Page 86 of Beasts of Briar
The sun was already sinking over the horizon. This had taken far longer than I’d anticipated. Cold crept over me, a dark cloud blotting out the sun.
All of a sudden, shadows surrounded me, their glowing red eyes trained on me.
“I’m going back to my room,”I signed.
One of them grabbed my arm, and I tried to shake it free to no avail. Another one latched onto my other arm.
The outline of the stars appeared in the purple sky, and I was about to summon my powers when a whirl of shadows landed in front of me in the form of a beast. My heart leaped into my throat. The shadows let go of my arm, blasting backwards and into the air.
I looked at the beast. Its red eyes glowed as it looked down on me.
Kairoth had returned.
Chapter Forty-Nine
KAIROTH
I’d had a long journey, been gone much longer than I expected, but I thought I’d been very clear in my orders. Bellamy was not to leave her room. She was to remain there, rest, recover, and she was absolutely not to knit any more sweaters until I’d returned.
So imagine my surprise when I was flying through the sky, ready to finally return home, only to see Bellamy walking across the castle grounds, my shadows pouncing on her. Her back was hunched, her skin far too pale, sweat matting her hair to her head. I dove down, summoning my shadow beast and dispelling of the shadows attacking her.
She’d glared at me, and that glare filled me with light. She was back. My fierce, wild woman. I’d been so scared she wouldn’t make it, terrified to watch her fade away. So terrified I’d left. I’d needed to find Bathalous, but I could’ve waited a few days to see how she fared. Instead, I ran. Now I regretted not staying by her side.
“I can take care of myself,”she signed.
“Clearly.” I took her in. Lines of poison no longer stretched through her hands. They were still red but not as deformed as they’d been before.
Her upper lip curled.“I was about to use my magic to get rid of those shadows.”She gestured to the shadows flying through the sky.
I took a step forward as my own shadows returned to their regular movements, slithering around me in constant motion. “And how do you think that would’ve gone? You almost died, Bellamy. You’re not ready to use your magic. Doing so might’ve put you in danger.”
She rolled her eyes.“I’m not a child. I survived sixty years on my own without your help.”
“What were you doing out here? Who let you out of your room?” I would have their head.
“No one.”She scowled at me.“I escaped over my balcony and climbed down the vines on the walls. I wanted some fresh air since someone decided to hold me captive and then disappeared for over a week.”
Now that did make me smile. Even after almost dying, she hadn’t lost her spark. I’d missed it. I’d missed her. I’d missed those lips, the memory of our kiss lingering in my mind every day that I spent away from her.
She swallowed, face losing some of its anger, some other emotion taking over.“I never got to thank you. For saving my life. Without you, I’d have died in that jungle.”
Died. My nostrils flared. “You did thank me.” She must’ve been so feverish she didn’t remember. I wondered if she remembered our kiss, our conversation. Anything from that night. “But you’re welcome. Again. Hopefully you’ve learned your lesson about disobeying my rules? They’re in place to protect you. Not to punish you.”
“Why did you save me again?”
There didn’t seem to be any anger behind the words. Just curiosity. Maybe something else. Hope.
I stepped forward, and Bellamy tilted her head to look up at me.“You know, you actually have a nice face when all those shadows aren’t covering it,”she signed.“Though I like the beast. It’s cute.”
I nearly choked. Cute. My shadow beast was cute? That was certainly not a word anyone had ever used to describe it.
I raised a finger to her face and trailed it down her cheek. She closed her eyes, leaning into my touch. “I saved you”—I leaned forward, whispering—“because I wanted another chance to do this.”
I traced my finger across her jaw, then hooked it under her chin, lifting her face until her lips were inches from mine.
She sucked in a sharp breath, gaze meeting mine. There was never fear when she looked at me. It was why all Goji’s warnings, no matter how smart they were, fled my mind when our eyes met.
My shadows slid over her, but she didn’t flinch, didn’t even seem to notice, her gaze just fixed on my lips. Her brown eyes had silver flecks in them, reminding me of someone else’s eyes. But before I could grasp that thought, I bent my head down and brushed my lips against hers.
