All the Whispers

Chapter 11

I didn’t go back to the tree house for a long time. My lips tingled, and my heart felt almost light as I walked aimlessly near the gate, trailing my hand along it. The metal was cold, and piercing- almost out of place in this natural world. Ignoring this, I couldn’t help the smile that crept up my lips and the flush that snuck up my neck and cheeks. I’d never been kissed before. Admittedly, I’d always imagined a longer, deeper kiss, when it first happened, but being kissed by a Netherling, and Ronan in particular, was better and more amazing thank anything I had fantasized. I smiled to myself.

            “What are you so happy about?” A teasing voice asked. I whirled around to find Daun smiling down at me. I couldn’t help it- my smile slipped.

            “Nothing. I’m not happy. I’m worried. I smile when I’m worried.” I pulled my ponytail over my shoulder, hoping to hide my blush partially.

            Daun raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. “Do you know where Ronan went? Kana wants to talk to him. I thought he would be with you…”

            “You mean he didn’t go back?” I frowned. But it made sense. After realizing that he would have kissed me back, it would be stupid to go back- especially if Kana was there.

            “No…” Daun gave me a suspicious look. “What happened?”

            “I have no clue! No clue.” I started to back away, but Daun didn’t take the bait. He advanced on me, his eyes glowing faintly.

            “Where is he?”

            “I don’t know! I honestly have no idea!” That part was true, at least.

            “Tell me what happened. I’ll probably be able to guess where he went.” Daun folded his arms. I tried to back away, but crashed into the gate. Great. He had me cornered.

            “Nothing happened.” I mumbled. No way was I going to tell Daun what happened.

            “Adrianne, I’m not stupid. You looked abnormally happy. Why?”

            “Because…he gave me the afternoon off?” I gave Daun a huge, innocent smile.

            Daun sighed, rolling his eyes. “You’re adorable.” Before I could react, he swooped down, pecking me on the cheek. “Tell me if you see him.”

            “I will!” No I won’t. I called after his retreating figure. I touched my cheek. What was that? I shook my head, walking away. But now for some reason, my thoughts weren’t distracted by my kiss with Ronan. They slipped into the murky depths of the previous night- of Casiol and Umbrarum. I touched the gate softly. I had to find him. They would never understand why I did it- I had to do this by myself. I looked up, my eyes scanning the tree branches woven together above me. It would be simple enough to get over the gate…What are you thinking? You can’t do this by yourself. I thought of Casiol’s terrified face, and my limbs acted of their own accord, scaling the tree. What am I doing?

           

The top of the tree offered a lovely view. My heart beat quickly at the height; I couldn’t help thinking about earlier when I almost plummeted to my death. I swallowed, looking around. Why was I doing this? Why was I being so rash? I had been thinking about Ronan less than ten minutes ago! How had I come to this so quickly? I shook my head, picturing Casiol’s face. He needed my now, more than ever. This was my fault- I had to fix it. Slowly working my way down the tree, I thought of how I would know where to go next. Should I call Umbrarum again? Remembering the puppets, I felt a ring of fear, and shook my head. That was not an option. So that left simply walking around, towards what I thought was the darkness.