Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,98

to get out. Amber, how did you get here? We only saw Nell’s car in the parking lot.”

She was attempting to keep her focus, but it was getting more difficult. “I—she told me not to park there—she said to leave my car alongside the woods, in a pull-off, and then I walked into the clearing from there.”

“Okay, you’ll come back to the parking lot with us, then we’ll drive out to your car and Tasmyn can take you home. Let’s go—can you walk it?”

Amber nodded, and Michael reached out to take my hand, leading us through the trees, onto the trail.

As we drove into the darkness, Amber began to shiver. Her dress was sleeveless, but the air in the backseat of the car wasn’t that cold. I found a blanket Michael kept on the floor and wrapped it around Amber, rubbing her arms in what I hoped was a soothing way. Her thoughts were running in quick sporadic bursts, followed by long, frightening blanks.

I leaned forward. “Michael, do you think we should take her to the hospital? What if she’s going into shock?”

“N-no,” Amber protested. “I just want to go home. If I have to explain to my parents—no. Please just take me home.”

Michael met my eyes in the mirror. “We could go out to the nursery, try to get her settled down. It’s still early enough, believe it or not. The dance won’t be ending for over an hour. What time were you supposed to be home, Amber?”

She shook harder. “Not-not tonight. I was supposed to spend the night at Nell’s. She said-she said we would have a slumber party.” Of course. That would have bought her some more time, hours during which no one would miss Amber. I shivered at how close she had come to succeeding.

“Do you want to go out to Michael’s house, Amber?” I asked her softly. “I promise you, it’s a safe place, and Michael’s parents won’t say anything to anyone. They’ll just help us take care of you. We can all settle down a little bit.”

She hesitated, and I knew she was overwhelmed. Twenty-four hours before, Michael and I were her enemies—or so she thought. Now she was clinging to us for dear life.

“Okay,” she finally answered. “But you’ll take me home afterward?”

“Definitely,” Michael affirmed.

We found Amber’s car where she had left it, and I got into the driver’s seat, bundling Amber into the seat next to me, still wrapped in the blanket. We followed Michael through the dark roads until I saw the familiar nursery sign.

The red taillights led me through the deserted nursery back to the cabin. Amber looked around as we climbed out of the car. She shot me a look of terror, and it struck me that coming back into the woods might not have been such a great idea for Amber. I patted her shoulder comfortingly.

“It’s really okay. Look, there’s Marly and Luke at the door.”

It was impossible to be with the Sawyers and feel ill at ease. Marly took over instantly, pulling Amber into the warm living room and putting a mug of hot tea into her hands. The lights were low, and a fire in the corner fireplace gave off a comforting glow.

I culled from Marly’s thoughts that when we had stopped at Amber’s car, Michael had called ahead to warn his parents that we were coming. Nobody brought up anything beyond the ordinary during the first half hour; Marly guided the conversation deftly, asking us about the dance, the decorations and fussing over both my dress and Amber’s.

“You girls are beautiful,” she smiled. “What a treat to be able to see you all dressed up after all. I thought I would have to wait for pictures.”

Michael shook his head with a smile. “That’s my mom, always looking for the bright side.”

We were quiet for a time, watching the dancing flames and each keeping our own counsel. My mind was exhausted, but I still picked up the occasional thought floating about. Michael was thinking very specifically, so that I knew he was actually speaking to me in his head.

I didn’t tell my parents any more than what they needed to know. I told them Nell had caused trouble, Amber needed to get some place safe to recover and that we were all pretty shaken up. What we choose to tell them now is entirely up to you.

I caught his eye and nodded to indicate I’d heard him and understood. Marly and Luke were controlling their curiosity,