A hoot of an owl was my only reply.
Striding onward, I grabbed a handful of my nightgown as it stuck to small bushes, heading deeper into the forest.
A chill ran down my spine as I drew closer to the bare piece of land where nothing grew and the aura of death never left.
Bypassing it, I kept going, occasionally stopping to listen.
I didn’t know how long I walked, searching for a man I didn’t truly understand, padding beneath moonlight instead of being safely tucked up in bed.
A deer bounded out of the thicket as I switched my walk for a jog again, bracing myself against the rough ground.
“Kas, please!” I kept running, slipping out the trees and back into the long grass lining the river.
The blueness of its water seemed silver-black, glossy in deep areas, and white frothed in the shallows. I strained my eyes along the bank, searching for him.
Would he come out here to think?
Was this a spot where he could find peace after a decade of living in that mansion?
Nothing.
Goosebumps sprang over my arms, raising the tiny hairs at the back of my neck as I kept going, tracking deeper into the valley than I had since arriving.
The cave loomed up ahead.
The same one I’d longed to explore.
Would he have gone in there?
Where did it lead?
A stitch flared in my side as I switched my jog for a run. I gritted my teeth as my poor feet gave in to cuts and bruises, wincing as pebbles replaced earth debris as I drew closer to the gaping maw of the cave.
It was so much bigger up close. Imposing and dank, an eerie, musty breeze coming from within.
I halted as I rubbed my arms, another chill running through me.
A soft sound echoed deep within the cave’s belly.
A footstep. A small rock rolling from being displaced.
My heart leaped.
“Kas?” Inching forward, I narrowed my eyes, trying to see into the pitch black. The flutter of bats sounded overhead as I traded valley for stone.
The noise came again, drawing me deeper.
I looked over my shoulder, back to the river, back to the moonlight.
I should really go back to the house. I needed shoes and illumination.
I needed to be smart about this. If Kas had gone this way, I couldn’t hope to follow him in my current state.
But if I left now, would I ever find him again?
Perhaps, he’d chosen not to evict me but to evict himself? To just bolt into the National Park that’d swallowed him whole for so many years and let it finally have him.
Tears pricked my eyes as I spun back to face the cave’s darkness.
I didn’t have a choice.
I had to—
A boot thudded against stone.
Another footstep, heavy and slow.
I opened my mouth to shout. My legs bunched to run. It was him. It had to be.
But...
Kas wasn’t wearing boots.
I froze, my breath coming in short pants as the footsteps drew closer.
I backed up.
No.
Who?
Friend or foe?
Licking my lips, I kept moving back into the moonlight, never taking my eyes off the darkness of the yawning cave.
The boots crunched on gravel, sending panic flooding my system.
Instincts prickled with fear. Whispers commanded I run.
But what if this was someone to rescue me? What if my PLB had finally chosen to work? But if it had...why had only one person arrived? Why did they slink through the cave at witching hours, suspiciously quiet and cloaked in surprise?
Why does my entire body hum with dread?
My feet touched grass.
My legs itched to turn and run.
But there...in the entrance of a stone church, earth-made and time-carved, appeared a shape. A nameless figure who stopped short, a sharp inhale revealing he’d seen me.
Everything inside me locked down.
The moment stretched as our eyes met, tangling through the gloom of night.
The man stood unnervingly still.
Tall and strong, layered in a heavy jacket with his hands looped in the straps of a large rucksack on his back. Dark hair, powerful physique, an aura of absolute anarchy around him.
I swallowed.
I swayed to run.
He cocked his head and stepped closer, revealing a stunningly savage face. A jaw that could cut granite. A scar down one cheek. And bi-colored eyes that glittered in the moonlight.
One blue.
One brown.
Both pinned on me with sick, piercing interest.
The valley seemed to tense around me. Silence fell as if all the oxygen had vanished, suffocating every leaf, creature, and soul.
I gulped and backed up slowly.
His jacket rustled as he inhaled, his eyes drifting over my nightgown, hoodie, and bare feet. For a second, it looked as if he’d let me go. As if finding a half-dressed woman in the dead of night wasn’t interesting enough to make him care.
But then his attention locked onto the short chain wrapped around my ankle and he made a sound under his breath. A sound of curiosity layered with threats.
Goosebumps darted over my skin.