Green Lady Preview

Chapter One
A white wolf stalked a party of travelers in the woods, eyes trained on a young lady with red autumn
hair. The air hung thick with the riders’ unease, all but tangible on the wind.
The wolf knew what sort of things these travelers believed.
Vengeful spirits live in the trees.
Red-eyed ghosts roam the woods.
Dryads eat men whole.
A broken holly branch will sap your life force.
The men gripped their sword hilts and searched the trees, innate suspicion in their eyes. He stayed far
enough away to keep their horses from spooking.
They weren’t wrong to be suspicious. Even now, he stalked them in the shelter of shadows. He could
wait until they camped at night, then move in with such muted steps, no one would know the girl was
missing until morning.
But he hadn’t decided what to do with her yet. He’d wait a little while longer until her motives became
clear. For now, he just watched, creeping through the brush, as she whirled around in her saddle and stared
through the trees in his direction. He sank low to the ground, and though she couldn’t see him, his heart
beat faster as he recognized those emerald eyes, eyes he almost knew…
Nymuë had been raised in the woods, but she’d never been in a forest like this one. Next to these regal
giants the road, the trees of her homeland were windblown waifs, pitiful imitations of the real thing. Now
she saw what had been kept from her—this was where she belonged.
The forest was full of sunlight. She reveled in the tall pine columns and oak shade. How could anyone
feel ill at ease in the living wood, under the star-speckle shade of leaves? It was early summer, hot but
breezy. The trees’ breath carried the sounds of tapping leaves and birdsong.
She sat atop a chestnut mare in the midst of a party of riders, her escort, on the way toward a new
home. She resisted at first; betrothal to a king, a stranger, seemed abrasive and stifling. But her uncle, Lord
Drey Mechanian, was too proud of the arrangement, and in the end, she’d had little choice.