She had been reduced to a crying, whimpering mess until Silvas had been so filled with concern and his own need that he stopped and roughly took her over a felled tree, rutting into her upright so that he could watch their surroundings. If she couldn’t make it through two days without practically crawling out of her own skin, how would she survive any distance at all from him?
That was a sobering thought.
As much as she was afraid of the forest, she was almost more afraid of suffering days on end without comfort or release.
And the forest terrified her. It was as if something within the forest was watching and waiting while everything quietly died around it. It was not unlike what she had felt when she had come across the destroyed jeep, yet now the entire forest felt that way. The deeper they went, the darker and more oppressive it felt. Her skin prickled as she leaned lower against Silvas, relieved by his nearness.
Silvas rumbled comfortingly at her, his pace slowing so she could lay more easily against him. Diana looped her around his neck, her cheek nestled against the thick scruff of fur. She tried to ignore the gray light of the forest around her, focusing on the pulse of the power running through his body, and the hum of his presence through their bond. Dark, twisted branches reached toward her out of the gloom, and a peculiar haze seemed to cling to the forest. With the silence, it made the trees appear as deathly sentinels looming over a killing field. Diana scrunched her eyes closed, her heart pounding. She just needed to make it the short distance remaining until they arrived at the palace.
A loud crack broke through the silence, and Diana’s eyes snapped open just in time to watch the mist suddenly whirl as if pushed by a large hand. Another crack sounded, and then another, the brush rippling and stirring as if being plowed through. Up ahead a tree wavered as if something heavy landed on it and the branches began to shake before going still. Her hands clutched nervously in Silvas’s fur, her eyes were fixed on the tree as they neared, its one limb extending over the path ominously. Her fingers tightened as her head pounded the closer they got, the branch swaying slightly with the shift of wind.
Suddenly it shook and bowed sharply as the weight of a hideous, gaunt creature landed upon it. Marbled in hues of green and brown, the creature’s muddy appearance made it all the more grotesque when paired with the elongated, narrow features of its face and the thin, claw-tipped fingers that gripped the branch as it leaned forward, balanced by a long, outstretched tail. Much of its body was covered in pieced together clothes, the most noticeable of which was a red conical cap out from which poked its long, tapered ears. Its dark, beady eyes peered down at them as a wide smile pulled at its lips, revealing a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Diana’s breath stuttered at the terrible smile.
Diana jerked back, a scream welling in her throat as the thing pounced. Silvas growled, his pace faltering, but it did little to save her as the thing barreled into her body. A scream broke from her throat as the creature’s weight sent her flying from the saddle. Silvas had slowed enough, however, that the impact was bruising at worst. The breath left her lungs in a strangled cry of pain. She could feel its claws digging into her as it scrabbled over her.
She attempted to knock it aside, its terrible teeth flashing far too close to her face as it crawled across her. She cried out, tears streaking down her face, certain that any minute its teeth would lay into her skin and peel away her flesh. A metallic sound of impact greeted her ears, followed by a familiar angry snarl. Her tears turned to sobs of relief as the creature was suddenly pulled away with a snap of strength. It squawked in surprise. Standing over her, Silvas, naked except for the sword strapped across his chest, held the creature high in the air with one hand, his face creased with anger as he gave it a shake.
“You frightened my uxorem, goblin,” he snarled.
“Sorry, lucomo,” it squeaked in a high, grating voice. “I was excited. I did not mean to scare her.”
The words penetrated the terror fogging her brain, and Diana sat up and looked