sword. One of his hands slid up to cup the back of my neck while the other tightened at my hip.
“Be careful,” Wolf said, his voice low and serious.
I snapped back to attention. “What?”
“I don’t want you starting something you can’t finish.”
I let out a nervous laugh and pulled away from him to get to my feet. “Then I guess we better get moving.” I picked up my daypack and dusted it off with more effort than necessary.
We trekked along the path as it gently flowed up, down, and around the forest hills and vales. When the road forked, Wolf would pause for just a moment before picking the right path, following Marianne’s scent to wherever the creature had taken her. Wolf had said it was magic, something that wolves didn’t play with. That didn’t make me feel any better.
I touched the wings at my neck. We might have to fight again. Battle that thing in order to free Marianne. Would this turn into a huge ordeal? Would we have to fight more than just one magic entity? How could we fight magic with magic? I’d killed before, would I be able to do it again? And what about when I went home? How would everyone like that? Knowing I’d killed somebody? I bet that would catch their attention.
My fingers stroked the glossy wings. I stared at the back of Wolf’s head. What if I died? Wolf couldn’t save me all the time. Would anyone notice I’d died? Could I even believe what Wolf said about magic and wolves? How did I know that wasn’t a lie? My Wolf, a good-looking, upstanding liar?
“Why should I trust you?”
Several feet ahead, Wolf stopped and turned slowly.
“What?”
“I said why should I trust you?”
His expression didn’t change. “I gave you the most solemn promise a wolf can give.”
“How am I supposed to know that? I know nothing about this place, and I’ve been just going on your word the entire time. I probably should have listened to Marianne, but I thought she was delusional.”
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Caroline…”
“No.” I backed up a few steps. “You stay away from me. You’re working for someone and you won’t say who. You were after Marianne and more than once by what she told me.” I kept touching the wings on the necklace. My skin tingled beneath them and the same tingle began to grow on my back. “You said you were impounded for eating sheep—how am I supposed to know that’s all you did? Running around with a knife, and you point it in my face and then claim that you love me? Do you know how twisted all of that is?”
He moved forward, his head cocked. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me?” I yelled. “How do I know you won’t go back on your word? How do I know you won’t take her when we find her? How do I know that you won’t run off and leave me alone? You’ll just abandon me here in this forest and leave me to fend for myself?”
The tingling grew stronger now. I kept my fingers on the wings. I didn’t need his help. He was only half-wolf, which meant he was half-human too. I could do this on my own. No one even knew I was gone in my world. Eventually they might look, and if I died here, they would go on looking forever.
“What do you have in your eyes?” he asked, ignoring me like everyone else.
I could do this. I could do something great, or I would die trying. Wasn’t that how everyone wanted to die? Bravely? Doing something special, amazing, so that all the world, or at least a great many people knew their name?
Wolf gasped. “That old witch! What did she do to you? What did she do?”
I closed my eyes. Just go away. Leave me alone. Let me do this on my own.
Suddenly I flew up, great white wings pumping at my back, the forest falling away under me.
“Caroline, come back! This is that witch’s doing!”
The forest drew small, a mess of green far below. The clouds flew past as I went up and up and up, my wings strong, the air currents flowing under the feathers. I dipped down and sailed west toward the sea, a tiny curve of blue in the distance. I could find Marianne like this. Soar over the forest path until I reached the ocean. I could find her, rescue her, and carry her off to