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  ‘You’ll need this.’ Kora handed Hailey the nail polish.

  ‘Thanks. Now get going, and we’ll hopefully be right behind you.’

  They’d been walking for an hour and a half without any sign of the baby. As much as Hailey wanted to find it, she was ready to call off the search. It was almost 2pm, and if they didn’t start heading back soon, they’d never make it out of the forest before sunset.

  Kendra stopped.

  Hailey tensed, her eyes searching for a threat. ‘What is it?’

  ‘It’s the baby. She finally called back.’

  Demi took a step forward. ‘Let’s get going then.’

  ‘No.’ Kendra barred Demi with her arm. ‘I need to go alone.’

  Go alone? Did Kora leave some head injury unhealed?

  ‘You’re not going alone,’ Jayden said before Hailey could.

  ‘You might scare it off if you come,’ Kendra countered. ‘Don’t worry, she’s not too far away. If I need you, I’ll call out.’ Kendra dashed off into a group of redwood trees that seemed to stretch into the sky forever.

  A hand on Hailey’s shoulder kept her from following. She stared back at Jayden with a frown. He hadn’t wanted Kendra to go running off alone either.

  ‘We’ll give her five minutes, and then we’ll go after her,’ he said. ‘If we do scare the animal off, Kendra will make us trudge around this forest for another hour.’

  Hailey sighed. Jayden was right, Kendra would never leave the forest without the baby.

  Jayden’s eyes moved past her to Demi, who was about to disappear through the trees Kendra had. ‘Demi.’

  She stopped mid-step, twisting around to shoot Jayden a defiant look before her gaze flicked to Hailey, asking her what to do.

  ‘We wait,’ Hailey said. ‘But you better start timing that five minutes, Jayden.’

  Hailey paced back and forth, sparing a glance every few seconds to the redwood trees, hoping to spot Kendra. All she could think about was what a bad plan this was. Kendra’s powers weren’t advanced enough for her to sense the breed of an animal. What if the baby isn’t a docile creature like a golden hind? What if it’s something ferocious like a five-headed hind that breathes fire? And what if something attacks her on her way to finding this baby?

  Hailey glanced at the trees again. What’s taking so long? She turned to Jayden to tell him she didn’t care about waiting five minutes anymore, but he was smiling at something behind her.

  ‘Kendra.’ Demi breathed in relief.

  Kendra was walking towards them—all in one piece by the looks of it. Hailey’s jaw dropped when she noticed the baby in her arms. It was half the size of a foal, with sparkling white fur and a gold tail that matched its gleaming mane. A tiny gold horn protruded from its forehead, and what looked like feathered wings hugged its sides.

  ‘What’s that?’ Jayden asked.

  ‘She’s a pegacorn—a crossbreed of a pegasus and unicorn,’ Kendra said, running a hand along the creature’s back. The poor thing was shaking and staring at them with wary gold eyes.

  ‘She’s beautiful,’ Demi chimed, reaching out to touch the creature, which shied away from her hand. ‘It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.’

  Hailey couldn’t resist; she reached out to pet it, too, gliding her fingers down its soft fur. ‘What are you going to do with her now?’

  ‘Take her back to the palace.’

  ‘Where are her parents?’ Hailey asked.

  ‘She says she’s never met her father, and her mum… her mum appears to have abandoned her because she’s a crossbreed.’

  ‘That’s horrible.’ Demi scratched the pegacorn under her chin. ‘Don’t worry, little one, we’ll take care of you. But first you need a name.’ Demi’s eyes glimmered with possibilities. ‘I vote for Snow White—Snow for short.’

  ‘Her name’s Rain,’ Kendra said before Demi could start calling her Snow White.

  Demi arched an eyebrow. ‘How’d you come up with that?’

  ‘I didn’t. She told me that’s her name.’

  ‘Um, I hate to break things up,’ Jayden said, ‘but has anyone noticed the sky?’

  Hailey’s gaze drifted up, and her stomach dropped. The few patches of visible sky through the trees had turned a reddish-orange.

  The sun was setting!

  14

  Darkness Falls

  ‘Hailey, we need to stop.’

