Huntsman's Prey by Marie Hall

lips.
    “I figured as much,” he said without any heat behind it. It wasn’t like he had many choices available to him.
    She turned. “Are you mad at me then?”
    “No.” He scrubbed the back of his mouth, wishing for his pack, if only so that he could brush his teeth. It was his one luxury he allowed while camping. Many hunters cared very little for personal hygiene; he was not one of them. “Frustrated, confused, curious, yes. But not at you. How did that creature do this to us?”
    He assumed she must be shrugging since her head bobbed strangely, she’d once again grown transparent around her chest and shoulders. “I honestly have no idea. I woke up only to realize what’d happened to you.”
    “I do not understand how I slept through all this. I’m a very light sleeper. It’s an occupational hazard to not be.”
    More than anything Aeric was aggravated with himself. Ever since stepping into Wonderland, nothing made sense anymore. All his skills had seemingly disappeared. Being the queen’s huntsman meant something. He was the best at what he did.
    But it was as if the very land itself toyed with him. He’d failed at all he’d tried thus far.
    His molars ached from clenching them.
    “You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself, Aeric…”
    He turned at the sound of his name on her tongue, hating to admit that he enjoyed the way she said it. Not with a hard ‘e’ sound, but a lilting ‘ah’ sound. She made it sound exotic. He grunted.
    “…this world is not for the faint of heart. The mere fact that you’re still alive, hale, and relatively sane still speaks highly of you. You can never trust what you see or hear here, it is utter madness to do it.”
    “So you do admit it,” he laughed, wondering if she knew she’d just confirmed his argument of before.
    She shrugged with a secretive smile.
    “Can I trust you?” he asked softly, fluttering his fingers along her cheeks, not knowing why he did it, only that she was so close and her scent so strong and she was very, very naked.
    But again, as with so many other things here, what appeared to be firm flesh, was nothing but smoke and mirrors. His fingers slipped right through her.
    Even so, she paused as if she had felt the touch, and her breathing hitched just a little.
    For a moment their gazes locked and what’d seemed nothing but black when he’d first seen her eyes were now twin pools of indigo ink, bottomless and viscous and indescribably lovely.
    He opened his mouth, ready to say… something. But then she blinked and reality crashed in on him. What the hell was he doing?
    Taking a giant side step away from her, he glanced to his right. Pretending to study the forested landscape.
    “I can only warn you that things will get harder,” she continued on, this time sounding a little breathless. “I will help you find her, if I can. But now you owe the broker a boon, I fear I may have gotten you into a worse mess than ever.”
    “But can I trust you?”
    “You shouldn’t.” She shook her head, a long blue curl slipped from the knot at her head, laying enticingly upon one rose tipped breast that’d reappeared.
    She was so translucent now she was very nearly invisible. But it was easy enough to imagine her whole, to recognize that she was a beautiful woman if she could ever maintain her form long enough.
    “I told you where to make camp, look what happened to you.” Her look was defeated, almost humiliated and Aeric scoffed.
    “I was an ass yesterday, I think we can both admit it.”
    She neither denied it nor agreed.
    He chuckled. “It’s okay, it won’t hurt my feelings. Look, Lissa, twice now you’ve bailed me out of perilous situations. I was arrogant to believe I could stroll into Wonderland and do here as I’ve done everywhere else. I would die before I admit this out loud to anyone else, but I’m pleased to have you around.”
    Her smile was radiant and he clenched his fingers.
    As beautiful and alluring as she was, he did still