Keanu
I couldn’t wait until morning.
The sky was still dark when I slipped out of the castle, the stars fading at the edges where dawn was thinking about showing up but hadn’t committed yet. The air was cool against my skin, but the heat behind my ears burned steady, the musk a constant reminder that somewhere out there, a woman was pretending I didn’t exist.
I wiped behind my ears as I entered the forest. The dampness was worse today. My shirt collar was going to be ruined by noon.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
My voice carried through the trees and dissolved into the undergrowth. The forest didn’t answer. It never did. I was starting to take it personally.
“Hide and seek.” I stepped over a fallen log and ducked beneath a low-hanging branch. “It’s a fun game. I don’t mind