  Hailey didn’t slow her pace. She continued tracing the marked trees back through the forest, the red nail polish getting harder to see with the fading light. ‘We can’t stop, Jayden, or we won’t make it to the beach before dark.’ She gazed around at the growing shadows and pushed herself to move faster.

  How is the sun setting already? It isn’t even 3pm yet. It almost felt as though the island was setting the sun early on purpose, just so they couldn’t escape the forest before nightfall.

  They needed to get back to the beach as soon as possible, because being in a forest at night was basically suicide. Hailey shivered, imagining an array of terrifying monsters waking up and preparing to hunt for dinner. Monsters like the chimera—who would tear her to shreds with its sharp claws before its three heads devoured her.

  ‘We won’t make it out of this forest before nightfall. We have to stop and set up some sort of camp before all the light disappears.’

  ‘We’ll make it,’ Hailey replied, not bothering to turn around.

  ‘Jayden’s right, Hailey.’ Hailey could hear how much it pained Demi to say those words. ‘We have to stop.’

  ‘We really do, Hailey,’ Kendra agreed, the footsteps behind Hailey falling quiet.

  Hailey whipped around to face her friends, who gazed back at her restlessly, hugging their arms and looking like they wanted to be anywhere else but here. ‘We have to keep moving. The big monsters will be waking up soon—if they haven’t already.’

  ‘We don’t have a choice, Hailey,’ Jayden told her, not budging from where he stood. ‘Trust me, I don’t like the idea any more than you, but the beach is about another two hours’ walk. The sun will be gone by then, and we won’t be able to see any of the marked trees. We’ll just get ourselves lost—or eaten.’

  Hailey couldn’t bring herself to admit Jayden was right, because she was afraid if they spent the night in the forest, they wouldn’t live to see morning. She opened her mouth to argue, but Demi cut her off. ‘I can use my powers to grow some of these bushes around us for protection.’

  Kendra was cradling Rain in her arms, the pegacorn nuzzling into her shoulder. ‘And I’ll be able to sense any approaching animals. But it won’t work on monsters,’ she added quietly.

  Hailey gazed around at the growing shadows. They would never make it out in time, and while staying in a forest was one of the stupidest things anyone could do, it wasn’t as stupid as wandering aimlessly around it in the dark—especially when most monsters possessed night vision. ‘All right,’ Hailey gave in. Jayden’s stomach grumbled, making Hailey suddenly realise how hungry she was. They hadn’t bothered packing food before they’d left, because Hailey had never thought they’d be gone this long. ‘We need to find some food—and water,’ she added, feeling the scratchy dryness of her throat as she spoke. But where they’d find a stream, she had no idea.

  ‘There’s plenty of berries around.’ Demi touched a bush of ripening blackberries, the berries on it seeming to vibrate as they doubled in size ‘And their juices would probably be a good water sub—’ Demi froze, her eyes growing wide.

  Hailey raised her arms to the sky and whirled around, ready to toss a gale of wind at whatever monster was charging towards them.

  But there was nothing but trees. She was about to ask Demi what she saw when something caught her eye. She gasped along with Jayden and Kendra.

  A young woman stood several feet in front of them. She blended in so well with the forest’s verdancy that Hailey hadn’t noticed her until she’d stepped forward.

  But she noticed her now.

  M
oss grew in place of her hair, and her skin was tinged olive green—a few shades lighter than the dress of leaves she wore.

  She was a dryad, and she was moving towards Hailey and her friends.

  ‘Fear not, we mean you no ill will,’ the dryad said in a silvery voice. ‘I am named Aleta, and these are my sisters.’ She extended her arms out on either side of her.

  Hailey, who had been too shocked to move when Aleta had walked towards them, looked to where the nymph indicated and gasped again. About twenty dryads lingered between the other trees. Each looked as beautiful and mystical as one another, with their greenish skin varying in tone, and their “hair” ranging from leafy twigs to blooming flowers.

  ‘We are dryads,’ Aleta explained what Hailey had already guessed.

  She couldn’t believe what was happening. She was actually standing in front of wood-nymphs. She hoped they were more like Amathia than Nemertes, or Hailey and her friends wouldn’t be making it out of the forest alive.

