INTRODUCTION
Thrandril's POV
If I died today, I wanted the world to know that it wasn't my fault.
It was the brown wolf's fault.
The ugly, filthy, oversized brown wolf with the face of a wet piece of mud.
"YOU HAVE THE FACE OF A MUD PUDDLE!" I screamed over my shoulder.
The wolf snarled.
I screamed, too.
Not because I was scared, obviously.
I was simply expressing my profound disappointment in nature's inability to produce a decent-looking wolf.
There was a difference.
"AND YOUR MOTHER MUST HAVE BEEN BLIND TO THINK YOU WERE CUTE!"
The wolf howled.
"Oh, shut up! I'm sure even your mother regrets giving birth to you!"
Three wolves were chasing me through the forest.
THREE.
One brown, one gray, and one black.
The gray one looked like it had never bathed in its entire miserable life. The black one had the eyes of a murderer. And the brown one?
The brown one had personally offended me by existing.
I had only been trying to collect mushrooms.
Mushrooms!
Was that too much to ask from the universe? A little elf wanted to gather food, go home, and eat his dinner in peace. But no. Apparently, the forest had decided that my day needed a little excitement.
And by excitement, I meant imminent death.
My boots pounded against the damp earth as I ran between the trees, my golden-silver hair whipping around my face. Branches scratched my cheeks. Twigs caught in my clothes. My lungs burned.
I was going to die.
I was going to die because I had called a wolf ugly.
Well...It was ugly.
I refused to lie even in the face of death.
"YOU'RE STILL UGLY!" I shouted.
The brown wolf lunged.
"OH, SWEET SPRING!"
I ran faster.
The forest grew darker as I ventured deeper between the ancient trees. The familiar paths disappeared, replaced by twisted roots and towering trunks that blocked out the afternoon sunlight.
I knew these woods. Mostly—Okay, perhaps I didn't know this particular part of the woods.
But how different could it be?
Trees were trees. Dirt was dirt. And if there was anything I had learned from years of living alone, it was that a forest was a forest.
Except, apparently, some forests came with angry wolves.
And some wolves had terrible taste in personal appearance.
I leaped over a fallen branch, stumbled, recovered, and nearly swallowed my own tongue when I heard the wolves gaining on me.
"PLEASE! I APOLOGIZE!"
The wolves growled.
"NOT TO THE BROWN ONE, THOUGH! HE KNOWS WHAT HE DID!"
I could practically feel the brown wolf's breath against my back.
Then, all at once, the forest changed.
I didn't notice it immediately.
At first, I thought the wind had simply picked up. The leaves above me rustled, and the branches swayed, whispering to one another in a language I had never heard.
Then the air turned cold.
Not the pleasant kind of cold that came with a gentle spring breeze.
This cold crept beneath my clothes and settled against my skin. It slipped down my spine like icy fingers, making the little hairs on my arms stand upright.
The birds had stopped singing.
The insects had fallen silent.
Even the wolves seemed to hesitate.
I glanced over my shoulder.
The three wolves had slowed.
Their ears were flattened. Their bodies had gone rigid, and their noses twitched as though they had caught the scent of something they wanted no part of.
I blinked.
Then I grinned.
"WELL, WELL, WELL. LOOK WHO'S GETTING TIRED!"
The brown wolf bared its teeth.
"WHAT? CAN'T KEEP UP? PERHAPS YOU SHOULD EAT LESS MUD!"
It took one step toward me. Then stopped. The gray wolf backed away first.
The black one followed.
And finally, the brown wolf, the absolute disgrace to the entire wolf population, turned around and disappeared between the trees.
I slowed to a stop.
My chest heaved. My legs trembled. My heart was beating so violently that I could feel it in my throat.
For a moment, I simply stared at the empty path behind me.
Then I raised both arms triumphantly.
"I SURVIVED!"
My voice echoed through the forest.
"I, THRANDRIL, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND INTELLIGENT ELF TO EVER WALK THIS EARTH, HAVE DEFEATED THREE UGLY WOLVES!"
I paused.
"ESPECIALLY THE BROWN ONE!"
I stuck my tongue out at the empty forest.
Then I made a face.
Then another. Because if there was one thing I believed in, it was celebrating victory properly.
I was still making an especially hideous face at the direction the wolves had fled when something cold touched my cheek.
I blinked.
A raindrop.
Then another landed on my nose.
I looked up.
The sky had darkened.
Dark clouds rolled over the treetops, swallowing the last traces of daylight. The wind howled between the trunks, sweeping dead leaves across the ground.
My smile disappeared.
