Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
When Harlow and I finally dragged ourselves off the couch, I escorted her straight home. Standing outside the front door of the caretaker’s former residence that she now called her own, I pulled her face to mine. My lips reminded her of the bond we shared, of my allegiance to her.
Each flick of our tongues mingling made separation infinitely more difficult. Fuck, I just wanted to kiss away the shroud that was slowly descending over us. The hunt would be here sooner than any of us wanted.
When the time came, Bale and I would lose ourselves to the curse as the night progressed. Part of me wanted to believe that we could anchor ourselves to Harlow through our feelings for her. The other part of me knew better than to think that sentiment would halt the curse from taking hold.
Finally separating, I drew her in tightly against my chest. Let her hear my heart, let her remember it, and let the rhythm be etched into the depths of her soul.
Resting my chin on top of her head, I let her stand there with me for as long as she needed.
This wasn’t about me, not truly anyway. If she didn’t walk out of that corn maze tonight, it would be devastating for both Bale and me.
That was never the concern. It was the fact that the world would be dull shades of grey without Harlow’s emeralds lighting it up in shades of green.
“Corbin?” Harlow quietly spoke without pulling her head away from my chest.
My arms tightened around her slender frame, reassuring either one or both of us.
“Yeah, baby girl?” I murmured against the part in her jet-black hair.
There was a moment of hesitation before she eventually revealed what specifically was weighing heavily on her mind.
“Will it be quick?”
Everything in me went stiff—except my dick for once.
My hands took hold of her shoulders, drawing her away from me just enough to look down at the face that was looking exceptionally vulnerable under the grim question.
“Will what be quick?” I shouldn’t have asked; my gut already knew what the true meaning of her question was.
Harlow’s eyes shone with unshed moisture as she stared up at me. “If I don’t make it out of the maze…”
Fuck. Bile rose high in my throat, every nerve on edge, causing a trembling in my normally steady hands.
I shook my head. “You’re going to make it out,” I stated as if there were no other outcome. It was fact. We’d get her out alive, even if it killed us both.
My inner crow cawed a sound that suspiciously sounded like, ‘liar.’
She smiled at my attempted reassurance, but the way it never reached her eyes told me that maybe she had heard my crow’s call, too.
Pressing my forehead to hers, I lightly kissed her quivering lips with reverence. Delicate contact with a gentleness that spoke to my all-consuming feelings for her.
“Try to go inside and relax. Take a long bath, read a book, and for the love of the gods, eat something. Won’t have you stopping in the middle of the corn maze looking for an ear of corn to snack on.” The attempted levity fell flat.
Her fingers reached up and pushed a misplaced strand of my black hair behind my ear.
“I’ll do my best as long as you promise to do the same,” she said with a sweet little smile. This one sat a little more solidly in my heart.
“Anything for you, Harlow.”
My fist crashed into the sloppy brickwork of the exterior of Bale’s and my cottage. Knuckles split open, blood poured over my fingers until it stained my hands crimson.
The pain jarring up my arm with each strike kept me grounded. It reminded me that losing Harlow would be far more excruciating.
I growled as I continued to self-destruct in the face of possibly losing everything that I ever gave a damn about.
“Fuck the Council.” Another hit.
“Fuck Falston.” Another punch.
“Fuck this curse.” Two more attacks on the unyielding masonry.
Each word uttered came out rougher than sandpaper and ragged under the burning in my lungs, leaving me breathing raggedly.
Bale’s sudden presence behind me was revealed when he spoke with dry amusement. “Don’t forget, ‘fuck the witch.’”
Whirling around, I stared at him with my amber eyes that I knew probably looked wild with violence and more feral than a starved falcon.
“Yeah, fuck her, too,” I added with a little less conviction than my previous declarations.
We both stood there staring at each other, no words spoken. None were needed. The stakes on this year’s corn maze hunt were the highest we’d ever faced.
Cautiously approaching me, Bale pulled something out of his pocket. “She’s here in town.” He held up the singed piece of parchment between his two fingers in front of my eyes.
Despite the warmth of my blood on my hands, inside, ice flooded my veins.
Carefully returning the scrap of paper to his pocket with care, he continued, “Found signs of her in the basement of the library. Cold wax, soot, sigil markings.” He paused. “Blood.”
That final word sent blood roaring through my ears and painted my vision red. If I could have put my fist through the brick wall, I would have. The only thing holding me back was the more pressing concern for Harlow’s well-being.
Forcing myself to breathe through the barely restrained violence raging beneath the surface of my skin, it took more strength than the powers-to-be to slowly unfurl my clenched fists.
“What. Is. She. Doing. Here?” I bit out every syllable of every word past my teeth.
That witch was the reason the original Town Council had come into power. That witch was the reason why Bale and I were damned to this existence. That fucking witch was the reason for so many lives perishing.
On the surface, Bale appeared calm, but it was the vein in the side of his neck that had popped out telling me he was as enraged as I was.
“Don’t know. The only time she shows her face is to refresh the magic over the Council as new members come in.” His eyes met mine. “It just so happened I overheard the Council discussing adding a new member on my way to the library.”
“Did they say who?”
“Given their taking to Harlow’s dad, I’d say it’s likely him.”
I paused, mulling over the consequences of Wade Lenoir joining the group of people we hated most.