  ‘What do you want from us?’ Jayden asked. He said it calmly, but Hailey could see how tense his body was, like he was one second away from sprinting if the dryad said the wrong thing.

  ‘To help you. The woods are a dangerous place to be, and you are merely children.’

  ‘We’re teenagers, not children,’ Demi said indignantly.

  Aleta met her gaze, the wood-nymph’s eyes a rich brown. ‘I have existed for over a thousand rotations of the earth around the sun. How many have you lived through?’

  Demi scrunched up her face. ‘Rotations of the earth around the sun? Is that like a year?’

  ‘As I said, you are merely children.’

  Demi looked ready to keep arguing, but an elbow in the ribs from Jayden shut her up.

  ‘We’re willing to watch over you tonight,’ Aleta continued. ‘We’ll keep you safe until the sun is reborn.’

  ‘Why would you want to help us?’ Hailey asked. The thought of nymphs protecting them while they remained in the forest was very appealing, but she didn’t understand why they’d care about the safety of a few humans.

  ‘Children, no matter their breed, need to be protected.’ Aleta’s eyes shifted to Rain, who was snuggling into Kendra’s arms. ‘I see you share this ideal.’

  Hailey had never expected to come across dryads in the forest, and she certainly hadn’t expected them to offer protection. She felt some of her anxiety about spending the night there recede. ‘Thank you.’

  Aleta bowed her head. ‘You are most welcome.’

  ‘I don’t mean to be rude,’ Jayden said steadily, ‘but do you know where we could find some water?’

  ‘The naiads can offer you water.’

  Demi frowned. ‘Naiads?’

  ‘Nymphs of springs and streams,’ Kendra said.

  Aleta smiled. ‘Yes, that’s right. Come, I will guide you to them.’

  Hailey trailed behind the nymph with her friends, mesmerised by how the dryad almost danced through the forest. She couldn’t believe she was about to meet more nymphs; if it weren’t for the circumstances, this would have been a great day.

  A quick glance at the sky brought back the nerves Aleta had eased. The last bits of sunlight were waning, turning the sky a burnt orange mixed with crimson. Hailey gazed around her, paying close attention to the shadows, ready for anything unfriendly to appear.

  Although she doubted any monsters would come near them while Aleta was there. Dryads were similar to Artemises, in that they could commune with animals. And because dryads were basically in charge of the forest they protected, monsters and creatures tended to do what they said—at least that’s what Hailey had read.

  It wasn’t long before they heard trickling water. Aleta led them through a cluster of trees, where they paused before a shallow stream, which was transparent enough to see the shiny pebbles resting at its bottom.

  ‘Go on,’ Aleta prompted, ‘ask the naiads’ permission to drink from their stream.’

  As far as Hailey could see, the stream was deserted, and so was the forest—not a naiad in sight. ‘There’s no one here.’

  Aleta’s eyes sparkled with amusement. ‘So young,’ she remarked. ‘Go to the stream’s edge and wait.’

  Hailey glanced at Demi, thinking this was all getting a bit strange and maybe Aleta was tricking them as a joke. Demi shrugged, giving her a what-do-we-have-to-lose look before approaching the stream. Hailey hesitated another second, but quickly remembered how dry her throat was and followed with Jayden and Kendra.

  She knelt by the glistening water’s edge and licked her lips. She was so thirsty, and the water looked so tempting. But she needed to get permission from naiads who were nowhere to be seen. She turned to ask Aleta where the naiads were when her friends inhaled sharply.

  Hailey swung her head back and joined in their astonishment. She scrambled to her feet, backing away from the stream with Demi, Jayden, and Kendra. They stood timidly beside Aleta, whose laughter echoed around the forest.

  Five young beautiful women emerged from the stream, not a single drop of water clinging to them. Each of them had long blue hair that flowed over their lily-pad dresses like a waterfall.

  ‘Where did you come from?’ Demi asked, her voice accusatory.

  The naiad in front studied Demi with her crystal blue eyes. ‘We arose from the stream.’

  Demi shook her head. ‘No, we looked in the stream, and you weren’t in it. You popped up out of nowhere.’

  ‘When we’re in water, we are one with it,’ the naiad replied, her voice soft as silk. ‘Do you wish to drink from our stream?’

