Wayward Secrets: The Raven Brothers of Fallen Mountain by KT Strange

Author:KT Strange [Strange, KT]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heartcandies Publishing
Published: 2020-10-30T05:00:00+00:00

10

Cordelia

Waking up in the forest is so different from the city. I can sense it even before I open my eyes, the hush of the woods around me, blanketing the world in it’s filmy, dusky green sound. Branches dropping with soft mossy thuds to the forest floor. Birds singing, the flutter of their wings beating the air. The solid wood of my cabin drowns most of it out, but I can feel it, like a hum under my skin.

And in the background of it all, I can feel the lake calling me, beckoning it’s long, chilly fingers toward me, tugging me down in my sleep.

Sometimes I dream of the water closing in over my head.

Except those times, I don’t resurface in Grady’s arms. Those times, Logan isn’t there to save me.

The world turns green and cold, and I sink to the bottom, landing on the muddy silt, my knee sending up puffs of cloudy water. Rocks stretch as far as I can see, disappearing into the smudge of murk. My mouth opens, because I want to scream, but instead I inhale deep, water flooding into my throat and lungs.

Those dreams have been waking me up, I think, for the last few days, except I didn’t quite remember them. They’ve been like a shadow at the edge of my vision, until today. The morning after I’d nearly drowned in the lake again. And the only reason I can remember it now, is that someone banged on my door in the middle of my sleep. My fingers dig into the sheets and I stare at the ceiling, the muted sounds of the forest reaching through the glass of my window toward me.

“Cordelia,” a female voice calls from beyond the door. I sit bolt upright in bed, feeling like I need to cough, my lungs shuddering. The clear, clean air around Fallen Mountain has made breathing easier by far, but right now I’m still reacting to the feel of the water closing over me and rushing down my throat.

“One sec,” I yell out, reaching over for an oversized flannel shirt, tugging it over my head. I hop around, shoving my feet into the legs of my jeans before I go to the door and open it.

Lena is standing there, bright smile on her face, plate in one hand covered over with a scrap of clean cotton fabric with a cheery flower print.

“Hey there,” she says, and then her smile turns soft. “Did I wake you?”

“Uh, no,” I say, and she raises both eyebrows, skeptical. I’m exhausted from last night, and it must show on my face.

“Alright, maybe the hair fashions in Twocities are a little more wild than I though they were,” she comments breezily. “Mind if I come in?”

“Of course,” I say, looking over my shoulder. The cabin isn’t a mess, but my bed is rumpled, and there’s a few dishes on the counter. I don’t have enough possessions for the place to look like a complete sty. Small mercies.

She pushes past me and sets the plate down.

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