"Oh, no."
Another raindrop hit my forehead.
"Oh, absolutely not."
The rain began to fall harder.
I looked around, searching for shelter. There was no cave nearby, no hollow tree large enough for me to crawl into, and no convenient little cottage waiting for me beneath the trees.
Because the universe hated me.
"Fine," I muttered, pulling my clothes closer around myself. "Wonderful. Lovely weather. Very refreshing. I always wanted to drown while standing upright."
Thunder rumbled overhead.
I flinched.
"That was unnecessary."
I started walking, hoping to find a familiar path before the storm grew worse.
I took three steps.
Four.
Five.
And then the ground disappeared beneath my feet.
"WHAT THE FU—"
I fell.
My stomach lurched as I dropped into darkness, my arms flailing wildly. I hit the side of the pit, slid down the muddy earth, and landed face-first in something cold and wet.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then I lifted my head.
Mud dripped from my nose.
A tiny rock sat beside my cheek.
And something warm trickled down my forehead.
I touched it.
Pulled my fingers away.
Red. Blood.
I stared at my hand.
Then at the rock. Then at the sky, which was visible through the opening above me.
"...I hate this forest."
Rain poured into the pit, soaking my hair and clothes. Mud clung to my cheeks, my elbows, and practically every inch of my body. My forehead throbbed where I had struck the rock, and my knees hurt from the fall.
I was cold.
I was wet.
I was bleeding.
And I was fairly certain I had swallowed mud.
This was, without question, the worst day of my life.
I pushed myself upright and examined my surroundings.
The pit wasn't particularly deep, but its sides were steep and slick with rain. Thick roots twisted through the earth, offering a few places to grip.
Easy.
I could do this.
I was an elf.bA Spring Elf, to be precise.
Nature loved me. Probably.
I grabbed a root and began climbing.
My foot slipped.
I fell back down.
I tried again.
My fingers dug into the mud, my boots scraping desperately against the sides of the pit.
For one glorious second, I thought I had made it.
Then the root snapped.
I fell straight onto my backside.
I stared at the sky.
"...Nature, I take back everything nice I've ever said about you."
A low rumble of thunder answered me.
"Don't you dare start!"
I tried again. And again...And again!
By the fourth attempt, I was so thoroughly covered in mud that I no longer looked like an elf.
I looked like the brown wolf.
The thought made me gasp in horror.
"No."
I wiped a muddy hand over my face.
"No, no, no. This cannot be happening to me."
I looked at my reflection in a tiny puddle.
A muddy creature with enormous blue eyes stared back.
My golden-silver hair was plastered against my forehead. Mud streaked my cheeks, and a thin trail of blood ran from the cut above my eyebrow.
I looked hideous.
The brown wolf had won.
I hated him.
"I hope you trip into a hole, you ugly lump of fur!"
My voice echoed through the trees.
Then I heard something.
A distant rustling.
I froze.
My ears perked up.
For a moment, I thought the wolves had returned.
"Oh, come on!" I yelled. "Haven't you taken enough from me? First my dignity, then my mushrooms, and now my beautiful face!"
The rustling stopped.
I waited.
Nothing.
I swallowed.
The forest had grown strangely quiet again.
The rain continued to fall, but the wind had changed. It moved through the trees in slow, unnatural gusts, carrying a scent that made my nose wrinkle.
Cold earth. Wet stone.
And something else. Something metallic.
I couldn't quite identify it.
My fingers tightened around a root.
"Hello?"
My voice sounded embarrassingly small.
No answer.
I looked up at the opening of the pit.
The trees beyond it swayed in the darkness, their twisted branches resembling long, reaching fingers.
Suddenly, I wished I had stayed home.
I wished I had eaten the last of my cabbage instead of venturing into the forest for mushrooms. I wished I had kept my mouth shut around the wolves.
Most importantly, I wished the brown wolf would choke on a particularly unpleasant mushroom.
Then I heard footsteps.
Not the hurried patter of an animal.
Not the rustling of leaves beneath tiny paws.
Footsteps.
Slow. Measured. Approaching.
My heart began to pound.
Someone was out there.
Someone who walked through a storm without hurrying.
Someone who had apparently decided that wandering through a dark forest in the middle of a thunderstorm was a perfectly reasonable activity.
Perhaps it was a hunter.
Yes.
A hunter!
Hunters were human. Humans had hands. Hands could pull people out of holes.
Wonderful.
I was saved.
I straightened as much as the pit allowed and lifted my muddy hands.
"HELLO!" I shouted. "I'M DOWN HERE!"
The footsteps stopped.
