Anew: The Archers of Avalon, Book One by Chelsea Fine

many, many Georgia trees.
    She’d lost him.
    Maybe she’d failed as a spy in her other life and that’s why her memories had been erased.
    Maybe Heather had been right.
    Then Scarlet spotted him. The black car was a few hundred yards in front of her, cruising down a long driveway.
    She slowly drove closer, trying to keep her little car as hidden as possible in the thick foliage.
    She watched as Gabriel pulled his car up alongside an enormous cabin and parked.
    Was this his home?
    He got out of the car and headed up to the front door, where he let himself in. The cabin door closed behind him and Scarlet blinked.
    The large cabin, made entirely of knotty pine, looked like a mansion with dozens of windows and a four-car garage. It stood two stories high with a short set of stairs that led up to a wrap-around porch and a huge front door.
    This must be Gabriel’s house.
    A house that was not being fumigated.
    She’d officially caught him in a lie.
    Was Scarlet satisfied? No.
    Why would Gabriel hide this from her?
    Scarlet found a shadowy place to park her car; close enough to walk to the cabin’s front door, but far enough away where Gabriel wouldn’t be alerted to her presence.
    She had two choices.
    She could bravely march up to his door with an excuse as to why she’d followed him.
    Hi Gabriel. You left your history book at my house and I thought I’d stop by and return it to you since, you know, I was in the neighborhood. I often roam the deep woods of Georgia by myself after school….
    Okay, clearly she’d have to work on the excuse.
    Or she could turn around and go home. Like a chicken.
    Scarlet tapped her fingers on the steering wheel for a minute.
    She hated mysteries. Her own. Those of others.
    She was done.
    She’d spent the past two years being afraid of everything. Afraid of her past, afraid she’d never recover her memories, afraid she’d never be able to live a normal life… afraid of living.
    Being fearful was exhausting. And Scarlet was done with the mysteries. Today, she was going to do something brave. Today, she was going to get some answers.
    Scarlet got out of her car and quietly walked up to the cabin’s front door, her heart picking up with every step she took. Although there were many windows at the front of the house, all of them were closed off by drapes and blinds, making it impossible to see inside.
    But also ensuring no one could see outside.
    Gabriel had no clue Scarlet was standing on his front porch.
    It was then that Scarlet started to reconsider her plan.
    What was she going to do, knock on his door and say Surprise! Just thought I’d drop in and catch you in a lie?
    That was certainly no way to make a good impression on his family members.
    No, Scarlet needed to leave.
    Gabriel hadn’t wanted to share this with her, and she should be respectful of that.
    This wasn’t brave. This was stupid.
    Scarlet lifted one tattooed shoe and was about to turn away when she heard the doorknob turn.
    Someone was opening the door!
    Oh, no. No, no, no.
    Scarlet hadn’t perfected her excuse yet. The only thing she had in her arsenal was the roaming-the-woods-after-school thing. And that certainly wasn’t going to work.
    Gabriel would see her standing out there and she’d have to explain that she’d followed him to the middle of nowhere because she was a crazy girlfriend.
    And then he would get all freaked out and dump her. She could see the heartbreak unfolding, right there, on the front porch of Gabriel’s cabin mansion.
    Scarlet had to flee.
    Too late.
    The front door swung open and Scarlet couldn’t help but stare up at the person who’d caught her prowling.
    It was Gabriel.
    He was looking at her in confusion and disbelief. A thousand emotions crossing his beautiful face as his mouth parted and his eyes searched her over.
    Scarlet’s heart began to drum wildly inside her, pounding against her chest like a caged feral animal.
    As if it were desperate to break free. Desperate