Page 69 of Beasts of Briar
I’d break my neck. I’d likely die. I ignored the searing throb my ribs gave as I bent upward and used the stick to slice at the shadow’s arm. It dropped me, and I fell with a thud onto the forest floor, immediately getting up and limping as fast as I could away from these shadows.
I tried to back away, but they were too fast. They came upon me like a storm cloud, pushing me down. I landed on my back right as seven swans swooped down, whooshing through them, pecking at them, making the shadows burst into pieces again and again and again.
Black spots dotted my vision for the second time, but this time, they wouldn’t go away, making it hard to see what was happening. I was cold. So cold. But my ankle and my hands throbbed with a mixture of fire and pain.
I raised one hand up, yellow and white pus seeping from the open cuts. Infection. I had an infection.
I shook my head, trying to clear my vision. I had to get away. I couldn’t stop fighting. I wouldn’t stop. My brothers were here for me now. They needed me.
I tried to stand but immediately collapsed back to the ground. I couldn’t walk with this ankle. So I’d have to do something else. I rolled onto my belly and dug my hands in the dirt, grabbing fistfuls of it and pulling myself forward. I’d crawl if I had to. The swans continued their attack on the shadows, keeping the monsters busy while I pulled myself, my vision getting blurrier and blurrier.
My heart was beating so hard my chest ached, but still I forged on, refusing to quit. A hand wrapped around my hurtankle, and this time, I bit so hard on my tongue that a coppery taste filled my mouth. I looked behind me to see a shadow. Its mouth formed into a smile, its red eyes glowing brighter. It yanked me toward it, the pain in my ankle, my ribs, my hands, so bad that the black dots grew until the darkness took me completely.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
BELLAMY
My eyes blinked open, the scent of ember and ash surrounding me. Flickers of orange, red, and yellow popped in the air, and I slowly sat up, wincing. My body felt like it had been crushed by a falling tree.
“Don’t,” a voice said, Kairoth’s concerned face appearing over me. “Don’t try to sit up.”
He pushed me back down, but his hands were gentle. Not forceful or commanding. More like a suggestion. I didn’t fight him. In truth, my body was exhausted. So I lay down, wondering what in fiery stars had happened.
Kairoth sat by the fire, stoking it with a stick. It was such a jarring experience, this god sitting here buildingmea fire. Tending to me. Shadows hovered around him, careful to avoid the light from the fire, which made them keep to his back, hiding behind him. That’s when I realized they weren’t swirling around the god like normal. The fire scared them. He was laid bare before me for the first time ever, and I couldn’t look away.
A scar stretched from his eye to the corner of his mouth. His golden skin gleamed in the firelight, his brown hair wavy, thick, and tousled. His eyes were amber but had a reddish tint to them. I remembered the times they’d flashed red. Mainly when he was irritated with me. Another scar stretched across his forehead. I didn’t even think gods could get scars. Maybe he’d gotten them before he became one. Suddenly, I wanted to know their stories.
He cleared his throat, and I looked away, realizing I had been staring.
My brows furrowed as I tried to work through what had happened.
I looked down at my hands, thick bandages wrapped around them. Bandages I didn’t have before. I gave Kairoth a questioning look.
“Your friends told me where you were.”
Of course they did.
“And I found you right before my shadows were about to tear you apart.” He held up his hands. “Just so you know, your friends didn’t sell you out willingly. They actually held out far longer than I expected them to.”
My lips quirked up at that.
“And they didn’t actually reveal anything until they saw a group of swans outside the window of my castle.”
I stiffened as his eyes flashed red. Irritated. He was mad about something.
“You were in danger because you left. And the only reason I was able to come save you before my shadows tore you apart was because of those damn birds. I told you not to leave. I explicitly said it was one of my rules. So why would you break it? What is so important about this nettle weed that you were willing to risk your life for it? It’s time to tell me the truth.”
I stared at him, really looked at him. There was irritation in his words, yes, but also fear. He’d been scared. For me.
“Who are those swans, Bellamy?”
He shoved a hand through his thick hair.
I sat up, wincing at the pain in my ribs and ankle.“They’re my brothers,”I signed, slow and stilted because of the bandages. His brows drew together, and I took a deep breath.“My brothers were cursed by one of the magical items on your island.”
Kairoth was standing now, pacing. “The swans are your brothers?”
Confusion laced his voice, and he looked at me with a worried expression. I realized how crazy this all sounded.
