"No!" Emily screamed. "We have to go after him!" She started running towards the direction Morgan took off just moments ago. "We can't let him do this!"
"Emily," Sam briskly walked at Emily's side. His footing soft and light, leaving only delicate indentations on the snow. "What's your plan here?" He asked calmly, his voice even as if he wasn't moving at all.
" I don't know, but we have to stop him," said Emily breathlessly. "We can't let him sacrifice himself!"
"Why?" Asked Sam and Emily stopped in her tracks. Shock froze her to her very core.
"What?" She asked hoping she misheard Sam just now.
"Why should we stop him?" Sam repeated. He took both of Emily's cold hands into his own. "He volunteered and, like he said, Sylvos demands a sacrifice." Sam leaned in and his cheek brushed close to Emily's face. His breath dancing on her neck. His lips grazed hers gently. "It can just be us," he whispered and Emily could smell wildflowers on his skin.
"I can't believe you are saying this," said Emily pulling free from him. Her head throbbed and she felt lightheaded from sheer tiredness of tracking through the forest and surviving.
"Emily, I want you to live. I want us to live...isn't this the point?" He asked holding Emily's gaze. A soft hand brushing against her cheeks. He looked pleadingly into her eyes.
"Not like this!" Emily recoiled.
" I don't understand, I thought you wanted to be with me. I thought this was about us," said Sam sadly, but something danced in the corner of his mouth. His eyes sparkled in a different way that made Emily feel unnerved. An edge of anger and jealousy crept into his tone.
"Laura?" Emily whispered, as if the sound of her name would somehow summon her.
"Not quite," a female voice said behind her. "Although, he is a great actor," she giggled. Emily watched as Laura's lithe figure stepped out of the shadows. "Just one more of daddy's gifts," she said as she walked towards Emily.
Emily realized that Sam now held her hand tightly. She tried to yank it away but found it impossible. He was so much stronger. Any gentleness left his touch and his face. He looked at her with cold, unfeeling eyes.
Realization clicked in for Emily. Morgan said again and again that dryads can't be trusted. But Sam was even more of an actor (liar) than Laura. He deceived them both. Even Morgan thought they were allies.
"All this time?" She asked, begging for there to be an alternative explanation. Wishing he was under some kind of charm explaining all of this, proving his innocence instead of exposing her naivety.
"So quick to fall in love," Sam said mockingly. "Looking for your own faery prince to whisk you away from the mundane reality... silly girl," he stroked Emily's shoulder but she recoiled from his touch.
"You know, I do like you, Emily," he went on. "You have a quality about you, a fierceness I admire," said Sam and his cold eyes looked Emily up and down. She felt exposed, embarrassed, hurt. He registered all of this, but he didn't seem to care. He held on to her tightly.
"It's time to go home, darling," said Laura as she came to link arms with Sam. "He is waiting. A sacrifice and a druid all in one day! He'll be happy!"
"I won't be your druid!" Spat out Emily.
"Fine then," she said calmly with a hint of disdain. "Two sacrifices then, your choice."
Emily was pulled by Sam through the snow as the two dryads continued to walk through the forest towards the grove. She kicked and scratched and even bit Sam's hand, but he showed no emotion and no signs of letting her go.
"Liar!" Emily screamed at Sam. "You are pathetic!"
Something snapped within Sam. He clutched Emily's elbow into his hand while still holding her with his other. His face was twisted as he looked into Emily's eyes.
"Do you think it was easy for me? Trudging through this god forsaken forest with you and Morgan. The soft sighs, the awkward glances between the two of you... please! Who did you think you were fooling?" Jealousy, there it was. Emily realized that both Laura and Sam had that in common.
"You are jealous," she said calmly. She didn't know what to do with this information, but knowing this gave her a sliver of power.
"Darling, why would he be jealous," said Laura calmly. "You mortals look like frogs to us. Bugs to be squished... dogs to be trained." Laura licked her upper lip and continued to walk forward.
The three continued silently through the forest. Emily feeling every weight of her step as she tried to keep up with the two dryads.
The forest loomed all around her. Silence was palpable here - no birds, not even a snap of a twig could be heard here. Emily's breath rose in white puffy steam and she focused on that rather than think about everything that just happened. She knew a few things for certain - Sam was a liar and he used her in the same way Laura used Morgan. The smell of rot, decay, and stale water assaulted her senses as the three came to stand at the edge of the grove. The large tree filled with carved faces stood in the middle of the clearing. Emily saw Morgan kneeling in front of it. His shoulders were hunched and his head slumped towards his chest. She wanted to run to him, to protect him, but Sam held on to her tightly.
"Let's see what he will do," he said and a hungry smile spread across his face.
Emily and the dryads watched as Morgan took out his hunting knife and ran his fingers across the blade.
No! Thought Emily. Don't!
Morgan looked at the knife for some time. He moved it from hand to hand and then, without hesitation, plunged its full length into the eye socket of one of the faces on the tree.
Piercing shrieks filled the air as both of the dryads fell to their knees in agony.
Run! Emily heard inside her head.
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Fire & Flood
قصص المراهقين"Fire & Flood" weaves together romance, magic, and the ultimate battle between love and darkness, inviting readers on an enthralling journey through a world where nature itself holds the key to the fate of the protagonists. Will love conquer all, o...
