“Maybe it was a blessing he never loved her.”

“Maybe the insanity of life had stolen his reason.”

“She waves her big spoon. “You can get me that orb-weaver spider from the corner over there.”“Yes, ma’am.”“Don’t you kill it! I need it alive.”“Can I have a jar to catch it with?”“No. Use your hands.”“Why?”“The recipe says so.”Jason arches an eyebrow. “Can I see that?”“Who is the witch here? Me.” She swats him on the arm with her wooden spoon.“Okay, okay.” With a sigh, he heads toward a dark corner.She turns on me and raises her spoon.”

“Emma smacks the back of my head. “It’s just boobs. Even I have a pair. No reason to stare so hard. Put your eyes back in your head.” She grabs my hand, leading me toward the bar . . . and positions me with my back to the stage.“But you’ve never shown me yours. Take your shirt off, and I’ll stare at yours instead.” “You did not just say that.”“Yeah, I think I did.”“Men.” She rolls her eyes.”

“A human!” He grasps my hand with both of his and dances me in a circle. Then he stops and pulls out his notebook and a pen, flips it open to a blank page, and poises his pen over the page. “Do you have dreams when you sleep at night? What do you dream about? What did you eat for breakfast? How often do you eat in a day? Omnivore, herbivore, or carnivore? Let me look at your teeth.”He steps close as if he would open my mouth for me and inspect it as if I were a horse for sale. I take a step back and bump into the stall door behind me.”

“Green goo bubbles in a cauldron in the center of all this chaos. On a pedestal in front of it, a book is open. The old lady leans over the book so it almost touches her nose and peers at the page. “Marshmallows. No, that can’t be right. Jason,” she shrills. “Read this for me.”“Marjoram,” Jason reads.”

“A rustle of wings and a hawk feather drifts down to me. Snatching it from the air, I look up into the trees, but nothing’s there. So I tuck the feather into my hair.“What are you doing?”My stomach leaps into my throat, and I jump up, stumbling backward, and fall on my butt in the middle of the path. In the tree above me, a teenage boy perches on a branch. He’s dressed in traditional deerskin breeches, a talon necklace around his neck, but rather than moccasins, his feet are bare. He is shirtless, and lean muscles cord his body. His intense eyes capture my attention. They’re like golden fathomless pools. I could get lost in them.“Don’t your feet get hurt, walking barefoot on the forest floor?” I ask.“I rarely walk.” He drops down in front of me. His face is so close that I take a step back and thump into a tree. He leans toward me and sniffs. “You smell different. What are you?”“I’m a girl.” I can’t take my gaze from his.“No, humans stink. You smell…” He sniffs my hair and grins. “You smell good.”“Is there a reason that you’re invading my space? I have somewhere to be.” My voice cracks.He tugs one of my braids and winks at me. My pulse quickens, and my breath catches in my throat. His eyes study me with intensity, and he leans closer. Is he going to kiss me?”