professions of dignity. With as much medical experience I have from helping my mother, our government would be stupid to place me anywhere outside the medical field, but I won’t find respectable work without a complete education.
Like choking on glass, I swallow down the tense thought of my future and continue searching the area for some form of food.
A long tangle of thorn bushes catch my eye. The endless vines wrap and wrap like a deadly trap set my nature. It encompasses a large portion of the outer section of the forest.
My exit. Perfect.
On slow steps, leaves crunching beneath my boots, I wander toward the twisting thin death trap. When I’m close enough, color dots everywhere between the thorns. The thing is littered with red and black berries. There are so many my heart leaps at the sight of them.
Sadly, I still don’t know if they are edible. Our camp only had berries in our breakfast during special occasions, and I can’t recall if these are the same berries. Clearly, I should have listened to Ms. Hollis more often. Or at least showed up on time…
Maybe.
I shake my head and begin picking handfuls of the berries and depositing them into my bag along with the two mushrooms. I pick and pick until the vines are bare. An accomplishing feeling warms my chest even though my satchel is only half full. Within the heart of the threatening thorns are a few more berries. The last remaining ones.
Carefully I reach my arm in, but I can’t grasp them. I lean in a little closer to the dry leaves and my fingers brush one of the three berries. Releasing a long breath, I push even farther against the sharp vines and yank the large berry free. A yelp escapes my lips as I pull away and a thorn scratches against my neck.
I chuck the traitorous berry into my satchel and touch my flesh just below my jaw. A small amount of blood coats my fingers. The cut burns against my sweaty skin.
I turn away with my fingers still on my neck and let out a small screech when I run face first into Asher’s chest. He smiles down at me as I try to calm my breathing. His smile is a cutting thing that’s both charming and devious at the same time.
How does he do that?
“You really shouldn’t wander the woods alone,” he says in a smooth voice, reminding me of the big bad wolf. He takes a glance around us. “There could be worse things out here than me.” The hill he came down is towering, and I wonder how it’s possible I didn’t hear him.
He leans against a nearby tree, and I watch as he wipes his hands on a dirty rag. The rag stains red from his palms. He doesn’t look up at me, but focuses on his hands. His brows tense, a thin line forming there.
I can’t help but watch him. I try to pretend to look around for other food sources, but my eyes stray back to him. The birds above have stopped chirping and fluff their wings in a fidgeting way. I wonder what else could be in the woods. Clearly, the wildlife sees Asher as the biggest predator. Should I see Asher as more dangerous than he appears? He hasn’t given me a reason to fear him, the opposite really.
“Do hybrids drink blood?” I ask bluntly, unable to stop myself.
He laughs loudly, his eyes studying my face, trying to decide whether I’m joking. When he realizes how serious I am, his face becomes instantly somber.
“Don’t you think this is a question you should have considered a long time ago?” he asks in an almost offended tone.
My face flames red, and I look away from him again, unable to form an appropriate response. Yes, I definitely should have thought of this earlier but he’s so … kind and easy to trust. It honestly hadn’t crossed my mind much.
“No, there’s no blood lust for hybrids. Sorry to ruin the image your society has created of me.”
“I didn’t mean to … I just … I spend every day with you and I consider you my friend. But I don’t really even know what you’re capable of.”
He nods, I watch his every move, trying to find our footing again in our strange new friendship. His brows are pinched in thought. He doesn’t seem angry with me, but something is definitely on his mind, something he doesn’t seem willing to share