I held my breath.
A shadow fell across the opening.
For a moment, all I could see was the silhouette of a tall figure standing between me and the stormy sky.
Then the darkness around him moved.
Black mist curled between the trees, gathering around his boots. It crept over the ground like living smoke, twisting through the rain without being scattered by the wind.
My mouth fell open.
The figure stepped forward.
And I saw his eyes.
Red.
Not the soft red of a flower or the warm red of a ripe berry.
These were the deep, vivid crimson of fresh blood.
I stopped breathing.
The stranger was tall. Ridiculously tall. He wore dark clothing that seemed to drink in what little light remained, and his long hair framed a face so sharp and beautiful that, under different circumstances, I might have appreciated it.
Unfortunately, the circumstances involved me being trapped in a hole while bleeding into the mud.
And the stranger had red eyes.
RED. EYES.
I knew what that meant.
I had heard the stories. Everyone had.
Vampires.
The creatures who ruled the lands beyond the ancient forest. The creatures who could tear a man apart before he had time to scream. The creatures who drank blood and possessed enough power to make even the bravest warriors reconsider their life choices.
And judging by the way the air seemed to grow colder around him, this particular vampire was not the sort one approached to ask for directions.
He stared at me.
Rain fell between us.
Then I lifted one muddy hand. "Hello."
Silence.
I swallowed. "Lovely weather, isn't it?"
Nothing.
His crimson gaze moved over my face, lingering briefly on the blood trickling down my forehead before lowering to the rest of me.
I suddenly became very aware that I looked like a particularly unfortunate swamp creature.
The vampire's expression did not change.
Somehow, that was worse.
"Please," I said, quickly scrambling to my feet. "You have to help me."
He remained perfectly still.
I raised both hands.
"Please pull me out! I'll do anything!"
One dark eyebrow lifted.
Anything.
That was a dangerous word.
I should have thought about it before saying it.
But I was cold, miserable, and one failed climbing attempt away from accepting that the brown wolf had officially ruined my entire existence.
"I mean it!" I insisted. "Anything you ask!"
The vampire tilted his head slightly. "Anything?" His voice was low. Deep.
And so cold that I nearly forgot how to speak.
I nodded rapidly. "Yes! Anything!"
"Chase the wolves."
I froze. "...What?"
"The wolves you were running from."
I stared at him. Then I stared at the dark forest behind him—then back at his face.
"You're joking."
He said nothing.
My mouth dropped open. "You want me to chase THREE WOLVES?"
"Was that unclear?"
"ONE OF THEM HAS THE FACE OF A MUD PUDDLE!"
His expression remained unreadable.
"And the other two aren't any better! The gray one looks like a dirty mop, and the black one looks like he has personally murdered several innocent cabbages!"
The vampire stared down at me.
I stared back.
Then, very slowly, he looked toward the forest.nAs though he were genuinely considering whether I should go and find them.
My soul nearly left my body.
"WAIT!"
I slapped both muddy hands against the sides of the pit.
"I WAS SPEAKING FIGURATIVELY!"
A beat of silence passed.
Then he looked at me again. "Then choose your words more carefully."
I wanted to bite him.
Not because I was brave. Because apparently, I had a death wish.
But I swallowed my outrage and gave him my sweetest smile.
It was probably not very effective, considering half my face was covered in mud.
"Dear terrifying vampire sir," I began, "my apologies for any confusion. I am a very reasonable elf who would never willingly chase three ugly wolves through a storm."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "Elf?"
I went still.
Oh...Right.
I hadn't exactly been introducing myself to strangers lately.
Not that I had met many strangers or anyone, really.
I cleared my throat. "Yes. Elf. One hundred percent elf. Two pointed ears, one head, two arms, two legs. All the usual elf things."
His gaze moved to my ears.
I instinctively flattened them.
Why had I said that?
Why did my mouth keep doing things without consulting the rest of me?
The vampire stepped closer to the edge of the pit.
The black mist curled around his boots.
I scrambled backward so quickly that my heel slid through the mud.
"Please don't eat me."
He paused.
"I wasn't planning to."
"Wonderful! Excellent! That's very reassuring." I offered him another smile. "Could you perhaps pull me out now?"
He looked at the pit, slowly back to me. Then, with an expression so thoroughly unimpressed that I wanted to throw a rock at him, he said, "You fell into a hole."
I blinked. "Yes."
"While running from wolves."
"Correct."
"Because you insulted one."
I stopped. My eyes widened.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?"
He stared at me.
And then I remembered something important.
Vampires could hear things from incredible distances.
Some could even read minds.
