Chapter twenty

When Connor first said they could watch the connection ritual in secret, Audrey couldn't decide if he was brave or stupid. Even after being explicitly told to stay away, the idea of not going didn't seem like an option. She followed him, one part amused and another part concerned, as he crept through the maze of tents that made up the druids' encampment. In the back of her mind, Audrey wondered if she should try talking him out of it — if she should at least insist that they find a safer spot than the place he chose, peering around one of the tents closest to the ceremonial gathering. But Audrey had never been good at putting caution before curiosity, so whether Connor had a death wish or was just overly confident, she chose to trust him.

And so, because Connor had insisted on getting as close to the action as possible, Audrey received Welkin's message loud and clear: something was very, very wrong.

"What was that?" Connor hissed into her ear, knowing that the startled pandemonium of the crowd would drown out anything they said now. "Who was that?"

Audrey wrapped her arms around herself to steady the tremble that rattled her bones. Mind racing, palms clammy, she struggled to find her voice through the shock. "It was Welkin," she said finally. Even though they spoke in Rue's voice, and even though they sounded frightened in a way Audrey wasn't used to, she knew it was them. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit."

She tried to get to her feet but Connor pulled her back to the ground. With one hand gripped tightly around her forearm, Connor used his other to point at the ceremonial circle. Audrey looked back and watched as Connor's uncle Lance shoved his way through the chattering crowd to where Rue and her father stood speaking to a teenage girl who wore a braid in her hair and worry on her face.

"Quiet, everyone! Silence!" Lance shouted above the noise. Both druids and cultists alike hushed in unison and turned their wide and expectant gazes to him. His apparent hold over these people made Audrey's skin crawl. Behind her, Connor shrank back further into the shadows as his uncle swept up to Rue and her father. "Friends, what happened?"

Rue's father placed his hands protectively atop his daughter's shoulders. "It seems an unknown Star decided to cut in on our conversation."

Lance narrowed his eyes at Rue. "But why? Who is Audrey and Emandi?"

"I don't know, I swear," Rue replied. Her voice quivered as she pleaded her innocence.

"Maybe there was some kind of mix-up," the girl with the braid offered. "Maybe that message was meant for someone else and the Star spoke through the wrong host?"

"The Stars do not make mistakes," Lance snapped indignantly. As the girl flinched away from him, Audrey felt Connor stiffen beside her. Suddenly, the disgusted expression on Lance's face changed. His jaw slackened and his eyes grew round. He turned in place, his steely glare sweeping over the faces in the crowd. Connor pulled Audrey back so that they were completely hidden by the tent. Without a line of sight, they could only listen to what came next.

"Is this everyone?" Lance demanded. There was a manic edge to his voice that made Audrey uneasy.

"Of course," answered Rue's father. "We're all here. Why?"

"So there is no girl among you about my daughter's age? Long brown hair, tan skin, with eyes of Starborn gold?"

Audrey's stomach dropped. He was talking about her. Horrified, she met Connor's eyes, which mirrored her fear back at her. Silently, he mouthed the words we need to go.

"Not in our community, no." There was a wariness to the druid leader's voice now. "Who is this girl?"

Moving as carefully as possible, Audrey and Connor got to their feet. Audrey took Connor's hand, and they clung to each other as if their lives depended on not letting go.

"I saw her in the woods with the Wish boy." Lance's voice boomed, earning a chorus of gasps from the crowd. One didn't need to read between the lines to hear the accusation in his words. "At the time I assumed she was with you, but if not..." He trailed off as murmured conversations filled the air.

"What if this Audrey person is the true Starborn?" suggested the braided girl.

"Shit," Audrey whispered.

"But what does a Starborn want with Connor?" asked Rue, her voice high with panic.

Audrey turned to Connor who seemed to be frozen in place. "We should run."

"Perhaps we should pay the boy a visit and find out," Lance replied, each word dripping with malice.

Yanking on Connor's hand, Audrey launched into a run. "Now!"

