Page 46 of The Scent of Vengeance

He grinned, entirely unapologetic, and nodded away from the bodies. “Can I have a word?”

“Sure,” I agreed, following him to the edge of the treeline, out of hearing range of anyone casually listening. “What’s up? Is Briar ok?”

I started to look around for her, worry thrumming through me, but he shook his head in denial.

“She’s fine,” he replied, then wrinkled his nose a little. “Well, not worse anyway. That’s what I want to talk about. I think we should take her home.”

My brow furrowed. “Home? The castle?!”

He huffed at me in exasperation. “Why would we take her there? No, Cor, I want to take her back to our world. Away from all of this fighting. Away from the Queen. She can’t walk, let alone fight, and she’ll be safe with my pack.”

His voice rose as he spoke, and I raised a brow at how strongly he clearly felt about this.

“Let me get this straight,” I said, unable to help the teasing lilt to my tone. “You want to take my sister back to your realm… to look after her?”

He glared at me and folded his arms across his wide chest. “Well, we have to go back, it makes sense to offer her a safe haven.”

“Uhuh…” I drawled, swallowing a chuckle. “And how does Briar feel about this?”

He suddenly looked a little nervous, darting his gaze over to where she was sitting beside Linc and Hawk, their supplies packed and waiting. “Ah, I was running the idea by you first.”

I started to laugh. “Oh, please let me be there when you tell her.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “This is not a big deal, Cordelia. I just wanted to suggest it as an option.”

I nodded, wrestling my amusement under control. “Sure! Come on then, let’s see what she thinks.”

Ignoring his sudden protests, I marched directly over to my sister, sensing him reluctantly following.

Briar’s face lit up when she saw me, though the tension in her body told me how badly she was hurting and my mood instantly dropped. “You’re hurting.”

She shrugged. “I’m ok, C, don’t worry.”

Hawk tutted, and she shot him a disgusted look. “Don’t tell me how I’m feeling.”

He raised a single brow at her in answer and she huffed, flipping him the finger. I could have sworn that the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement, but Briar caught my attention again.

“How is everyone doing?” she asked, glancing around at the pack with obvious sympathy.

I grimaced. “Not good. It’s going to take a long time to heal from this.”

“Can I help?” she asked sincerely, making me smile again.

Looking at the lines of pain on her face and the tightness of her shoulders, I glanced at her bound leg which was laid out carefully in front of her.

“Actually,” I began, my mouth twisting in thought. “I think I do need something.”

She looked curious and patted the ground beside her. I sank down and scooted close, pressing my leg up against her healthy one affectionately and taking a deep breath. I was pretty sure she would hate this plan.

“This pack doesn’t know you, B,” I began. “And they’ve just been betrayed by magic again. They’ve lost people they love. Asking for their trust is just too much right now.”

She frowned sadly. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. “You’re also hurt. Badly. I don’t know what is going to happen now, but I do know that you’re in no state to fight anymore. Not for a while anyway.”

She looked confused but I cut off any question she was about to ask.

“You need to go back with these guys. To the human realm. It’s a safe place to heal up and it won’t add any more strain onto my pack’s shoulders.”

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