A Tune to Make Them Follow (Severed Realms, #2)

by T.A. Lawrence

She was just so used to being on the outside, she didn’t know how to recognize when she was being invited in. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was just conflating what she wanted with what I wanted. But I didn’t think so. And I certainly wasn’t about to let her disappear into the night without finding out. “You really did time your escape poorly,” I found myself saying, the words coming out harsher, colder than I meant them. She startled and scanned for an exit, but before she could flee across the grounds, I stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “Where exactly do you plan to go?” I asked, my jaw bulging despite myself. Just moments ago, I’d convinced myself not to be frustrated with her, not to let her inability to accept that other people might care about her rile me. Her breath fogged in the night’s chill, and she straightened her spine, rearing up for a fight. “Anywhere. That’s the thing. I’m free. I can go anywhere I wish.” Fates, she could be so stubborn. I stepped toward her, and she retreated, pressing her back into the stone statue behind her. “Anywhere? And what do you expect to find in this vague anywhere of yours?” She ruffled, though I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t due to the breeze. Closing in on her, I continued. “There’s a little girl upstairs crying for you.”