Shortly after I’d first arrived in Bremloc, Callum had told me stories of the dark wood and all the demons that dwelled within it.
I was now seeing those demons firsthand.
Monstrous monkey things, more nightmarish crows, and other horrifying creatures relentlessly attacked. Some were mammal-like and others resembled serpents. The knights held them at bay, striking them down and driving others back.
Briar stayed by my side, standing between me and any possible threat, while Lake and Maddox joined Callum and the others. Each time a demon lunged at one of them, my heart stopped. Yet, no matter how many they killed, more flooded in.
“Demons just keep coming,” I said, my gaze flitting around the wooded area as my boys fought hard. “They can’t fight them off forever.”
Briar watched the knights and demons clash, indecision in his hazel eyes. “Maddox told me to take you and run if things took a turn for the worst.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m not leaving them.”
He looked at me with a mix of love and pain in his eyes. “I can’t leave them either.”
Them. Not just Maddox.
Hudson stabbed a demon in the chest and sent it hurdling toward the tree we stood beneath. Briar moved closer to me. That’s when I noticed the dagger in his hand.
I felt like crying. My sweet Briar who only wanted to save lives… now clutched a weapon meant to take them.
“I’m surprised to see Sir Anton,” I said in an attempt to distract my mind from the sickening twist of fear in my gut. The knight roared as he sliced a demonic monkey’s head off. The blood was a black goo-like substance. “How did you even find me?”
“After I administered the truth serum, the bandit revealed Prince Sawyer was the target,” Briar said, his grip tightening on the dagger’s hilt as another demon got a bit too close for comfort. “Fortunately, the prince hadn’t left the castle yet. Lady Alina had spilled tea on her dress, and he was waiting for her to change. He was immediately taken to his room and guards were stationed outside his door. Sir Anton was escorting me and Maddox from the castle when Kuya found us and said you were missing. Maddox suspected one of the bandits mistook you for the prince and captured you in his place.” His smile was tight. “We found Lake at his cottage and relayed the information. I knew he’d be able to track you.”
“How?” I asked. “Because he’s a demi-wolf?”
“That, and because you’re his mate.”
“His mate?”
Briar nodded. “I sensed the soul connection between you the morning after you bedded him. The two of you were bound together that night, a bond that goes deeper than romantic love. Once a demi-human imprints on someone, or finds their soulmate, that bond can’t be severed. It’s how he tracked you.”
Eyes stinging, I found Lake among the blur of clashing bodies. My shooting star.
“Wait.” A fresh wave of fear crashed into me “Sir Anton now knows about Lake! What if he—”
“Don’t worry, love.” Briar took my face in his hands. “Anton is… how should I say it… understanding of your situation. More than most would be.” As my confusion deepened, he smiled. “His wife is a demi-fox. Not a wolf, but they are also seen in an unfavorable light among many. Anton won’t do anything to harm Lake.”
“Evan!” Maddox shouted, locked into combat with three demons at once. “Move away from the tree!”
Something wet landed on my shoulder. Slime? The branch creaked, drawing my eyes up. Six yellow-green eyes stared down at me, all mushed together in a slimy face that looked like a giant radioactive worm. It had drooled on me. Drool that had seeped from a gaping mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.
I froze.
Luckily, Briar didn’t. He tackled me just as the evil worm struck. I heard the chomp of its teeth right above my head before we landed hard on the ground. The worm, now on the forest floor, wiggled toward us.
Briar hurried to his feet and slashed at it with his dagger. It curled up, making a sick high-pitched crooning sound as toxic green blood oozed from the top of its slimy head.
“We were almost eaten by a worm,” I said, staring at the four feet of nastiness.
Briar helped me to my feet. “Your protection stone.” Frowning, he touched the base of my neck. “You’re not wearing it.”
“About that…” I released a nervous laugh. “Rowan stole it.”
A pained cry from the middle of the fighting had my insides cinching. Quincy dropped to one knee and clutched his stomach. Blood pooled from between his fingers.
“Q!” Duke shouted before lunging toward the demon that had wounded him. It looked like a mix between a bird and a lion—a large beak and wings but with a long tail, brown mane, and paws bigger than my head.
