Page 103 of Horn of Winter

“You are not the one giving orders?—”

“In case it’s escaped your notice, neither are you.”

A warning whispered past my ear. I half turned, saw a man attempting to creep up on me, and with a flick of air, sent him tumbling backward. Then I whipped the leash at my aunt, ripped the Eye from her neck, and brought it back to me, lightly wrapping its chain around the hilt of one of the knives. As the caged Eye touched the blade, purple lightning exploded around me, a force that was fierce, threatening, and protective.

Fear stepped fully into her expression, and her grip on the gun barrel tightened. “I have no idea what the fuck is going on or how the fuck you are doing what you are doing, but you will die in this place, right here, right now, and I will dance on your bones with bloody glee.”

And with that, she raised her gun and fired.

As she did, two things happened.

The thick wooden fingers of the trees whipped around her, pinning her arm and the gun close to her body, preventing her from getting more than one shot off.

At the same time, the floor between me and her erupted upwards and caught the bullet in its stony maw, preventing it from getting anywhere near me.

For several seconds, I simply stared, unable to believe what I’d just witnessed. It had to be an illusion, didn’t it? Perhaps these were nothing more than my dying dreams, formed in a drug-addled mind that refused to accept either defeat or death.

Then someone leapt out of the crater that had formed behind the maw, and shock ran through me.

Cynwrig. It wasCynwrig.

No, I thought hazily, it couldn’t be.

My knees gave way, and I started to topple. He caught me and swept me into his arms, holding me close to his big, warm body.

I pressed a bloody hand against his chest. Felt the furious thunder of his heart under my fingertips.

“You’re real,” I murmured. “You’re actually here.”

“That I am, my dearest Bethany.”

His voice rolled over me as sweetly as any kiss, deep, warm, and familiar. It held a touch of amusement, but there were deeper emotions running in the background that had my foolish heart dancing.

I licked my lips, fighting the blackness and the rising urge to just let go and slip into unconsciousness. “But... how? Why?”

“The how doesn’t matter right now. As for the why, well, did I not once vow that no one would ever take you away from me?”

“Eljin has.”

“Not in any way that matters.”

“But—”

“No buts. No more questions. You need to conserve your strength, and we need to get you to the hospital.”

“We?” I said, my voice fading fast.

“Mathi is with me.”

“The trees,” I realized. “He moved the trees.”

“Accelerated their growth more than moved, but yes.”

“Tell him—” I stopped, struggling for the strength to finish, knowing I could die if I didn’t. “Dearil. Tell him she gave me the Dearil.”

And with that, unconsciousness claimed me, and I knew no more.

I woke to a soft, rhythmic beating. I listened for a very long time, comforted by its presence and the fact that it meant I remained alive, despite my aunt’s best efforts. Beyond the small room in which I lay came the everyday noise of a hospital, though it was muted, suggesting some sort of noise shield was in place.

---