I knew the Queen was desperately waiting for her potion.
“Um, I really should be heading the other way,” I said.
“Worried that the trolls will catch you stepping off the path? Don’t be. They’re in bed getting their beauty sleep.”
“No, it’s not that, it . . .”
“Low branch!” He pushed aside a tree limb, and we emerged from the forest into the castle’s backyard. Princes and princesses and furries in civilian clothes were dancing in the warm night under the light of tiki torches. Some people were sitting on the fake lily pads dangling their legs in the green-lit water and tossing around a Frisbee. Over in the corner on an oversize red toadstool were Jess and Marcus—making out!
I hoped RJ wasn’t there to see this. Or maybe that was the whole idea.
“Looks pretty decent.” Ian was still holding my hand. “Wanna go in?”
I wiggled my hand free. “I can’t. I have to do an errand for the Queen.”
“Now? It’s gotta be close to midnight.”
“A little after, to be exact.”
He cocked his head. “It won’t be any fun without you there. Who will I tease?”
I was about to shoot back something about the princesses when I lifted my chin and realized he was looking at me in a funny way, more than just his usual joshing self.
Suddenly my senses sizzled, as if a switch had been flicked and everything was in high-def. For the first time this summer, I detected the faintest whiff of briny air from the sea miles away and became aware of how my arms were damp from the falling dew. The fireflies seemed brighter, and Ian’s breathing sounded heavier. I hadn’t realized before how tall he was or that I desperately wanted to touch his hair to feel if it was as soft as it looked or that his brow, so determined, shadowed dark, twinkling eyes.
Please tell me I’m not blushing and, if I am, please tell me he can’t see that in the dark, I thought as heat shot up the back of my neck. The only way to maintain equilibrium was by concentrating on my bare toes.
Ian gave me a gentle nudge. “Don’t be that girl, Zoe. You’re allowed to have a life, too, you know. Nothing the Queen wants at midnight can’t wait until morning.”
Normally I would have agreed. But this was a sleeping potion, and she needed it an hour ago. “I really want to go, Ian. You don’t know how much. But . . .”
He put both his hands on my shoulders and bent his head close to mine, nose to nose. It was the closest we’d ever been.
“Okay, I can see you mean it, so I won’t be offended that you’re blowing me off.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key chain, taking off a small flashlight. “You should have this for the way back. It doesn’t put out a ton of light, but it gets you there.”
I curled my fingers around his gift, grateful. “Thanks.”
“It’s the least I could do. Sure you don’t want me to go with you wherever it is you’re going?”
“To be honest, she’d kill me if she found out I told anyone else.”
“Thought as much.” He hesitated, like he wanted to say something else, but then he backed up toward the castle. “Thanks for the walk. And stay away from the Queen’s trap, Zoe. I’d hate to see you be sent upriver.”
“Would you?”
“You bet.”
Too casual to be meaningful and, yet, the way he lingered suggested that maybe Ian Davidson was beginning to think of me as more than a chicken-loving vegan fool.
I turned and, smiling to myself, ran to find Chef’s house while Ian went to the party. The last thing I heard as I ducked into the woods were the princesses screaming his name.
Twelve
I never should have tried to take Ian’s shortcut. I always get in trouble when I don’t go by the book.
It had seemed so straightforward when he was leading the way—down a gentle hill, left at the rock outcropping, around a pine grove, and voilà! In five minutes I should have been on the path.
But now I had no idea where I was, and with only Ian’s small and—eeep!—flickering penlight for guidance, I was beginning to worry that I had somehow accidentally wandered into the Forbidden Zone. You could tell the difference because the Haunted Forest was manicured and regularly cleared of underbrush.
This place was wild and overgrown. And buggy.
I scratched my ankles until they were raw. The mosquitoes