Read Online Red and Her Wolf by Marie Hall - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Marie Hall
Tags: Romance, Paranormal
Ads: Link
wind telling its secrets on the gentle breeze. Cicadas hummed, the bejeweled sky glinted so bright as to seem a sort of twilight.
Ewan hefted Violet higher in his arms, cradling her limp head against the firm beat of his heart, willing her to open her eyes. They hadn’t yet crossed the threshold into Kingdom, his heart thumped hard at the thought of finally getting to introduce himself ; know her, have her know him. Cursing his clumsy human form, he scented the impossible stretch of dun colored sand dunes, trying in vain to detect friend from foe. He’d committed Miriam’s map to heart, surprised at the many stops they were to make before reaching Malvena’s keep, he’d had no flint to burn the scroll with, so he’d dropped it somewhere within the channel of light that’d transported them here.
Twin planets, glowing a hazy bluish-lavender, filled half the sky. Kingdom was massive, beyond imagining. Ewan had never left the comfort and safety of the western borders; this was eastern lands, Jinni’s territory. He could have used the ghost now, though Jinni would likely have thought Miriam crazy for bringing them here.
In the distance, beyond rolling hills, lights flickered and danced. That was the first of many stops for them. Gathering his courage close and Violet closer, he kissed her cold brow and stepped beyond the threshold.
Pulse rushing through his ears, drowning out all other noise, he watched and waited for the first flickering of the spell to dissolve. The breeze caught a streamer of blond hair, wrapping it like a coil around his wrist. He wasn’t sure how much time passed as he waited; a buzzing noise forced him to glance up. The green iridescent body of a large scarab beetle sailed past his periphery.
There was no time to waste, outside, they were exposed, his feet took them where his mind dreaded to go. Sand caught between his toes, rubbing them raw the farther he walked. The lights that’d seemed so close before, mocked him, seeming to move further and further away the more he walked. One hour slipped by, then one more. Soon, he’d lost track of time completely.
In a trance like state of shuffle, step, shuffle. Sweat and sand irritated his skin, made him growl and burn from the constant friction. But he couldn’t stop; they had to get to safety.
The planets cast long shadows, almost obscuring the moon’s glow. T’was hard to know precisely how much time had passed, but his muscles ached. This would be so much easier in wolf form. This land was nothing but an endless sea of sand. Why hadn’t the fairy dropped them off within the village?
Eventually, even his thoughts ceased, caught up in just getting there.
Biceps and thighs trembling, he climbed the long hills. Up and down, down and up, one after another, landscape never shifting or offering surcease. A brutal test of his endurance, alone he could climb hill after hill, but holding onto dead weight while doing it in his weaker human form, coated him in a thick sheen of sweat. Hair clung to the back of his neck, wet and uncomfortable.
The abrasive sand rubbed his feet raw, a suspicious wetness gathered on his heels.
“Red,” he whispered, lungs heaving for relief from the humid night, “wake, my love. We’re in Kingdom.”
She did not respond, but he would not lose hope, because now her lips no longer resembled a permafrost blue, but the rosy pink of health. The spell had begun to lift.
“Ye are so lovely, Vi ,” he inhaled, “and I ken ye have nay knowledge of me, but I promise ye this… none will ever hurt ye again.”
Preserving the remnants of his energy, he stopped talking or thinking about anything other than the beckoning flames. Ewan urged his shaking legs to top the crest of yet another hill and this time, the lights were there. Not twenty yards ahead. The village moved with life, people moved in and out of houses shambling around in random
Ewan hefted Violet higher in his arms, cradling her limp head against the firm beat of his heart, willing her to open her eyes. They hadn’t yet crossed the threshold into Kingdom, his heart thumped hard at the thought of finally getting to introduce himself ; know her, have her know him. Cursing his clumsy human form, he scented the impossible stretch of dun colored sand dunes, trying in vain to detect friend from foe. He’d committed Miriam’s map to heart, surprised at the many stops they were to make before reaching Malvena’s keep, he’d had no flint to burn the scroll with, so he’d dropped it somewhere within the channel of light that’d transported them here.
Twin planets, glowing a hazy bluish-lavender, filled half the sky. Kingdom was massive, beyond imagining. Ewan had never left the comfort and safety of the western borders; this was eastern lands, Jinni’s territory. He could have used the ghost now, though Jinni would likely have thought Miriam crazy for bringing them here.
In the distance, beyond rolling hills, lights flickered and danced. That was the first of many stops for them. Gathering his courage close and Violet closer, he kissed her cold brow and stepped beyond the threshold.
Pulse rushing through his ears, drowning out all other noise, he watched and waited for the first flickering of the spell to dissolve. The breeze caught a streamer of blond hair, wrapping it like a coil around his wrist. He wasn’t sure how much time passed as he waited; a buzzing noise forced him to glance up. The green iridescent body of a large scarab beetle sailed past his periphery.
There was no time to waste, outside, they were exposed, his feet took them where his mind dreaded to go. Sand caught between his toes, rubbing them raw the farther he walked. The lights that’d seemed so close before, mocked him, seeming to move further and further away the more he walked. One hour slipped by, then one more. Soon, he’d lost track of time completely.
In a trance like state of shuffle, step, shuffle. Sweat and sand irritated his skin, made him growl and burn from the constant friction. But he couldn’t stop; they had to get to safety.
The planets cast long shadows, almost obscuring the moon’s glow. T’was hard to know precisely how much time had passed, but his muscles ached. This would be so much easier in wolf form. This land was nothing but an endless sea of sand. Why hadn’t the fairy dropped them off within the village?
Eventually, even his thoughts ceased, caught up in just getting there.
Biceps and thighs trembling, he climbed the long hills. Up and down, down and up, one after another, landscape never shifting or offering surcease. A brutal test of his endurance, alone he could climb hill after hill, but holding onto dead weight while doing it in his weaker human form, coated him in a thick sheen of sweat. Hair clung to the back of his neck, wet and uncomfortable.
The abrasive sand rubbed his feet raw, a suspicious wetness gathered on his heels.
“Red,” he whispered, lungs heaving for relief from the humid night, “wake, my love. We’re in Kingdom.”
She did not respond, but he would not lose hope, because now her lips no longer resembled a permafrost blue, but the rosy pink of health. The spell had begun to lift.
“Ye are so lovely, Vi ,” he inhaled, “and I ken ye have nay knowledge of me, but I promise ye this… none will ever hurt ye again.”
Preserving the remnants of his energy, he stopped talking or thinking about anything other than the beckoning flames. Ewan urged his shaking legs to top the crest of yet another hill and this time, the lights were there. Not twenty yards ahead. The village moved with life, people moved in and out of houses shambling around in random
Similar Books
