Torrential rains assaulted the duo. The trees offered minimal cover. Instead they made it worse. The silver sap oozed from the trees, mixing with the puddles. One wrong move meant death for Ezekiel and Emry. Emry led the way through the trees. Every step she took, Ezekiel copied. Although Ezekiel much preferred to be in the lead, she wanted to lead for whatever reason. He would have shielded her from any wind that came with the storm a lot better than her protecting him from the wind. Humans were stubborn to a fault though.

“How much longer do you think until this rain lets up?” Emry asked. She groaned.

Ezekiel understood her frustration. The ground was turning into mud and made the walk much harder than it should have been. The further they got into the forest, the harder the rain poured. It nearly deterred him from continuing on because he hated the mud more than the storm. Yet if he stopped here, he would never get his one true goal.

“I don’t know,” Ezekiel responded.

“Hopefully soon. If not, I might just turn back.” She sighed. “I’m tired and hungry.”

“If you turn back now, you won’t reap the rewards. Perhaps the rain is meant to make us turn away.” Ezekiel walked behind her and rested his hand on her head. “We can do it. We’re almost there.”

“How do you know?”

“I don’t.” He smiled and walked ahead of her. His feet sank in the mud with each step, but at least she wouldn’t have that issue. His steps pathed a way for her to walk with minimal effort. She deserved it after walking them this far.

The forest thinned and a faint warmth filled Ezekiel. It was like the comfort of his bed after a long day of walking, wrapping around him. It was a welcome contrast to the downpour of the cold and wet rain.

Emry shivered beside him. He wrapped his cloak around her. She leaned into him, sighing in content. Her eyes met his.

“Do you remember the kiss?” Emry asked suddenly.

Ezekiel’s cheeks flushed. “I do. I’m still not happy about it. You took advantage of me.” He glanced at her lips.

“Well, I’m sorry for doing it again.”

“Again? What do you-”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face into hers before he could finish speaking. Her soft lips met his. The moment erased the cold from Ezekiel completely. He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the moment, melting into the feeling. Something about the world changed around him, but he didn’t care. He just wanted her. She was his world now and nothing would change that. His hands rested on her lower back, pulling her into him. She was everything he imagined and more. She was his.

Ezekiel grunted in disappointment when she pulled away. He opened his eyes and smiled at her. He brushed her auburn curls out of her eyes. His thumb traced circles on her cheek.

“I take it you enjoyed that?” Emry asked with a smirk covering her face.

“I did,” Ezekiel admitted.

“Good.” She turned to face their surroundings. “Welcome to the heart of the forest.”

Disappointment filled him. He loved her, but she just used him to get what she wanted. The kiss meant nothing to her, but everything to him. That’s all it was: a scam. Ezekiel crossed his arms.

“Well what’s the next step then?” he asked.

“It says we have to wait until the moon is at its fullest and sacrifice what is dear to us,” she responded.

Great, he thought. Another few days with someone that doesn’t care about me.

===

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The heart of the forest was nice. It provided food that Emry cooked up, and it provided shelter. There was nothing Ezekiel needed when he was given such a wonderful area. All he wanted was for Emry to return his feelings, as if such a thing was possible. She’d laugh at the idea of being his actual lover. This infatuation with her needed to cease to exist. He couldn’t handle it and he knew he was going to do something stupid that would wind up with both of them hurt. He huffed.

“If you were that hungry, you could have told me. I would have whipped up something for you,” Emry said with a smile.

“It’s not that,” Ezekiel said.

“Then what?” Her brows furrowed.

“Nothing. Just focus on dinner.” Ezekiel looked at the tree in the centre. It wasn’t like the other trees in the forest. It was dead, but it had the rune from the book on it. So maybe it did mean something? The journey here seemed like an awful lot of work just to wind up at a dead tree that shielded them from the outside forces of nature. Which wasn’t terrible, considering there was a monsoon outside of its protection. He would very much rather be warm and safe, than cold and wet.

“Dinner is done. What piece do you?” Emry sliced off one of the back legs of the rabbit for her.

“I’ll have the other back leg.” Ezekiel watched as she cut it off in one smooth motion. She held it out to him. “Thank you,” he said as he grabbed it. And as always, it was perfect the minute he bit into it. It didn’t take long for him to finish this rabbit’s back leg, because it was a lot smaller than the one they had a few days ago. Which wasn’t a bad thing entirely, it just meant that there was less food out here for the lagomorphs, meaning less of them around to eat for their meals.

“What do you think about the meal?” Emry asked, breaking Ezekiel away from his thoughts.

“It’s good,” he said as he tossed the bones into the fire.

“Just good?”

“Yes.”

“Hmph.” Emry crossed her arms.

“Did I say something to upset you?” Ezekiel cocked his head to the side.

Her lips pursed, and her brows furrowed. “No, you were honest. I was just hoping to hear more of a compliment.”

Ezekiel nodded. He didn’t really understand why she wanted a compliment, just that it clearly meant a lot to her. He might as well please her while they’re travelling together.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

Her cheeks flushed red. “Oh… that’s not the compliment I was expecting, but I’ll take it.” A smile returned to her face. She sliced another piece off the rabbit and proceeded to eat it right away.

Ezekiel looked down at his hands, content with making her flustered. She deserved it after all the times she made him flustered. “Do you like me?” he mumbled under his breath. He set his back pack to his side and laid down. His head rested on the backpack.

“Would you kill me if I did?” Emry asked. She laid down across from him. The light of the flames danced on her skin.

He blinked slowly, processing what she just asked. “Why would I kill you?”

“You’ll find out soon.” She smiled. “Good night, Ezekiel.” With that said, she shut her eyes and drifted off into a peaceful slumber. She snored ever so slightly, but it was a welcome sound. The soft sound meant she was comfortable.

Ezekiel turned onto his back. He looked at the stars in the sky. Each one formed a new constellation, and each one reminded him of the way Emry’s eyes lit up when she was excited. What did she mean by her question? Why would he have to kill her if she did love him? If he was a murderer, wouldn’t he kill her regardless? If she’s afraid of him killing her, why did she travel with him? She didn’t seem the type to be that foolish, but Ezekiel could never tell with humans. Maybe, she wasn’t as perfect as he thought. Or he just likes her insanity. He turned back onto his side and shut his eyes, deciding sleep would be much better than thinking about the odd question.

Sleep did not come for Ezekiel. He stared at the sky for hours. Sometimes, he stared at the ground or the fire, just depended how he was lying and where he was facing. The question Emry asked him shook him. With it on his mind, how could he sleep? He needed the answer to it. Was this her plan? Keep him up all night to make him miss tomorrow night? He groaned.

“This is stupid.” Ezekiel rose to his feet and walked over to the dead tree. It called to him, like a siren singing to a sailor.

Touch me, it felt like it said. Bring me back. He reached out to touch it. His hand shook right as he was about to touch it. While it called to him, it felt wrong to try and touch it. What would happen if he did? What was the risk? He should wait until Emry awoke. She read the book so she would know why it's dead, yet… What if she was hiding information from him? It did seem like something she would do.

He sighed. There was only one way to find out what she could be hiding from him. He placed his hand on the tree.

It glowed a light purple. The neon lines formed the shape of the rune from the book he loved and the one on the map. Lightning formed at the top. The electricity striked the tree, setting it ablaze. The flames that spewed from the tree were also purple like the book.

Fear filled Ezekiel. He tried to pull his hand away from the tree, but it was glued there.

“Emry! Wake up!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Emry jerked awake. Her eyes went wide. “What have you done?”