat but didn't elaborate.

I tugged my dirty T-shirt over my head and wiped the sweat from my forehead with it. "You don't have anything else to say about that?"

He shrugged. "No, what is there to say? She's evil, and we knew that."

"How am I supposed to toss true love in her face, Ernest? That's not something visible to fight with."

"Isn't it?" he asked. "I knew you loved Josephine from the moment I saw you give her one of those broody stares."

"So, staring at Josephine will kill Deidamia?"

Ernest chuckled and slid my eggs onto a large, flat rock. I nearly ate the rock itself. "Thank you," I said, wiping my mouth.

Ernest took a seat and glanced out at the Dark Woods. "I think Deidamia is more human than we think she is, Kellan. She's lonely."

"Why don't you ask her on a date, then? I'm taken, sadly enough."

Ernest gave me a bored look. "She's heartbroken. The evil in her life has eaten away her soul. I have an idea, but it's going to take some magic on my part."

"Speaking of," I said, eating my other piece of bread. "I've seen you do hardly any magic, old man. I'm starting to think you talked Fern into believing you can do magic."

He laughed. "The most powerful people do not walk around waving their skills in everyone's face, Kellan."

"Well, we need your magic right about now. I need you to pull it out of your satchel or from underneath that robe. I'm beginning to grow tired of doing everything around here."

Ernest smiled. "I sent Josephine and Fern to find the spindle."

"Touch," I said. "You did do that ... with my help."

Ernest sipped his canteen of water. "I see what Josephine sees in you that no one else does. You're much nicer than you play to be."

I groaned. "Don't go ruining my reputation, old man. I need people to think I'm cruel, so they'll be scared."

"Got it," Ernest said, standing up and readjusting his robe. "I won't let anyone know if you help me down this hill. I may have magic, but I'm still old."

"Are you sure we should go in so soon?" I asked, pouring some of my water over the campfire. "Should we wait on Josephine?" I asked.

Ernest looked out over the Dark Woods. "We have days to go. They will find us, Kellan. Have faith that she'll figure out who has it and bring it to us."

I had hope that she would pull through. I didn't want her to land in the dark forest alone with me. I needed to protect her. I was the prince in this story, wasn't I?

The princess wasn't meant to go off alone in the Dark Woods.

Ernest stepped beside me. "I wasn't joking about helping me down this hill."

I wrapped my arm around his waist and held him tightly to me. The steep hill we began to walk down felt like sliding deeper into the world.

To the place where all my problems began.

Ernest held on to me for dear life the further we descended toward the forest. The silence grew heavier, and the death of the greenery felt sticky, like quicksand.

A heaviness pressed against my chest, and I took a deep breath to push it away. Only it didn't go away. It clung to me like a child.

"Something feels wrong," I whispered. "I think something is wrong with Josephine."

I stalled on the hill, torment and panic drowning me in my own anxiety. "We have to keep going," Ernest whispered.

But I couldn't move. I couldn't get rid of the pain in my chest.

What were they doing to my princess?