There was an unnatural stillness in the forest. Even the wind seemed to die, so that the leaves stopped their whispering. Tamara stood between Wild Edric and the Faerie Princess and she listened to the sound of her heart beating. Her dress was torn and her hair was in a tangle. There was a long, bloody scratch on her left arm where she had caught herself on a branch, and it stung enough to remind her that she could feel, that she was alive. For if she had relied upon the cursed Edric and the Lady Godda, she would have felt like nothing more than a spirit herself. They glared past her at one another, and for a moment Tamara hesitated even to breathe.