I’m going to die of hunger at this rate. My feet are heavy. My stomach will not stop grumbling. And Roharu keeps tossing looks over his shoulder as if to say I told you so. If I don’t eat something quick, I’m gonna either faint from the exhaustion or give in, and eat one of those shit-smelling fruits.

Ugh.

“Can you walk any faster?” Roharu asks with a sigh.

“I don’t have long legs like you and I’m hungry,” I grumble, moving even slower. Roharu acts as though the forest is targeting both of us when it is only targeting me. Why won’t the roots go after him for once? He has longer legs, and he’s probably rich in protein or something. Me? I would make an awful meal. “Can’t you find something that doesn’t smell so awful to eat? Like point it out to me and I’ll collect it.”

He slowly blinks his eyes.

I roll mine.

He’s just an ass.

“You’re some kind of fox. Doesn’t the smell bother you?”

“I see why your kind struggles so much. You fall for even the whims of fruit.” He snorts. “As foul smelling as it may have been, it would have filled you up at least until midday.”

“It was one fruit. Humans don’t survive off of one thing to eat. It’s not like meat.” Why is he acting as though he knows nothing of humans when he clearly knows that I am one? It should be obvious that humans need more than just one fruit to fill them up.

“I offered you a heart.”

I grimace. Yeah, I’ve been doing my best not to think about last night and how he just casually ate a heart like it was no big deal. He didn’t even cook it or put some kind of seasoning on it. What a savage. “It needs to be cooked, and hearts are not something that humans normally eat. At least I don’t.” Someone out there probably does, but I’ll stick to legs and breasts for my meats.

“Weak. Picky. And stupid.” He ticks off his fingers. “Am I missing anything else?”

“You’re about to miss your head when I’m done with you.” I flex my fingers. He snorts and I swear when he turns, his tail flicks me off. Ugh. “So, how do we get out of this forest? This whole region can’t be the undead, right?”

“No, only this area is of the forest of the undead. Though mages do travel wherever they please.” He shrugs.

“Wouldn’t a mage be a human? You said humans don’t frequent this area.” I glare at a misbehaving root. It slinks back into the ground. Yeah, nice try, buddy, but you aren’t getting a hold of me. Do these trees trap people so the undead can kill them? I haven’t seen any beasts since I’ve been with Roharu, so the trees must not go after them.

Or maybe the beasts are afraid of running into Roharu and his less-than-pleasant personality?

“Mages can be anything. They aren’t restricted to being human. Though most are above humans. It’s more so the control they have over their magic. Everyone has some form of magic within them. Can they access it, is the question.”

I huff. That last part sounds like a dig at me. I’m not from a place where magic is real. There are no flesh-eating rocks, or killer cupcakes, or annoying fox demons that think they know everything. “So, what I’m really hearing is that there are no inns in this forest and there is nothing to eat.”

“Why would there be an inn in a forest?” he deadpans. “You will find one in a town, not in an area in which the dead frequent. That is an awful business model.” He snorts. “Come stay here. The undead may snatch you from your bed as you sleep, but do not worry, we do not offer refunds.”

“I hate you.”

“And yet you travel with me.”

“Because where else am I supposed to go? You wouldn’t let me go.” I throw my hands up. We are getting nowhere. My stomach is still throwing a hissy fit over the lack of sustenance. My pride is wounded over the failed portal. And Roharu is pressing my buttons. “The portal wouldn’t work. I couldn’t find the one that sent me here. And this forest keeps messing with me.” I kick at the root and speed walk closer to Roharu’s side. Seriously, why can’t they target him instead of me? I have done nothing but exist.

“If I take you to an inn, there will be ground rules.”

I perk up. He’ll take me to an actual inn, where there is edible food and maybe a hot bath? “I’m listening.” I flash him a smile, but he grimaces instead. One of these days, I’m gonna smother him in his sleep.

“One, I do all the talking. Your mouth is foul, and you say things that make little sense. Two, do not run off on your own. There are things out there worse than the undead. Three, no talking—”

“You already said no talking.”

“And you’re already failing.”

“We’re not at an inn!”

“Four, you will tell me everything I want to know. And five, if you wish to make it to a town before nightfall, then I will have to carry you. We’re on the edge, but there’s still a great deal of distance to cover.” Roharu looks up at the sky and frowns. He crosses his arms. “Perhaps it will rain.” He sighs. “Come here, lest you wish for me to throw you over my shoulder again.”

“That was very uncomfortable.” I hesitate for a moment and then shrug. If he wanted me dead, he would have done so a long time ago. He could have even split the coin with Cupcake. “You won’t get tired from carrying me like this, right?” I throw my arms around his neck as he lifts me bridal style.

“I’ll drop you if I do.”

I splutter. “No! That’s not what you do.” He glances at me. Huh. His eyelashes are long. That’s so not fair. It’s just my luck that I get stuck in some other world with a hot dude, but he’s a dick. “What?”

“Nothing,” he says simply, before dashing off. The scream gets caught in my throat. I press my face closer to his chest. We’re moving way too fast and I’m a little nauseous. Roharu doesn’t slow down. If anything, his speed increases. A smarter person would look to see where we are going, but the rate at which we are moving is too much for me. If I look, I might actually throw up.

I don’t know how long we travel or how far, but it’s only when Roharu slows down that I turn around and peek at our surrounding.

