Page 160 of Trick

“Come,” she ordered. “Now.”

“No,” I said. “Not without him.”

“Do not test me, Briar. If necessary, I will have you dragged out.”

Poet spoke in my ear. “I’d rather not come between you and yet another person. Family dramas are a sensitive trigger for me.”

I whirled toward him. “I won’t leave you.”

“Ah, sweeting.” He leveled my chin with his fingers. “Flattered as I am, I can’t let that happen. I want you safe and out of here. Meaning, if your mother doesn’t drag you out, I’ll find a way to throw you out myself. Don’t worry about me. Go and be a good daughter.”

“I don’t want to be good. I want to stay with you.”

“I’ve never heard a more splendid compliment.”

“What will they do to you?”

Poet’s eyes flared. “Nothing I’ll remotely let them do to you.”

“If they hurt you—”

“They can’t do anything I won’t make them feel in return. They might have sharp objects at their disposal, but I wield something sharper than that, and they know it.” He lowered his voice. “I’ll be fine. Now get the fuck out of here, darling Briar.”

Our fingers brushed. The guard barreled inside, pulled us apart, and hauled me toward Mother.

“I’ll find a way to get you out of here,” I swore over my shoulder to Poet. “I promise!”

He made no response as I vanished around the corner. The guard shoved me unceremoniously down the stairway. I wouldn’t go unpunished by Spring or Autumn, but my punishment would be less severe than Poet’s.

With that harrowing thought in mind, I jerked away from the brute. “I’m going, dammit,” I snapped. “I won’t fight. Only take your infernal fucking hands off me!”

Mother and the guard froze. I must have looked as enraged as I sounded, with my hair a nest, grime streaking my dress and hands, my teeth barred, and my tongue going rogue.

After a considerable moment, Mother nodded. The man unshackled me.

Two more escorts waited at the bottom. I followed them, marching ahead of Mother in a fury. The men stationed themselves outside my suite as she and I disappeared inside.

Morning light pelted through the stained glass windows and blasted in from the balcony.

The door shut. Because my rooms were in a recess with a private corridor, footfalls trailed to the hallway’s entrance, far enough that the sentinels wouldn’t overhear what was said, so long as I kept my voice civil.

The balcony doors gaped open. Beyond the facade, grass trembled across the hills, and clouds packed the overcast sky. The garden below was where I first saw Poet, and the distant forest was where I first discovered the agony of his touch.

Inside, the suite seemed to hold its breath. Steeling myself, I whirled to face my mother. Across the divide, we regarded each other in silence.

Then the brittle string snapped.

She surged toward me and choked, “Briar.”

I rushed to her and croaked, “Mother.”

The sorrowful noises chipped me to pieces as we crushed ourselves together. My head wedged against her shoulder, and tears sprang from my eyes, the onslaught soaking her gown.

She clutched me tighter. “Oh, Briar. Oh, my girl. Forgive me. I had to do it. I had to.”

I nodded. I knew why she’d done what she had, treating me frigidly for the world to see. For this court, she’d had to play the Autumn Queen.

But I would be lying if I said I hadn’t doubted her for a second. I missed the tenderness I’d been rejecting for years. I didn’t want to miss it anymore. I cried for it. I cried because I got to be here with my mother, while Poet didn’t get to be with Jinny and Nicu.

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