Hazel's Promise (The Fey Quartet Book 2) by Emily Larkin Read Free Book Online

curve—then veered into the forest, following the narrow cart track to Dapple Vale. Yesterday, Tam had been worried he might miss this track—it was so easily missable, the subtle Faerie magic of Glade Forest hiding it from human view; today it never occurred to him they might miss it. He knew it was there; and there it was, as plain to see as the road to York.
    Tam slowed to a walk, panting. He shook out his right hand. His fingers were beginning to come to life, stinging painfully.
    Hazel swung back to face him. “Don’t stop!” she cried. “There might be more of them!”
    “We’re safe. Can’t you feel it?” Glade Forest surrounded them. The colors were richer, the air more fragrant, and there was a faint tingle in his blood that said home .
    Hazel lifted her head and looked around sharply. He saw the tension ease from her jaw, from her shoulders. She’d sensed it, too.
    Tam touched his cheekbone and found a shallow cut there. “Thank you,” he said. “I think you just saved my life.”
    Hazel turned to look at him. She seemed unharmed. Frightened, yes—her eyes wide, her face starkly pale—but uninjured. “You were magnificent,” Tam told her. And utterly terrifying .
    To his astonishment, Hazel burst into tears.
    “Don’t cry.” Tam crossed to her hastily, put his arms around her, and pulled her close. “It’s over. We’re fine.”
    “I thought they were going to kill you,” Hazel sobbed against his chest.
    So did I.
    Tam tightened his embrace. “Well, they didn’t,” he said firmly. “A few scratches, some bruises . . . that’s all.” Her hood had fallen off. Glossy nut-brown hair tumbled down her back. He stroked it gently, and then cradled the back of her head with one hand. A strange feeling filled his chest: bittersweet tenderness, protectiveness, love.
    Hazel pulled back. “I’m sorry,” she said gruffly, not meeting his eyes. She sniffed, and rubbed her face with her sleeve. “I never cry. It’s just . . . There were three of them, and they were going to kill you.”
    “Well, they failed,” Tam said. “I’m fine.”
    “You’re bleeding.”
    He touched his cheekbone again, and brought his fingertips away bloody. “There’s a creek ten minutes from here. Come on.”
     
----
     
    IT WAS DISCONCERTING to be back at the creek again. Yesterday, he’d been about to bathe here when a stranger had passed by . . . and now here he was, back again, with that same stranger. Except she wasn’t a stranger any more. Was it really only yesterday? It felt as if time had distorted itself, cramming several days’ worth of experiences into only a few hours.
    Hazel washed his face ruthlessly with a scrap of blanket, and then examined the cut. “It doesn’t need sewing up. In fact, I don’t think you’ll even get a black eye.”
    “Good.” Tam flexed his right hand. The fingers no longer tingled. A bruised arm and a cut cheek . . . If those were the only mementos he carried away from the fight, he was astonishingly lucky.
    “Two outlaws yesterday, and three today . . . Is the road normally so dangerous?”
    “No,” Tam said. “There must be a gang of them. Happens from time to time.”
    “Should we tell Dappleward? I know they can’t enter Glade Forest, bu t— ”
    “I will definitely tell Dappleward,” Tam said. “He’ll send some men to clear them out.” Me among them, probably .
    He looked at Hazel. She was extraordinarily lovely—the elegant cheekbones and soft, full mouth, the lustrous brown eyes. “I’ve never seen anyone fight like you. You were . . .” Terrifying . “I think you’re a berserker.”
    Hazel blinked and sat back on her heels. Her brow creased. “Me? A berserker?” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
    I do . Tam climbed to his feet. “We’ve still got another hour or two of daylight. Let’s keep going.”
    Hazel stood. “I slew your dragons for you.”
    “Believe me, I know,” Tam said, reaching for