Page 88 of The Scent of Vengeance

“You should drink this.”

I startled out of my thoughts as Noah spoke, rolling a tiny bottle of red liquid between his fingers.

“What?”

He glanced sidewards at me with a resigned smile. “We’re nearly at the castle, and I don’t think any of us believe we’re going to get a warm welcome. You should drink this now. It could save you.”

I shook my head as I recognised the vial of protection potion that Briar had given me all those months ago. I guessed he had found it when searching out my fresh clothes.

“It could saveyou. You drink it.”

He scoffed at me. “Woman, you are crazy. In what universe do you think any of us will take it before you?”

“Woman?” I repeated, raising a brow at him indignantly.

He trailed his eyes over my body before giving me a wink. “Yup, pretty sure. Need me to double check?”

I couldn’t help the laugh that fell out of me, even as I gave him a shove to the side.

His grin died away as he straightened, grabbing my hand and linking our fingers.

“Seriously, Cor,” he murmured, his eyes suddenly serious again and pleading with me. “Drink it. Please. It’ll take some of the worry off our shoulders.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Oh sure, guilt me into it.”

He grinned and pulled the tiny cork stopper out of the bottle before handing it to me. “Whatever works, sweetheart.”

I grimaced as I threw back my head and swallowed the mouthful of liquid, the bitter taste making me shudder. I could taste its strength, the pure power flooding through me, but even then I knew it wouldn’t shelter me for long. One big hit and it would be gone.

“It won’t matter,” I murmured, dropping the empty vial to the grass and leaning my head on his shoulder. “If any of you get hurt…”

He pulled me into his lap and wrapped me up in his arms, surrounding me in his scent and comforting warmth. “We’re strong and we have everything to fight for. We’re going to get through this, Cor. Together.”

I pushed my hands under his shirt as I nestled closer, relishing the touch of his skin on mine as I nodded my agreement. He was right, we were strong, we were made to walk this path together.

“Be nice if we knew what was coming though,” he mused softly, almost to himself.

I sighed and looked over at the waterfall and our path back into the darkness, answering him just as softly.

“I’m sure it won’t be long before we find out.”

I felt the harsh snap of magic as Liam’s foot proved me right.

Nothing immediately changed around us, my orb of light floating above and lighting our way in the tunnel as it had been for the last few hours. Leading the group as usual, Liam walked on unknowingly, having not felt the trigger activate.

“Stop!” I hissed, making him freeze before spinning towards me in alarm.

The rest of us stopped in our tracks as well, the other two guys just behind me as they all waited for an explanation.

“I felt a tripwire,” I whispered, some self-preserving instinct begging me to be quiet.

“I walked through it?” Liam asked softly, turning to shrewdly scan the darkness ahead.

Walking up behind him, I felt myself pass through the magical barrier before stepping to his side. He turned and growled low in his throat as he found me beside him.

“Why the fuck did you cross it too?”

My eyes rolled. “It’s not like we were going back. Plus I couldn’t sense anything outside of the line she’d set, I needed to be inside.”

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