Page 61 of Enspelled

The click of wolf claws moves away, followed seconds later by the snick of the door closing, which announces their departure.

Liam refocuses his attention on me. “Or would you prefer we fought to the death in a challenge instead?”

I study him in silence. That I’ve woken up at all after his one-day pass to get out of Madden Grove expired is a surprise. But now he wants me to sit and drink orange juice while wetalk?

“What exactly is going on here?” I demand, still not moving from my spot.

“Just a conversation,” Liam says as he lifts his glass. “Unless you’re afraid I’m going to—”

I stalk over to the chair and drop into it. “Since I’m still alive, I can only assume you want something from me.”

He gestures to the glass of orange juice on the table between us. I ignore it.

“Answers to questions that Briar doesn’t have the answers to,” he says.

I glance over to find her head still lowered.

Something is wrong. It has to be. “Briar?”

“Yeah?” she asks, head still lowered.

“Look at me.”

There’s no response, so I narrow my eyes at Liam. “What did you do to her?”

He raises his free hand in a show of innocence. “Me? Nothing. It’s not my fault she’s being shy.”

I stare at him.

“Perhaps it’s the dress.” His lips quirk. “Green is Briar’s color, don’t you think? But maybe you could say the same thing about all redheads.”

My attention returns to her. “Briar. Look at me.”

Her hands tightens around a white mug filled with fruity tea, but after a long moment, she lifts her head.

And I see the dark bruise on her neck.

A snarl bursts from my lips.

“Keane, it wasn’t—”

I don’t wait to listen to whatever else Briar has to say.

I’m on my feet without knowing how I got there. But before I can shove aside the table and lunge at Liam, he has one hand circling her wrist.

He doesn’t say a word, but he doesn’t need to.

The threat is right there in his eyes.

If I attacked Liam, Briar wouldn’t survive it.

“It wasn’t him,” Briar says into the tense silence.

My gaze returns to the bruise on her throat. One made by a hand. A large one. Someone choked her, probably to unconsciousness from the darkness of the bruise. “Who?”

He’s dead. Whoever it was is dead.

Briar shoots a rapid glance at Liam.

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