2. Jessa

2

JESSA

T he wind tears at my skin, pulling tears from my eyes that I didn’t even realize had formed. My breaths are sawing at my lungs so hard I swear I taste blood, and I can feel warm drops dotting my legs from the way the vines and branches reach out to grab my legs.

But I can’t slow down.

"A wildspont." I laugh escapes me, so high-pitched I know I’m bordering on hysteria. "Go to a wildspont. What a fucking great idea, Jessa."

The words are the only thing that is keeping me from a full-on panic. Though the fact that I’m talking to myself probably doesn’t help my case.

Another snap sounds behind me, and I swear – I swear – it’s a footstep. I’ve rationalized everything else. The wind, my hearing, the movement of the vines that seem to have a mind of their own.

But growing up so close to the woods has taught me one thing: always trust your gut. And right now, mine is screaming to run. Something is close and whatever it is isn’t friendly.

"What a stupid, stupid idea," I mutter beneath my breath, shaking my head. I almost want to laugh because it’s the same thing that Tiera said to me just a few hours prior. And as ill-timed as it may be, the memory swarms in.

"What are you doing?" My heart leaps to my throat, and I twist around from where I was crouched in the dark corner of my room. The sun set hours ago, the moon now high in the sky and the sliver of light cast through the half-covered window is enough for me to see by.

"Tiera," I gasp, clutching out my chest. I turn all the way around, sinking onto the floor. She stays in the doorway, though, her brow furrowed, and my heart rate spikes again.

I know that look. She’s suspicious. And growing more so by the second.

Pushing to my feet, I glance toward the beds pushed against the wall. Four in total where two should fit, and the three still occupied are silent. If any one of the girls I share a room with is awake, they don’t show it.

Still, I cross the room until I’m right in front of Tiera. She’s always been like a mom to me, teaching me since I arrived on the farm. She tries to keep all of us girls in line, quiet and unseen. With dark elves... It’s best not to draw attention.

In twenty-four years, I’ve managed to stay off their radar. Not everyone has been so lucky.

Tiera least of all.

"I’ll ask you again, Jessa." Her voice is colder than it ever has been before when talking to me. It’s like the woman I’ve known since I was two has disappeared and been replaced with someone I don’t recognize. "What are you doing?"

I gulp. I don’t want to disappoint Tiera. She was there the day that the elves brought me, and half a dozen other girls, back from the auction. Why anyone was allowed to profit off orphans found on the streets, I don’t know, but Tiera scrubbed us all clean and told us how the farm was going to work.

Since that day, I’ve always done what she said. I wanted to make her proud, and I knew that staying on her good side was best for me. And maybe, in a way, I wanted to feel like I had a parent that was happy with who I’d become.

Since my parents would never be able to see it.

"Tiera, I..." I glance over my shoulder at my bag. It’s half full with clothes and food I’ve swiped over the last week, making sure I’d have enough to survive a days-long journey. I don’t quite know my destination, just the general direction, and I didn’t want to die of something stupid.

Though I may just have if Tiera’s distrustful look is any indication.

"Tell me that my eyes are deceiving me." She steps closer, one dark hand darting out to clutch my bicep. "Tell me that you are not being stupid. I did not raise you to be stupid."

The anger in her eyes mixed with the rage in her tone hits me hard like a slap in the face. I jerk back, stunned as I stare at her, my chest heaving as I try to figure out what to say.

And in the end, nothing spills out but the truth.

"I know you’ve heard the rumors. There’s been nothing but whispers among the slaves here and the market for months." The words leave me in one breath. "Tiera, they are saying it’s a place that is safe for humans–"

"It is a death sentence." She jerks me forward harshly so that our noses are nearly touching. "Something is luring little girls like you who get fanciful ideas in their heads out into the woods to kill them. To piss off the dark elves."

I shake my head even as my bottom lip starts to tremble. "No, they are trying to help u–"

"No one is trying to help you." Tiera’s chest is heaving. "When are you going to get it, Jessa? There is no one on this planet who wants to save you. No one who cares, but me. And I can’t stop you from getting killed if you insist on it."

I’m already whipping my head from side to side before she even finishes what she is saying. I refuse to believe that people are dying. I’ve heard of the scouts coming out to welcome people and they look human. They are trying to save us.

"Tiera, the wildspont–"

Her grip tightens. "Child, there is no such thing as a wildspont. There is no safe haven for humans, no secret get away, no place with magic that can hide you from dark elves. It is all some fantasy made up from people stupid enough to get themselves killed."

I jerk out of her grip, stumbling backwards. My blood is rushing in my ears so loudly that I swear my body is trying to block out what she is telling me. "N-no. You’re wrong."

"Jessa, listen to me and listen to me good, girl. You are going to put that bag away. You are going to climb back in your bed. And we are never going to speak of this again." Her eyes flick from me to the window and back. It’s getting far too late for any of us to be up.

The dark elves will come looking for someone to entertain them soon.

But still, I can’t find it in myself to nod. Instead, I stand there in the moonlight trembling, and I watch as Tiera’s face hardens. She takes a step forward and I pull back, which gives her pause. A full minute passes between us, and then she sighs.

"I had hopes for you." She shakes her head as sadness spreads across her face. "But you are just like everyone else. You are going to get yourself killed." She turns, going to leave, and just as she shuts the door, she turns to look at me over her head. "What a stupid, stupid idea."

And the door clicks closed.

I now realize as I choke on a sob what Tiera means. I truly am a stupid girl, foolish enough to believe that deep enough in these woods, there would be a safe haven.

All I’ve done is get myself killed, and not even at the hands of a dark elf.

I guess it’s poetic that I spent my whole life fearing them and they didn’t end up being the greatest threat to me.

It didn’t take me long to finish packing or slip out of the window. With the drunken nights the dark elves keep, it was all too easy to slip out of the farm and into the woods. I thought they would have tried harder to keep their slaves, but it seems they think threats and their magic will do enough for them.

Or maybe they think the woods are punishment enough for those who dare to run. I’m starting to think so.

I don’t know how much longer I can keep going on. I’m already stumbling, my body trying to give up but terror is pushing me. Maybe I should just find a cliff and throw myself off of it, accept death on my terms.

But just as I contemplate stopping and facing what is chasing me – or finding a new plan that isn’t running endlessly – I leap between two trees curved together to almost look like a portal. And the feeling is instantaneous.

Tiera was wrong.

"Wilsponts are real," I gasp as the magic coats my skin, lighting me up like a fire.

It feels like I’m in the air forever as everything changes. My senses are sharpened, the air turns sweeter, and suddenly, I can feel the energy pulsing through everything. The trees move on their own, the wind feels tangible, and the colors are so vibrant my eyes burn.

I’m stunned as I land to my feet, stumbling forward a little farther as my momentum dies out...

And the regret is instant.