Page 39 of Desire

I grabbed his arm and kissed his cheek. “Please be careful.”

“If I promise to come back without a scratch, can I bathe you later?”

“You’re ridiculous. Go.”

“She didn’t say no, did she?” I heard Darian say from somewhere nearby.

“No, she did not,” I heard Edmund say with a hint of something in his tone. Satisfaction? Anticipation?

I didn’t want any of them to be seriously hurt, but perhaps a slight cosh upon the head wouldn’t be amiss.

A hand closed around mine.

“Come, Princess. It would be better if you were tucked away somewhere safe so you aren’t accidentally caught in another brawl.”

I held his arm as he led me away from the muted glow of the cooking fire, and I listened to the latch clank quietly as he opened the cottage door.

Behind us, I heard a grunt.

“They’re here,” Edmund called.

“Stay inside,” Darian said before bolting away.

The sun was just cresting the trees, changing the mist’s color in the glade from midnight blue to milky white. It obscured the fight and muffled the sounds.

I opened myself to feel what I couldn’t see. The brothers shone as brightly as before, moving quickly as if dancing with less bright energy—the trackers. Beyond them, I could feel Eadric advancing through the trees.

“Where is she?” one of the men demanded. The sound of a solid punch followed.

Fluctuating between the need to flee and the need to help, I hesitated just outside the cottage. Something whispered that I’d be taken if I didn’t move. It said I needed to be higher. Higher than the roof of the cottage.

“Kellen, hide!” Brandle bellowed.

Pivoting away from the open door, I ran around the back of the cottage. My feet carried me past the shrouded garden and toward the cave. The opening didn’t beckon, though. It echoed a warning of danger. The craggy face of the rock around it called to me.

“Grace me with handholds and the foresight to reach them,” I said under my breath a moment before I reached the sheer face.

Without hesitation, I placed the toe of my boot on the first ledge and reached for the first handholds to pull myself up. The tingle of warning drove me to climb higher quickly a moment before a loud crash echoed from the cottage. I remained focused on the next hold and the next, not turning to look. My skirtssaved my legs from the rough edges of the rock as I blindly moved.

My fingers were raw and cramping when I finally broke through the mist and spotted the rocky ledge above.

Pulling myself up and over, I tumbled onto my back and stared up at the blue sky as I caught my breath. As it slowed, I looked at my hands. Brandle would not be pleased.

Another crash, followed by a shout, drew me upright. Sitting near the ledge, I looked out over the mist-shrouded glade below, seeing nothing of the fight. So, I closed my eyes to let myself feel what was happening.

Edmund fought a man alone near the edge of the trees. He moved quickly, avoiding the man’s punches and landing his own against the man’s torso.

“Find her,” the man bellowed.

Edmund hit him in the mouth.

A man flew out of the cottage and landed in an unmoving heap just outside the door. Liam and Daemon emerged. Liam grabbed the man’s shirt and began dragging him toward the trees. Daemon leaned against the door, seemingly at ease, while Brandle, Garron, and Darian continued to fight the remaining two trackers.

A blow connected with the side of Darian’s head. I felt what he was feeling. Dazed. Disorientated. Angry. The man knocked Darian down easily and ran for the cottage.

Unaware of his twin’s struggle, Daemon straightened at the sound of running feet. He met the man blow for blow as Darian shook his head and slowly got to his feet.

I opened my eyes and stared at the mist. If I wanted this fight to end, I needed to remove the trackers’ cover. I considered how I’d previously moved the book and suspended my bathwater. Surely, I could move mist.

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