Her tongue burned with a question, but she held back.
He said he’d explain. She had to trust him on that no matter how much she didn’t want to.
“In here.” Trevor pulled her into a large air-conditioned space.
Certain she’d find herself in a secret meeting room or something, it took her a moment to realize she’d stepped into a grocery store.
“That picnic really was a brilliant idea.” He winked.
“What can I say?” She grinned as she tried to control her shaking hands. “It’s a beautiful day, and I’m happy to be outside.”
Just as Trevor said, there was a table set up with pre-made picnic baskets for purchase.
Holly did her best to seem chipper as Trevor purchased the picnic basket even though she felt like she was going to burst into flames at any second.
Only when they stepped back onto the main street did she feel like she could breathe again.
“I thought you were going to turn blue for a moment,” Trevor joked.
“Was I holding my breath?” Holly panted, very much short of breath indeed.
“Yes.” He nodded. “But it was only obvious to me. You’re a terrible actress.”
“If I knew why I was acting, I might be able to find my character,” she quipped.
“Funny. Come on. I know a great spot for a picnic.”
They walked arm in arm through Golden Oak, smiling and nodding at whoever they passed. The whole thing was starting to feel a little too Stepford when Trevor led Holly to a narrow trail.
“Before you ask, no, I’m not leading you into the woods to murder you,” he said.
“That’s exactly what a murderer would say.” Knowing she didn’t have a choice, she walked down the trail. The trail quickly opened up into a picturesque park with a stunning view of the mountain range. “Wow,” Holly gasped.
“Not bad, huh?”
“This is a damn good spot for a picnic. Can you tell me what’s going on now?”
“I will in a moment. Can you do something for me?”
“I suppose,” she answered, uneasy.
“Walk toward the mountains.”
“What?”
“Did I stutter?”
“You trust me not to run away?” she asked.
“Oh, I expect you to run, but I’d advise against it. I can still outrun you,” he said.
“I can still kick you in the balls.”
“Just walk toward the mountains. Don’t run.”
Holly untangled her arm from his as she slowly walked backward toward the mountains. She didn’t feel comfortable turning her back on him, not when he was acting this weird. She walked, becoming more confused with each step.
Then she hit a wall.
Slowly, she looked over her shoulder. There was nothing there. She turned around and stuck out her hands. Her palms flattened against something solid.
“Trevor?” she called. “What is this?”
“Come here,” he called back.
Holly returned to his side slowly, constantly looking over her shoulder as if a brick wall would suddenly appear.
“We’re alone, but we still need to speak quietly,” he clarified. “I don’t know what that is. I think someone put it up after I brought you into town.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “None of the dark shifters I’ve worked with can do anything like this.”
“Is it a force field or something?”
Trevor chuckled. “A force field? Please. This isn’t a sci-fi movie. It’s a spell.”
“Oh, right,” Holly snorted. “Because if we’re between a spell and a force field, a force field is obviously too ridiculous to be a possibility.”
“You’ve accepted the existence of witches and shifters, but a spell locking us inside of Golden Oak is too much for you to take in?”
“No.” Holly sighed after a moment of consideration. “It’s not that. It’s just that every time I think I’ve got a grip on this world, something like this hits me. Literally.”
“Technically, you hit it,” Trevor pointed out.
“You’re not helping.” Holly sat on the grass and stared at the mountains.
After a few moments, Trevor took a seat beside her.
“You don’t look so good,” he said. “Are you going to be sick?”
“With what? I haven’t eaten anything yet.”
“Okay, that’s concerning.” Trevor winced. “Maybe it’s time to break into that picnic.”
“Maybe,” Holly mumbled.
Why wasn’t she scared? She should be in a full-blown panic right now. Just the thought of it felt draining rather than scary. She didn’t want to panic. She wanted to nap.
“You’re officially scaring me.”
Too numb and too exhausted to come up with a witty remark, Holly laid back on the grass. “Just pass me a sandwich and tell me what you know.”
CHAPTER SEVEN—HOLLY
Trevor didn’t know much.
Aside from the fact that the shield spell didn’t exist when he had left Golden Oak and popped up only after he returned with Holly, he was as clueless as she was.
“And you can’t think of anyone, anyone at all, powerful enough to make something like that?” Holly asked for the twentieth time since they had arrived back in her room.
She sat cross-legged on her bed. Trevor sat on the floor, his back against the wall opposite her.
“If I knew, I’d tell you,” he said.
“Then help me understand what kind of person could do this,” she pleaded. “Magic is still new to me. I don’t know the rules. I don’t know what it takes out of a person.”
“I’m not exactly a magic expert, either,” he replied.
“You know more than I do. Elise taught herself magic, didn’t she?”
A faint smile appeared on his lips. “She did. I haven’t seen her use it much.”
“I have.”
Trevor tilted his head to one side. “You have?”
“Your sister stayed with me for a while,” Holly explained. “She’s the one who helped me escape the mines.”
The smile disappeared. “What?”
“I wasn’t sure if you knew or not,” Holly mumbled.
“I didn’t.”
Holly wrapped her arms
