Frantic, I searched for the others. Callum favored his left side, a nasty gash on his right leg. Anton wasn’t injured, but he was losing strength. Maddox and Lake fought side by side, both scratched and bleeding in areas. The leather part of Hudson’s chest armor lay in tatters, having been sliced at and bitten.
A crow demon lunged at Hudson, and he knocked it away with his shield. Its sharp beak sank deep into the metal before it yanked the shield from his hand. Before that beak came down on his head, a dagger flew through the air and lodged in the crow’s neck.
The person who threw it? Nowhere to be found. But I knew it was Rowan. I recognized the dagger as the small one that had been fastened on his upper thigh.
Hudson jumped back up and fought beside Duke, both of them shielding Quincy, who didn’t look too hot. He was so pale.
Twigs snapped from the forest behind us. Green eyes glowed from the shadows beyond—higher in the trees and some ground level. More giant worms or other terrifying creatures I had no interest in meeting.
“We need to move,” Briar said before leading me from the coverage of trees as more demons flooded the area from all sides. It was no longer a safe hiding place. He led us to the edge of the fighting and snapped his head in different directions. The hand still holding the blade trembled.
That caused a similar trembling in my heart.
“Briar!” Maddox fought two jaguar-looking demons a short distance away. They had leathery skin and sharp spikes going down their spines. More advanced toward him, slinking through the shrubs. Meeting Briar’s gaze, he nodded once. A signal.
Briar made a small sound. Whatever Maddox wanted him to do, they’d discussed beforehand. And he didn’t want to do it.
“Maddox told me to take you and run if things took a turn for the worst.”
The breath froze in my lungs.
“No,” I said, voice so thick I could barely get the word out. I looked at Maddox, then at Lake, both engaged in a fight they may not walk away from. “We can’t leave them.”
“Evan…” Briar’s eyes glistened behind his glasses.
“You love him too!” I choked out. “How can you leave him here to die?”
A tear slipped from the corner of his eye. “I promised him I’d keep you safe.”
“I don’t care what you promised him! I’m not leaving.” I dropped my gaze to the ground.
“What are you doing?” Briar asked.
“Searching for a weapon.” Spotting a stick, I bent and grabbed it.
“The knights were right about you.” A sad smile touched Briar’s lips. He brushed the backs of his fingers across my cheek. “You’re small but brave.”
I returned his smile. It felt shaky. “We can’t leave them, Briar.”
Exhaling, he lowered his hand from my cheek. “I know. I’d never forgive myself if I did.”
“Me either.” It was my fault we were there in the first place. They had come to rescue me because I was a freaking damsel in distress who couldn’t do anything right, other than bake muffins.
“Take this.” Briar offered me his dagger.
I shook my head. “That’s yours. Besides, Maddox told me not to wield sharp objects.”
“I’m sure he can make an exception just this once.”
“Better not chance it,” I said. “You know how he gets when he’s mad. That vein at his temple will pop one day.”
Briar chuckled. It echoed with the worry we both felt.
Stick in hand, I went to step forward when something dropped in front of me.
“Do you have a death wish, little treasure?” Rowan asked, straightening up from his landing crouch. He was only a few inches taller than me. “You can’t even walk across flat ground without tripping. What makes you think you can fight demons?”
“I have to try,” I said. “Those men fighting? They’re my family. And they’re here because of me.”