  Hailey cleared her dry throat. ‘Yes, if that’s okay,’ she said nervously. They hadn’t covered how to ask a naiad’s permission to drink from a stream in Monsters and Creatures.

  ‘You have our consent.’ The naiad moved aside with the others. ‘Please drink your fill.’

  Hailey cautiously edged past the naiads, who stared at her inquisitively, and knelt by the stream. She cupped her hands in the cool water, bringing the glorious liquid to her lips and drinking deeply, feeling some of her energy return after a few more mouthfuls.

  When everyone had finished drinking, Aleta led them back through the forest. But instead of taking them back to where they’d met, she brought them into a small clearing, which was circled by dense bushes and thick-trunked trees.

  As they entered the clearing, four dryads appeared from the greenery, each holding a giant leaf garnished with an assortment of berries.

  A dryad wearing a fern dress handed Hailey one of the leaves. ‘Thank you,’ she told her. The dryad bowed her head in response.

  ‘My sisters thought you might be famished,’ Aleta explained. Her gaze drifted past Hailey. ‘It appears they were accurate in their assumption.’ She laughed a musical laugh.

  Hailey twisted around to see what was so funny, finding Jayden inhaling his berries.

  Demi shook her head. ‘You can’t take boys anywhere.’

  ‘Now that you’ve had nourishment, I think it wise for you to rest. My sisters have gathered soft leaves and moss for you to sleep on.’ Aleta gestured to a large pile of leaves covered in moss a few feet away, which Hailey had to squint at to see in the nearly-black forest. ‘We will watch over you throughout the night.’

  ‘Thank you so much,’ Hailey said again, thinking the words weren’t enough to express her gratitude.

  ‘You are welcome.’ Aleta drifted back over to her sisters, where Hailey watched in awe as the dryads each disappeared into a tree trunk.

  * * *

  It was well into the night, and Hailey was struggling to fall asleep. Every few minutes a twig snapped, or leaves crackled beneath something’s feet as it stalked through the forest. It made her feel as if something—or many somethings—were creeping up on her and her friends.

  Not that her friends could hear the noises. They were sound asleep beside her—even Rain was snoozing under Kendra’s arm.

  A breeze swept through the forest, swaying the trees an
d rustling their leaves. Hailey hugged her arms against the coldness, wishing she’d dressed warmer. This all felt like a nightmare she’d wake up from soon, because it seemed unrealistic she was spending a night in a monster-riddled forest, and that Scylla had almost killed her.

  None of this would be happening if she’d done the smart thing and told Amathia about Kendra instead of recruiting her friends. It was stupid to have dismissed the idea because she was afraid Kendra would get expelled. Better expelled than dead.

  I really need to start listening to Alec, Hailey thought. She wondered where he was now. There should have been enough daylight left for him and the others to make it out of the forest and back to the palace.

  No doubt Alec had run to Amathia and told her everything when Hailey, Demi, Jayden, and Kendra hadn’t returned. Was there a search party looking for them right now? She doubted the teachers would risk entering the forest during the night, but it was comforting to think of them sleeping on the beach, waiting for sunrise before coming in to search for them.

  Hailey almost screamed when Aleta’s face appeared above her.

  ‘You’re still awake,’ Aleta remarked. ‘I told you my sisters and I would watch over you.’

  Hailey sat up, the leaves and moss shifting under her. ‘I know. But it’s hard to sleep with all these noises.’ Something howled in the distance. Please tell me that wasn’t a lycaon. Hailey shuddered, imagining a werewolf sneaking up on them, hungry for its next meal. ‘Is it true monsters do whatever a dryad tells them to?’ she asked, thinking if Aleta said yes, she might be able to calm down enough to fall asleep.

  ‘Yes and no. Dryads can commune with them, and yes, sometimes they listen, recognising us as the guardians and leaders of the woods. But they have the power to disregard our requests if they so choose.’

  So basically a monster can ignore a dryad and do whatever it wants—like eat a couple of humans. ‘Oh.’ Hailey hugged her knees to her chest.

  ‘You need…’ Aleta’s head jerked up, her gaze darting around the forest.

  Several twigs snapped nearby, accompanied by the thundering sound of hooves.