the heavenly shelter of her arms.
CHAPTER EIGHT—HOLLY
Holly sat bolt upright and blinked into sunbeams streaming across her bed. She jerked to the right, and her hand landed on the mattress. She blinked down at the bare sheets trying to piece together a dozen disjointed details from last night.
She rocketed off the bed and raced out of the room. The first thing she saw was Elise’s bedroom door standing open and deserted. Holly launched down the stairs and bolted into the living room.
Elise looked up from the couch where she was shoving a wad of something into a backpack. Edwina sat next to her, doing something or other. Elise glanced up when Holly burst in. “Good morning.”
Holly stared around her, dazed. “Loch’s gone. He was in my room and then…”
“I know.” Elise straightened up, slung the backpack over her shoulder and faced Holly. “Trevor’s gone, too.”
Holly’s jaw dropped. “No! He can’t be! He can’t…How could he...?”
Elise shrugged. She was acting entirely too calm to be describing her own brother disappearing. “I don’t know if he was hiding the mark or if the Fair Dryad is stepping up her attacks. Maybe she doesn’t have to brand someone before she takes them. I don’t know. I only know we have to do something.” She nodded at Edwina. “Let’s go.”
Edwina stood up. She picked up another backpack and draped it over her shoulder. She looked comic, carrying it like a normal person. The two women moved toward the open doors.
Holly dodged into Elise’s path. “Where are you going? How can you leave at a time like this?”
“We’re going to White Falls,” Elise replied. “Once we get to the pool, I’ll be able to cast that spell to tell if the Dryad is there.”
“Hold on!” Holly cried. “Not so fast.”
“We have to go now,” Elise told her. “We have to find her as soon as possible. We might not be able to get the guys back, but we have to try.”
“Wait a second!” Holly yelled. “I want to come with you. Just…just wait for me. Don’t leave yet…okay?”
Elise raised her eyebrows. “You better hurry up. We don’t want to waste any more time. We don’t even know when they disappeared. It could have been hours ago.”
Holly lunged for the hall closet and snatched another backpack. She grabbed a random jacket and shoved it inside. She tossed in an apple and a banana from the kitchen fruit bowl and almost collided with Keller coming down the stairs.
He pushed her back. “Easy, girl. You’ll hurt someone tearing around like that.”
She wheeled away. “Gotta go. No time to talk.”
He cracked the fridge and scanned the interior. “Where are you going so early in the morning?”
“We’re going to White Falls,” she called over her shoulder. “Trevor and Loch are both gone. See you later.”
He shut the fridge. “I’ll come with you. You can’t go alone.”
“She isn’t going alone,” Elise chimed in. “She’s coming with us.”
“We don’t have time to wait around,” Holly returned. “Gotta go.”
“Who’s waiting around?” He sauntered to the door where the three women stood. “Let’s go.”
Holly scanned him up and down. “You’re going…like that?”
“Like what?” He glanced down at his hands. “I’m dressed, aren’t I? No one will arrest me.”
Elise turned away and stepped onto the deck. “All right. Let’s go.”
They found Johnny’s truck parked in the yard. Elise got behind the wheel, and the other three climbed into the back. Elise put the truck into gear, and the party rumbled out of the driveway.
The wind whipped Holly’s hair back and cooled her fevered brain. She turned her face into it and tried to catch the many scents of the forest passing by. She liked running better, but this would be the best way to accompany Elise and Edwina to White Falls.
Her mind drifted through all the varied events and emotions of the last few days. All the highs and lows of agony and ecstasy jumbled into a confusion too complicated to decipher.
Without thinking, she turned to Keller. “You’ll tell me if you get the mark, won’t you? You won’t just disappear. Right?”
He slipped his arm around her shoulder and hugged her against him. “Sweetie! You know I would never leave you if I had any choice about it. You know that, don’t you?”
She twisted around to lock eyes on him. “Just tell me, okay? Don’t just spring it on me. If you get the mark, tell me right away.”
His eyes took on a curious inner light. “I’ll never leave you. You have my promise on