I had never met one before, but I had heard enough stories to know that they were not creatures one wanted to annoy.
I slowly closed my mouth.
The vampire extended one hand toward me. Long fingers. Pale skin. No visible sign of warmth.
I stared at his hand. Then at his face.
"You're going to help me?"
"Unless you'd prefer to remain there."
I grabbed his hand. Immediately. With both of mine.
"NO, THANK YOU. I HAVE SPENT ENOUGH TIME WITH THE EARTH TODAY."
His fingers closed around my wrist.
The next moment, my feet left the ground.
I barely had time to gasp before he pulled me out of the pit as though I weighed no more than a fallen leaf.
I stumbled forward. Straight into him.
My muddy hands landed against the front of his immaculate black clothing.
We both went still.
I looked down.
There were muddy handprints on his chest.
Two of them. Perfectly visible.
Beautifully disgusting.
I looked up.
The vampire looked down.
His crimson eyes settled on the marks.
A long, terrible silence followed.
Then I whispered, "I can explain."
"Can you?"
"Yes." I swallowed. "It was raining."
His gaze returned to my face. "And?"
"And the hole was muddy."
He continued staring.
"And I was in the hole."
Silence.
"So... technically, the mud is the hole's fault."
For the first time, something changed in his expression.
It was so slight that I almost missed it.
His eyes narrowed.
Not in confusion. Not in surprise.
In the way a predator might look at an unfamiliar creature and begin wondering whether eating it would be worth the effort.
I took one cautious step backward.
"You're very handsome, by the way."
The words escaped before I could stop them.
I froze.
He froze.
The rain continued falling.
I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me.
Actually, no.
The earth had already done that once today, and I was beginning to suspect it had terrible customer service.
"I mean," I hurriedly added, "in a terrifying sort of way. Very intimidating. Very... red-eyed."
I nodded as though that explained everything.
"It suits you."
The vampire stared at me for another long moment.
Then his gaze dropped to the blood on my forehead.
He leaned closer.
I went rigid.
His nose moved slightly, as though he were trying to identify something in the air.
For one terrifying second, I thought he was going to bite me.
Instead, he drew back with a faint frown.
"Why do you smell like a swamp?"
I gasped. "EXCUSE ME?"
His expression remained flat. "You heard me."
"I FELL INTO A HOLE!"
"And apparently, you brought the hole with you."
I stared at him in absolute disbelief.
This man. This tall, red-eyed, ridiculously handsome, deeply unpleasant man.
Had just insulted me. To my face.
After I had complimented him.
I pointed an accusing finger at his chest. "You're very rude."
His gaze lowered to my finger.
I slowly put it down. "Respectfully," I added.
He turned away. "Come."
I blinked. "Where?"
"My castle."
I looked at the dark forest around us, at the rain. Then at the vampire's broad back.
"Your castle?"
"Do you know another place nearby where you can spend the night?"
I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "...No."
"Then walk."
He began moving.
I hurried after him, nearly slipping on the wet ground. "Wait! What is your name?"
He didn't answer.
I jogged to catch up.
"Are you always this talkative?"
Silence.
"Is that a yes or a no?"
Nothing.
"Are you perhaps under a curse that prevents you from speaking more than five words a day?"
He continued walking.
I squinted at his back. "Because if you are, I know a very nice mushroom that might help."
He stopped.
I nearly crashed into him.
Slowly, he turned his head. Those crimson eyes fixed on me.
I smiled.
He stared.
I smiled wider.
Then he said, "Speak again, and I'll leave you here."
I clamped both hands over my mouth.
He turned away and continued walking.
I followed. nFor approximately seven seconds. Then I lowered my hands.
"Can I at least ask whether you have food?"
He stopped again.
I stopped, too. "...Please?"
His shoulders rose with what might have been a very long-suffering breath.
I didn't know what I had done to deserve this.
I was an elf who had spent the entire afternoon being chased by wolves, falling into holes, and bleeding in the rain.
And now I had been rescued by a vampire who seemed personally offended by my existence.
Still, as I looked at his tall figure disappearing into the darkness, I couldn't help feeling a tiny flicker of hope.
Perhaps the castle would have a warm bed.
Perhaps it would have a fireplace. Perhaps it would even have cabbage.
I clasped my hands together. "Please let there be cabbage."
The vampire stopped. Without turning around, he asked, "What?"
I blinked innocently. "Nothing."
He resumed walking.
I hurried after him.
Behind us, the storm raged over the forest, and the shadows between the ancient trees seemed to follow our footsteps.
I had no idea who the vampire was.