There wasn't time for a discrete retreat; Audrey and Connor dashed through the encampment with reckless abandon. Their footfalls pounded into the well-trodden earth, sounding like thunder in Audrey's ears. There was no chance that someone hadn't heard them, but she didn't dare look back to see if they were being followed. As they reached the treeline and crashed into the underbrush, Audrey knew that their only hope was to let the night swallow them up.

The forest was relentlessly dark away from the candlelit encampment. Audrey and Connor held tight to one another's hands if only to avoid losing the other in the shadows. With only one free hand each, they struggled to navigate through the gloom. Leaves and branches tore at Audrey's hair and whipped her cheeks. They stumbled over the uneven ground and knocked their shoulders off of sturdy tree trunks.

"Wait!" Audrey gasped as she skidded to a stop. She threw herself down at the base of a tree she had just collided with and tugged Connor down at her side. Panting, Connor seemed too winding to argue with her, but Audrey shushed him anyway. "Listen!"

They did their best to still their belabored breathing so they could hear better. The forest was eerily quiet; no footsteps or snapping branches to be heard. Audrey slumped back with relief. "I think we're in the clear."

"What the fuck do we do now?" Connor asked between deep gulps of air. Now that her eyes were adjusting to the gloom, Audrey could just make out his silhouette beside her. Frantic, panicked energy radiated off of him like bees displaced from their hive. To calm her own frayed nerves, she closed her eyes and counted slowly backwards from ten.

"I don't know," she said as the white noise in her mind began to subside. "Just let me think."

"This is bad. I should get home," Connor fretted in the dark. "I'll tell them I haven't seen you since last night — that you left right after my uncle did. Maybe if I say you went in one direction it'll buy you some time to run in the other—"

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Audrey cut him off sharply. "There's no way that asshole is going to believe anything you say. He's already making it sound like you're my accomplice or something."

"And it's just going to look more suspicious if I'm not there," Connor said. "The longer I'm gone, the worse things will get."

Through clenched teeth, Audrey let out a frustrated growl. She wanted to shout at him — to tell him that going back at all was a terrible idea. To her it seemed obvious that his uncle had already made up his mind: Connor was guilty by association, and Audrey was certain that a beating would be the worst of his worries. She opened her mouth to tell him as much, when a loud snap punctuated the night.

They froze. In the distance, voices could be heard shouting through the trees. Their words were muddled but their tone was hostile and purposeful — and they were coming this way.

Audrey found Connor's hand again and together they lurched back to their feet. Another branch snapped somewhere closer than before. There was rustling and footsteps, both of which seemed to be moving terrifyingly fast.

"Move!" Audrey cried. She broke into a sprint and Connor followed without question. Like a pair of frightened deer, they careened through the woods. They were sightless and frantic, fumbling blindly away from a pursuer that seemed unencumbered by the darkness. With each heartbeat the gap between them shrank, until Audrey realized that running was no longer enough. If flight wouldn't get them to safety, they would have to fight instead.

Digging in her heels, Audrey sent a surge of energy down her right arm. Her hand erupted into a ball of crackling light as she spun to face their hunter. Shadows scurried away. A bright circle stretched out in every direction with Audrey and Connor at its center, bringing the world into focus.

And there, in the flash of light, a beastly white face with sharp fangs and blazing magenta eyes loomed like a specter.

The pair cried out: Connor in terror and Audrey in joy.

"Emandi!" Audrey rushed forward and buried her face in the great cat's mane. "Where have you been?"

"I'll explain later," Emandi replied. Their ears perked up as they glanced back over their shoulder, tail swishing an agitated path along the forest floor. More shouting — someone had spotted the glow. Emandi dropped to all fours and crouched low. "First, we need to get out of here."

Audrey was already scrambling onto their back before they finished speaking. She held her light up above her head and turned to Connor, who stared back at them in wide-eyed disbelief.

"What are you waiting for?" Audrey cried, beckoning to him with her free hand. "Let's go!"

"Go where?" Connor said, throwing his hands up in the air. "I can't leave, remember?"

"You can't be serious right now. Stop being so—"

"Time's up!" Emandi cut in. They lunged toward Connor, diving for his knees and using their head to throw him up and over their strong shoulders. Connor tumbled into Audrey's lap with a yelp. "Hold on tightly, children — this is going to be a bumpy ride."