The flame in her other hand reached her fingers. She yelped and dropped the match.
I turned and ran. The forest was almost entirely dark, but I turned each trip and stumble into a longer stride, keep going keep going—
Something snarled and hit me from the side, my shoulder slammed into a tree and I went down, arms shielding my head, possibly screaming. But the sharp, toothy embrace I anticipated didn’t come. After a moment, I opened my eyes.
Darling was crouched over me, pointed teeth locked together in a silent snarl, eyes tightly shut. “Trying,” she said breathlessly. “Tell me. Tell me!”
“Get off me, Darling!” I tried to convert all my fear into an angry bark. “Get off!”
She backed slowly away, one step, another. “Damon will kill me. In front of Lihua. Tell me.”
“What?”
“Tell me!”
