I chuckled, the sound dry but real. “Fine. I’ll lead.”
With blood on my hands and her fire at my back, we walked into the dark like it was ours to claim.
Chapter 9
Meera
The deeper we went into Evorsus, the less creepy it became.
Suspiciously so.
We stopped at the tree line, where the thread dipped into a hollow carved out within the forest. An entire village nestled in a natural landscape, like some hidden grove untouched by time or horror.
It was adorable. That was the problem.
Pastel domes rose like confections, their glassy surfaces veined with gold. Glowing vines curled over them like ribbons on a gift. Lanterns bobbed above cobbled paths, casting soft, pulsing light that hummed at the edge of hearing.
It was so out of place in this realm, and I didn’t trust it for a second.
“This feels like a trap,” I muttered, crouching behind a twisted tree trunk.
“It is,” Vareck said, eyes sweeping the scene. “They just want you to think it isn’t.”
Then there were the creatures.
Round and soft, maybe three feet tall, with oversized eyes that shimmered like sapphires, and fur in pastel hues. Theirears were huge, perky like a desert fox, and they chirped as they moved with the frantic glee of toddlers after birthday cake.
“Have you ever come across them before?” He shook his head. “Compared to the Nameless, this entire place is like a bedtime story.”
Vareck’s voice dropped to a harsh whisper. “Which means we’re in the kind of nightmare that waits until the lights go out.”
“Probably,” I agreed, “but it’s Evorsus. When do the lights go out?”
“We shouldn’t stick around to find out.”
Except the golden thread led into that village. Sadie’s thread.
One of the creatures toddled past us, dragging a basket of glittering fruit. Another floated overhead on a petal-shaped glider, waving at a neighbor carving a flute from a mushroom stalk.
Everything about the village screamed too cute, too perfect. My nerves were shot just being close to it.
I looked at the thread. It shimmered like it knew I was stalling, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. “That’s Sadie’s thread,” I said quietly. “I don’t care how cute they are. I’m going in.”
“You’re not going alone,” Vareck said without hesitation.
“I wasn’t asking permission.”
His jaw flexed. “We do this together, or not at all.”
I stared at him. This wasn’t ego. It was armor. His way of protecting me.
“Fine,” I said. “Together.”
He nodded once, and we moved, quietly and carefully, toward the village that looked like a dream, but there was no hiding the sinister undertones that permeated the air.
The moment we crossed the invisible threshold, the atmosphere changed. It turned warm and sugary, almost intoxicating. Faint hints of fruit and flowers, spun sugar andsummer wind danced at the edge of my memories. The pastel creatures didn’t spare us a glance. Either they didn’t care, or we’d just stepped into the softest trap ever laid.
We stayed in the shadows, weaving between curved walls and glittering plants. I ducked behind a citrusy bush that smelled like pineapple and oranges fused together and waited, holding my breath, as another fuzzy local bounced past.
