Page 56 of The Fearless Witch

Myra.

Bile rose in my throat and I took a step closer, needing to see her face to make sure it was her—or maybe to make sure it wasn’t. I had sent her to Roman that night, thinking I was saving her from the danger in the grove. I figured she’d returned straight away, so I didn’t search for her when the ward was raised, thinking that she was at least safe back home.

The hunters moved as one, their speed deceptively inhuman, but I had no more patience left for them. I needed to get to her. I needed to check the damage and… and… do what? She wouldn’t survive outside the grove even if she wasn’t hurt. She could probably last longer than most Fae because, with her wings gone, she didn’t have much magic to begin with. Still…

“Take care of them,” I told the forest, letting some of my stored energy pour into the earth beneath them. The whispers rose, eagerness pulsing through every living thing surrounding us. Roots shot out of the ground toward one of the men, wrapping around his ankles. The second one dodged the attack, jumping over them, but once his feet hit the dirt, he sank up to his thighs like the hard earth had turned into quicksand. He roared in frustration, pulling on the high grass in an attempt to drag himself out, but the forest didn’t let go.

The third one paused, hesitation flickering in his eyes. He withdrew a dagger from the belt on his waist. A moment later, the blade was flying toward my face.

I didn’t move, just waited for the branches to intercept the weapon’s trajectory. The metal embedded itself into the bark, wiggling up and down before the tree cleared my path.

More roots shot out of the ground, upturning the soil and flowers, while branches coiled around his arms. He tried to grab for me when I moved past, but his hands were promptly yanked behind his back. A loud crack echoed through the valley when his bones snapped, but I ignored his scream of pain.

My heart galloped in my chest as I stopped next to the bleeding female, my breath coming out in sharp rasps. I hadn’t realized how truly bad her injuries were until I kneeled for a closer look. There were slashes and burns all over her skin; one of her eyes was swollen shut and the tip of one ear was cut off. There were so many wounds on her that her body had stopped healing itself.

I reached for her cheek with a trembling hand.

“Oh, Myra,” I whispered, my voice shaking as I watched the lid of her good eye flutter open. When she finally focused her gaze, she sucked in a surprised breath.

“Your H-H-Highness?” she whispered, raising her hand to touch me as if she wanted to make sure I was real. She lost her strength halfway, and her limb fell, but I caught it before it touched the ground. Careful not to press on the raw flesh where her nails had been torn, I squeezed her fingers gently and tried to give her a reassuring smile.

“I’m here,” I said. “You’re safe. It will be f…” The words refused to leave my mouth. I couldn’t lie to her even if I wanted to, and the realization cut deeper than the hunters’ blades ever could. So I just repeated. “I’m here.”

She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she let out a quiet sob, followed by an even quieter whimper.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her fingers tightening around mine. “I shouldn’t have waited for you. I wanted to… make sure…” She stopped, wincing again, and her hold on me loosened. For a moment, I thought she passed out, but then she continued. “...you were safe. Both… of you.”

“We were,” I told her, looking her over again. I needed to get her back. I needed to heal her and…

A roar of frustration came from behind me, and Myra shuddered with fear. I glared back at the hunters just as one of them slid something from his pocket and threw it our way. Another tree shot to intercept the weapon, but this time, it didn’t sink into the bark. It bounced off, falling to the ground and spilling a cloud of dust.

My skin burned when the first specks reached me, and I held my breath. Sliding my arms under Myra as gently as I could, I picked her up and stepped away from the spreading powder, gritting my teeth in rage while I stared at the struggling hunters. I couldn’t allow the iron to touch Myra, not with her flesh so exposed. There would be absolutely nothing I could do for her then, not once it entered her bloodstream.

“Kill… them,” Myra said, and I looked at her in shock. “They will… follow you if you… don’t. They won’t… stop. They never… stop.”

Her eyes drifted closed and her head fell against my chest. If it wasn’t for the slow beats of her heart, I would have thought she had expired.

“She got that right, you filthy scum!” the one that was stuck in the ground spat, his face red from the effort of freeing himself. “We will never stop! Not until we exterminate all you abominations!”

I looked at the other two, searching for fear, for hesitation, for even the slightest hint of remorse. I found none. Just a thirst for blood and death.

“Then you leave me no choice,” I said solemnly, ignoring their bitter laughs.

“You think you’ll scare us with branches?” The one with roots around his legs spat. He had managed to cut through half of them, his hands and feet bleeding from his own blade. “Your tricks won’t stop us!”

‘Feed me,’ the forest begged, and I winced at the request. But it had helped me, it had protected me and while my magic couldn’t fully fuse with it, I could still give back in return.

“Then they are yours,” I said, taking another step away from the group.

The screaming started even before I disappeared among the trees, curses and shouts of panic and pain filling my ears. The earth shook. I heard them trashing and fighting against the roots dragging them beneath, but even without looking, I knew it was pointless.

When the yelling abruptly ceased, the forest seemed to sigh with contentment. As if woken by the sound, Myra shifted, her eyes opening again.

“How are you… alive?” she asked in a voice dripping with effort and ache. “You have so much… magic. You need the… grove more than… anyone.” She stared at me with worry, but I had no answer for her.

“I do not know,” I admitted. “Finally, something useful has come from all this power.”

Myra let out a soft chuckle. “I thought maybe…” She paused and didn’t say anything for several long seconds, but then seemed to come back awake, continuing, “...made a grove for… yourself. That’s what… the prophecy…said, wasn’t it?”

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