What was wrong with me? I had never been the type of girl to get tongue tied and swoony over a handsome man, but Anwir was beyond handsome. He blew all my conquests out of the water with his sheer perfection, and his charm, and his kindness. I looked at the plate balanced on my lap. The apple must have taken forever to carve and arrange. Such delicate work, and he’d done it for me. He’d obviously marked my choice of apple at breakfast and decided I liked them. And I did. I mean, I’d rather have a croissant, but apples were okay, but it was the effort that made it special. No man except my dad had ever done anything as sweet for me, mainly because I’d never given them the chance, unwilling to allow anyone or anything to distract me from my studies, but… My heart glowed at the sight of that apple rose.
Smiling to myself, I layered the cheese onto my bread and began to eat.
I’d all but finished when Pansy approached, clutching two mushroom kebabs. She handed one to me and sat on a nearby rock, grinning like a fool.
“What?” I demanded, but I had a feeling I already knew the answer.
Damn her to hell. I didn’t have a clue how to deflect her implications, so I tore a mushroom from the stick with my teeth. It was glorious to fill my belly after all those hours of starvation. The shaking limbs had already begun to subside.
“Come on then, tell me what you think.”
“Mmph.” I nodded, swallowing my food. “Yeah, tastes amazing.”
“Not the mushrooms, Aliza!” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “I’m talking about Prince Anwir.”
“Oh. I mean, I don’t know him very well, but he seems alright.”
Pansy rolled her eyes. “He seems to like you.”
“He’s polite.”
“Don’t you find him handsome?”
God, she was relentless. I narrowed my eyes at the prying witch, deciding if I could trust her. I knew I could. “Fine. He’s gorgeous.”
Pansy squealed, drawing the attention of the entire camp. I hurriedly busied myself with my mushrooms, trying to look innocent and unconcerned. When she continued, she lowered her voice, leaning in.
“Mother above, I knew it! I knew there was something between the two of you. I’ve been watching.”
“There isn’t anything,” I sighed. “Just because I think he’s good looking doesn’t mean there’s anything there.”
What if Pansy was right? What if Anwir looked at me and saw beauty? It wasn’t possible, was it? I was just a human. I had no idea how old the prince was, but he’d undoubtedly spent his life before the curse surrounded by stunning fae females. The apple glared up at me. Kindness, or something more?
“Oh, please. I’ve seen the way he’s drawn to you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I insisted, unable to deny that the prince had shown me a fair amount of attention. “I’ve done what I needed to do. I’ll be able to go home as soon as we get back to Nairsgarth.”
It was true. Just because I found the princes attractive, it didn’t change anything. It didn’t make me waver. I would bask in the attention until it was time for me to leave. Maybe I’d enjoy Anwir’s company for a night, scratch the itch my illicit dreams had awoken in me, but no more than that. After all, it wasn’t every day a girl had the chance to take an obscenely handsome prince to bed.
The scandalised delight on Pansy’s face faded into disappointment.
“Don’t look at me like that, we always knew—”
A snarling bark shattered the peace of the woods, sending my plate and skewer splashing into the stream as I scrambled to my feet. I spun in time to see something huge and black careen into the midst of the camp, skidding through the flames in a blur of snapping teeth.
Screams erupted, but not enough to drown the snarls.
My eyes glued to the creature. It was a red-eyed wolf, easily as large as a carthorse, with a shaggy black coat and overlong fangs flashing in its snapping mouth. The witches bolted like zebras in the midst of a lion attack, screaming and reaching for their weapons, but the wolf was faster. Before I could do more than open my mouth in a scream that never came, the beast mowed down Meadow, those awful teeth snapping at the back of her neck.
Almost in slow motion, the pair tumbled to the ground. The momentum carried the wolf too far, and it rolled over the fallen witch, but its jaws remained clamped around the base of her skull. A spray of red mist arced through the air, and the wolf regained its footing, plunging back to finish the job.
The sinewy crack of bone snapped me from my horrified trance.
Pansy tugged on my arm. I stumbled into step beside her, my feet numb, my mind reeling. We’d barely staggered a few faltering steps when a second, identical beast leapt from the shadows, with a third close behind.
“Run!” somebody screamed.
I didn’t need telling twice.
I burst into a sprint, careening along the riverbed, leaping rocks and tree roots. The screams faded with every pounding step, but I couldn’t tell if that was only due to the blood blaring in my ears. Pansy darted along at my side, though with her short legs, I had to check my pace.
“Come on,” I encouraged, waving my hand.
I ran until my lungs threatened to burst out of my mouth. The woods were quiet when we staggered to a halt, with nothing to hint at the oversized beasts prowling its shadows. The last of the day’s sun glowed golden through the canopy of green leaves, reminding me of the princes’ eyes.
I shook my head. This was no time to be thinking—
A wolf leapt from the bracken, soaring straight at me, fanged jaw wide.
A streak of darkness launched into the wolf’s side, knocking it off course. Pansy screamed as the beast went down. I snatched her hand, dragging her away as the wolf tussled with…
“Jacques!”
The vampire didn’t look up. I barely caught a glimpse of his features, contorted with rage before he moved again, too fast to follow. One moment the wolf floundered to its feet, the next it was thrown onto its back with a yelp that dislodged leaves from the trees overhead. Jacques launched at its throat. Teeth snapped, and the beast snarled and writhed. I pressed a hand to my mouth, dancing on the spot.
With a wet tearing sound, the wolf gave up its fight. Jacques rose, the grotesque innards of the beast’s throat clutched in his blood-drenched fist. He threw it to the ground, where the wolf lay twitching and gurgling through its death throes. Blood spurted, pooling around the dying animal before sinking into the ground.
The vampire turned to face us. I gasped. Enormous, angry blisters covered his moon-white skin.
