It doesn’t take me long to realize where I’m led to. Though I have told Tereza they aren’t healthy for her, she doesn’t listen. Funnel cakes are her pregnancy craving.

“Are you listening to me?” She asks, my eyes drifting back to her as I give her a sheepish smile. “Of course not.” She breaths before leading me into the line.

“I’m sorry, I’m distracted.”

“By the night ahead?” She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I groan.

“For starters, gross. We aren’t talking about that in public.” My cheeks flush as I watch the people passing us buy. “It feels like something is off.”

“Yeah; the pregnant woman is hangry.” She giggles. My eyes roll as I smile.

I didn’t think that was the problem. But I couldn’t be sure. Witches, like myself, can use a couple of many different types of magic. We call it ‘ticking’. I was naturally inclined to the elements and healing, Tereza could bend the Aether. Yet neither of those ticks allowed us to read energy. To feel the room, so to speak. So, in the end, I wouldn’t have a clue in the world if something bad was about to happen or not.

It made me antsy.

Playing with the white lace overlay on my dress, I continue to watch the crowd. Inching closer to the front of the line as Tereza tried to tell me I was insane for not wearing shoes. I was, in fact, wearing shoes. Just not what most people consider shoes.

“Barefoot sandals aren’t shoes.” Tereza grumbles before her face lights up. We were finally at the front of the line. “Two funnel cakes, please!”

“Two?” I frown.

“One for me, and one for you.”

Shaking my head, I go back to watching the crowd as she pays for the food. She insisted this time was her treat. That wasn’t what I cared about. The forests nearby were whispering to me, as they usually did. The festival was too loud for me to hear it clearly…but I was able to hear the screams. My muscles tense up as I tighten my hold on Tereza’s arm.

“We have to go.”

“But our funnel cakes!”

That’s what worried her?

I growl in frustration before I tug her away from the stand, dragging her through the crowd and away from the screams. I try my best to get her somewhere safe and take her away from whatever was happening, but it was getting closer.

Turning my head, I notice movement on the caravans to the left. My heart drops into my stomach when a body hits the ground. Tereza screams as I push her the opposite direction. Tears rolling down her face as she asked if that was a real body.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her; the last time I saw something like this, my mother died. If I admitted that it was a real body, it was as good as admitting that Red Eyes was here. That her omen was right...and I refused to believe she was right.

If it were just me out here, I wouldn’t care. I had the family heirlooms and the important parts of my altar I couldn’t live without packed into my bag. I could leave. I could lead him away from Tereza and her baby. But she was with me, and at the end of the day, I had to make sure she was safe.