23.

Madeleine shrieked as the scenery blurred around her into a palette of reddish and pink hues, the air from her lungs roughly stolen as Emerick's bulky arm pressed so tightly around her waist.

Her fingers dug into the back of his neck as she struggled to hold onto him, barely feeling his steps as he darted through the trees so insanely fast, scaring her to no end as she couldn't understand what was going on and why.

One moment he was so close to actually kissing her and the next he'd hoisted her up in his embrace and started running like a crazed cheetah out of nowhere.

Her cheeks warmed up as she allowed herself to waste but a single moment thinking about what he almost did, wondering why she almost let him do it too.

Was she starting to actually...like him?

No.

She immediately dismissed that thought, forcing herself to remember exactly what he was and her initial plan. She couldn't allow herself to start caring for him now because she knew it very well that if she did, she would neve