Oh.

We must be on a cliff because I can see what looks to be a small town... oh, those aren’t the kind of buildings I’m used to. I pinch my arm. Ouch. Yep, still here. This still isn’t a dream.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking to see if I’m dreaming, but it’s not a dream, sadly.”

“Do you remember the rules?” He walks to the edge of the cliff and jumps down.

My heart jumps to my throat. My mouth is open, but no sound comes out. I’m shaking. I can’t stop shaking. We just jumped. I don’t even know how many feet, but if it had been me, my neck would have broken. Roharu is unfazed. He carries on as though he just jumped from one step to the next.

“Warn me next time,” I choke out.

“Heights scare you?”

I smile, but it’s tight. “Well, I can’t say I’ve ever been first in line for a rollercoaster.”

“Roll-ar-cos-ter?”

“Roller coaster,” I repeat, slowly. “It’s a huge machine. Kind of.” My brows pull tight together. “There are like cargo ships that people sit in, and there are belts or straps to keep you from falling out. It goes up really high in the sky and comes back down at fast speeds.” He blinks. Okay. He has no idea what I’m talking about. “I remember the rules,” I sigh. “No talking and no running off. You have questions that I may or may not be able to answer.”

Roharu squints at me. “You’re being awfully docile. What are you up to?”

“I’m just hungry,” I grumble. “There’s an inn right over there and I want to eat and have a bath.”

He hums. “And how will you compensate me for this?” His eyes rove over my form. “You have no coin on you, from what I can tell.”

“How do you know I don’t have money?”

“Because you say things like money or cash, instead of coin.” He looks forward and strolls to the town that looks like it’s straight out of an old movie or one of those horror games. Roharu seems unconcerned, so I should keep my cool, too.

Act like I belong here.

I frown. Who am I kidding? I stick out like a sore thumb.

“I can walk now.” My feet are asleep.

“No.”

“No?” I push back against his chest. “I can walk. This is embarrassing.”

“Then swallow your pride and allow me to carry you in.”

“But why?” I whine. Being so close to him is not good for me. He smells like cedarwood and cinnamon. I sniff, discreetly. At least I hope I am being discreet. “I’m not hurt, and we’ll get looks.”

“Let them look. It’s to establish something.” He doesn’t elaborate and no matter how many times I poke his cheek, he doesn’t give in. Establish what? That I refuse to walk on my own or that he refuses to let me walk on my own? The sun sets and the sky is a beautiful purple.

As nice as the setting sun is, these stares are not. I bite my tongue. There aren’t any humans in this town. At least none that I can see. There are men and women with long fluffy ears similar to Roharu’s. Some have ears like elves. Green and red people with long snouts and even larger feet.

I blink.

At this point, Roharu can say that we traveled to an alien planet, and I would believe him. I see every creature but another human.

“Don’t stare,” he whispers. “I’m in no mood to fight.”

I snap my attention to him. His face is stonewalled. The easygoing nature is gone. I shrink into myself and suck in a breath. No one seems hostile, but Roharu puts off an air as though he’ll slit anyone’s throat that comes next to him. He wasn’t even this hostile to Cupcake, though then again, Cupcake is a cupcake, so he must have never seen him as a threat. There’s a lot I want to say, but I keep my mouth shut.

Roharu kicks open a door, which I guess is for an inn. The writing is weird. I can’t recognize any of the symbols, which is great. I’m stuck in a world with magic and beasts, and I can’t even read the language. It’s a miracle I can even communicate with the beings here. God, I don’t even want to think about how much of a headache it would have been to communicate with Roharu with just hand motions.

“What can er’ do for ya?” a male with three horns coming out of his face asks. His eyes are pitch black. He is as a pale as Roharu. The male glances at me and then back at Roharu. “Come to drop somethin’ off?”

“Came for a room. One for the night.” Roharu sets me down and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out some gold coin and sets it down on the counter. “I want food and I don’t want to be disturbed.” He leans forward, and the innkeeper tilts his head before smiling.

I resist the urge to turn around and flip off everyone staring at me. The atmosphere is unnerving. It’s as though everyone came to a halt at the sight of us. Or rather, it must have been Roharu kicking the door open.

The innkeeper takes the coin and then pulls out a key. He slides it across the counter. There is a symbol on it. Perhaps a room number? Roharu takes it and cracks his neck.

“These for the human?” The innkeeper sets a box on the counter. Oh? A gift. My fingers twitch. Roharu’s glare stops me.

Uh? I can’t accept gifts now?

“I like my females willing.” Roharu throws an arm around me and ignores the box on the counter. “Food and privacy,” he repeats. “I will have your head if you do anything to piss me off.”

My blood goes cold. Why is he threatening the innkeeper? We’re going to get kicked out! But the innkeeper shrugs and waves us off. I bite my tongue, though I want to give Roharu a lashing. What the hell was that? He only pulls away when we arrive at our room. He motions for me to walk in first as he looks down the halls.

“Uhhh...” I snap my mouth shut. There’s only one bed. The door closes behind me and Roharu strolls in with that same easy-going swagger as before. “Uhhh? Hey, there is only one bed here.”

Roharu slides off his long black gloves and sets them on the small round table. “Naturally, we’re lovers.”

WE’RE WHAT?