“That’s a good thing. If they get him inducted quickly, then Harlow is safe. She’ll be protected under the magic as his daughter. Let’s go! We can still rush this along before the hunt starts.” Eager excitement in my voice.
I was already hastily wrapping my hand with a black bandana Bale had left outside several days ago so we could get this damn show on the road. Fuck how clean the bandana wasn’t, if the curse hadn’t killed me yet, infection was the least of my worries.
Bale’s hand shot out and grabbed my bicep. “Corbin, no. They want to hold out. Besides, what good would it do? We’d just have another body to bury this year and the year after. Yes, Harlow would be safe, but the curse would remain in place.”
Glaring at him, I jerked my arm out of his grasp. “So, we just gamble with her life and hope that she makes it out?”
A frustrated sigh escaped him. “I don’t like it either, Corb. In fact, I hate it, but we have a shot to end this once and for all. I’m fucking tired of it, I’m ready to see that bonfire get lit up. Aren’t you?”
Gods knew I wanted to see the flames grace the night sky, for us to be freed from this hell.
I ran my hand over my mouth, the morning stubble still present.
“You know I am. I don’t know, I just…” What was there to say? I just wanted to be selfish? I didn’t want to lose the only woman who was worth being my mate?
There were so many feelings overwhelming me that I was left wanting to say everything and nothing.
“I get it,” Bale said softly, a rare hint of emotion coming through his words.
Walking over to an aged bushel basket that had been left overturned, I took a seat on it. Elbows rested on my knees as the sun began to dull its shine across Falston. Dusk would be here before we knew it.
“So what do we do now?” I asked, feeling the first whispers of uncertainty. “About the witch, the Council, the hunt?”
My brows knit together, hopeful that Bale had answers even though we both knew he didn’t.
His offered solution was anything but groundbreaking. “Survive the hunt, deal with the fallout of everything else after.”
I nodded, lacing my fingers together and pressing my thumbs to my forehead. Shutting my eyes, I exhaled a prayer.
Murder was going to be key tonight. The real question was just in which context?
We’d find out.
The chase would start in an hour, which gave us enough time to try and center ourselves one last time.
“Remember what we told you, baby girl,” I said to Harlow while cupping her face in my palms. “Don’t trust what you see inside the maze.”
Bale nodded in agreement, adding, “The corn will tell lies, the soil will betray you, and the moon will expose you.”
Harlow’s nerves were on display with the way her rich forest pools kept darting between Bale and me.
“Right. Don’t trust my eyes. Beware of treacherous corn,” she recapped before forcing a deep breath.
Furrowing her brows, she clutched onto the front of my shirt. “What about the two of you?”
“The second you set foot inside that maze, time starts ticking,” I warned Harlow as my hands settled on top of her shoulders.
I shared a quick look with Bale before he hopped down from the split rail fence that bordered the land that once belonged to my family.
His index finger pointed up at the moon, already taking its position in the sky even though the sunlight hadn’t faded completely.
“Once the moon takes up its highest point in the sky, you move those little paws as fast and far as you can.”
She nodded, hanging onto every word we said like gospel.
My hand smoothed back a loose strand of hair towards the messy bun set high on her head. “Good girl,” I quietly praised her willingness to trust what we were telling her.
Harlow bounced on the balls of her feet; the restlessness definitely gnawed at her.
“Let’s go over the plan one more time,” she suggested.
Bale gave a slight roll of his eyes, having the least amount of patience between us both.
Ignoring him, I focused solely on our little black kitty. “You’ll go to the courtyard. They’ll remind you of the rules, all of which are complete horseshit. Then, they’ll find this pathetic excuse for a bell to signal the start of the chase.”
“From there, I keep moving no matter what. Don’t double back. Don’t trust anything.” She repeated the details we had already discussed.
“Don’t trust anyone either,” Bale added. “Even us.”
I wanted to criticize him for being brutally blunt, but he wasn’t wrong. Neither of us could be trusted the later the night marched on. Instead, I offered what little reassurance I could in the form of what she could expect.
“Bale and I will try to steer clear early on, give you as much time to get as far as possible within the maze. Eventually, we will cross your path. That part will be inevitable.” My thumb brushed over the back of her hand I was now holding.
“The moonlust makes things… enjoyable early on in the hunt,” Bale explained. “It’s after that satisfaction has been met that the need for something darker begins to eat away at what little control we have left.”
Harlow ran her tongue over her bottom lip before lightly dragging her teeth over the plump flesh.
“So get fucked without getting fucked.” Her attempt at gallows humor was admirable.
A slight grin pulled at my mouth as I leaned in to steal a small kiss from her. “Basically.”
“You should probably get going,” Bale noted with an exaggerated tap to a watch on his wrist.
Despite time marching forward, none of us made an effort to head towards the town’s center. However, in a surprising move, Bale pulled Harlow in close.
His hands settled on the sides of her neck, thumbs beneath her jaw to tilt her face up to look at him. “You’re ours, and we don’t lay claim to anybody who we don’t plan on keeping forever. So let me feel those claws dig deep tonight. Okay, kitten?”
She smirked almost playfully.
“I’ll keep them sharp enough to cut your hearts out, just so you know who you both belong to.”
That’s our girl.