Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
As I begin to walk, I wonder how Beck will take me leaving. My heart hurts when I think of him. How could I get so close to someone in so little time? He’s a heartbreak waiting to happen. He can’t accept himself. How will he ever accept me? The endless forest seems to fly by as I walk briskly, unable to get my mind off the faery prince.
He’s a victim of his own success. He’s proven to me, once and for all, what I want in a relationship. Then he turns around and tells me he won’t give it to me. I’ve suspected for a while that I prefer to be submissive during sex. I’m not sure how I feel about submission outside of the bedroom, and that’s the reality that gives me pause when I contemplate jumping into the lifestyle. It’s probably asking far too much to get what I want in the bedroom and remain autonomous outside of it.
I’ve been walking for a good half an hour when I suddenly feel disoriented. I’ve seen that tree before. Right? I thought I was walking in a straight line, but I’m almost certain I’ve been here. Panic starts to grow. I can’t find the path. This isn’t the one we’d taken the day before, and it seems to get narrower and narrower. I squint, trying to see ahead. Does it stop?
What the hell am I doing? I’m not nature girl. I don’t hike. I really don’t hike in faery forests. Yes, there’s the panic attack. I can feel my heart beating a hundred miles a minute. I’m lost, and I swear I can feel eyes on me. I turn, but everywhere I look is exactly the same. That’s definitely the same tree. It leans the same way as the other one. Which way am I supposed to go?
Dante told me these woods are dangerous. I thought he was exaggerating to make me stay close to Beck, but now I feel real fear.
Oh, why had I ever left the comfort of our bed?
It’s stupid decisions like this that always get me in trouble. I’m impetuous. I get lost at DFW airport, but I think I can navigate on an entirely different plane of existence? I should have waited until we made it to Beck’s village. Maybe there, I could have hired a guide or something. What the hell am I doing walking through the woods alone?
I should have stayed with Beck and helped his brother. After I save his brother, he’ll be reasonable and help me find my way home. This was an act of pure arrogance. Or desperation. I wanted to spare my heart, but it looks like I’ve put much more at risk.
“Can I help you, miss?”
The sound makes me start in pure terror. I spin around and barely miss clocking the little man with my twirling bag. Naturally I end up on my ass in the dirt, looking up at the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. Given my recent travails, that’s saying something.
He’s small, no more than four feet tall, with a stocky body. He’s barrel-chested with squat legs. His torso is the longest part of him. His face is dominated by a large, doughy nose, and his skin has splotches of yellow across it. He seriously needs to get his liver checked.
The suit he wears is the most disconcerting thing about him, though. It’s a brilliant, vibrant red. From the top hat on his head to the socks and shoes on his small feet, every piece of clothing he wears is red. The man brushes invisible lint off his coat and shakes the tails out. They trail along the dirt. He looks down at me, waiting for a response.
“I’m lost,” is the only thing I can think to say.
The red man cocks a bushy eyebrow. His accent is even heavier than Beck’s. “Are you, now? And here I was thinking you were out for a pleasant walk in the woods.”
I shake my head. “I need to get back to the marketplace.”
The red man frowns. “And why would you need to do that? See, I was thinking a girl like you would prefer to go home to the Earth plane.”
On this announcement, the red man turns and begins walking down the path. I scramble to my feet to chase after him. Can he really get me home?
Do I want to go home? Of course I do. Don’t I? The idea of Beck’s brother dying without my help weighs on me. Shouldn’t I try to help? I shove the question aside for the moment.
“How did you know that?” I ask, following him.
He winks a dark eye my way. “I know everything, little human. I know you couldn’t possibly want to stay here. Your home is waiting for you.”
“Yes.” Even though he’s a good foot and several inches shorter than me, he moves quickly. I have to jog to keep up with the little man. “I was taken from my home, and then they sold me at some tournament thingy, and apparently now I’m married, but I didn’t say ‘I do,’ so I don’t think I am. I just want to get home.”