Page 34 of Just Crumbs

Nothing about her banishment makes sense.

The rumors spread about her around Greenbell to keep people from discovering her in the woods.

The power-sapping fairy circle.

The continued starvation.

“He’s trying to keep you weak,” I say quietly, the idea hitting me like lightning. “He’s trying to keep people away from you, reduce your power, and starve you so you’re not strong enough to escape.”

“I mean, yeah.” Hans’s voice is rife with confusion. “Of course he is. It’s a prison. He won’t want her powerful.”

“Right. But he wants to keep people from knowing the truth about her, so he makes up these horrid stories so they don’t go near her.” I grab Briar’s chin and whip her face toward me. “Because he knows that if people know you, they’ll want to save you. He needs you completely isolated.”

She nuzzles into my hand, red eyes half-lidded. “Why is this important?”

“Because you’re no longer contained. You’re no longer starving. And you’re no longer alone. You have everything he was specifically trying to stop you from having.” Hans is scratching his upper arm as he thinks about what I say. “What if you never killed that traveler? What if the Banisher did? Because that person was too close to you. What if the traveler could’ve saved you?”

“Oh, shit,” my brother’s eyes open wide, and he grabs one of the packs. “Wait a fucking second.” He finds the book that was in Briar’s home and starts to flip through it. “Here it is!”

He jumps to his feet, holding the book open in front of him, and he starts to pace in front of the fire. “It was there all along, right in front of our noses.”

“What is it?” Briar asks, sounding more hopeful than she ever has before.

He begins to read. “‘A succubus can feed in several ways, be it dreams of those around her, sexual energy, or life’s blood. However, those feedings are unsatisfying unless the donor has agreed to become a Complement to the succubus. A succubus’s Complement is a bond formed through emotional attachment with one person who can temper the harmful effects of a succubus’s magic. Without a Complement, a succubus is more likely to maim or injure the person she has chosen to feed from. It has been rumored that some of the more powerful succubae have taken two Complements, but it has never been confirmed. Without a Complement, a succubae can be so overwhelmed with their magic that it becomes hard to direct, making them markedly weaker than their bonded counterparts.”

He closes the book with a snap and drops to his knees in front of Briar, holding the book out to her.

“Don’t you see, butterfly? No one near you meant you couldn’t feed off of dreams. No one visiting you meant you couldn’t form emotional connections. The Banisher was afraid you’d form a Complement and be able to use your powers to break free of the circle.” He drops the book and takes her hands. “I bet you didn’t kill your friend. I bet your Banisher did because you were close to forming a Complement.”

My mind whirls at the information, but a rightness settles in my chest. “And he didn’t care to visit you until he got word that we were there. He wanted to make sure you couldn’t bond to us.”

Briar’s mouth gapes open. The night has stilled entirely around us, the moon high and bright, illuminating our quartet. I can’t take my eyes off the beautiful woman beside me. “You don’t think I killed him?” Her voice is soft and hopeful, her eyes lined with tears.

“No, it makes sense,” I answer for Hans. “If you are forming an emotional connection, it would help make your power more manageable, and it makes sense he’d want them gone. Up until you met us, how was your magic?”

She pulls her hair over her shoulder and plays at braiding the ends. “It wasn’t friendly. I could do small things, illusions, heating water, things like that, but anytime I tried to do something that could be considered big or impressive, it wouldn’t listen. I always thought it was not being fed enough. Do you really think my magic just needs to be grounded in a person?”

“Or persons,” Hans whispers. “What if you need two Complements?”

Chapter18

Dangerous Hands

BRIAR

Every part of my body heats at his proclamation.

“Two? Do you think… both of you?”

Hans slides onto the other side of the log. “Why not? We’ve felt attached to you from the beginning, even when this whole situation has made us nervous. Do you feel drawn to us?”

My heart clenches. Of course, I have. I’ve wanted them both from the moment I saw them. But that can’t mean anything, right?

“I have an idea,” Gerrit says, pushing hair away from my neck and kissing along the skin there. “What if we power you up? Get you good and flush with it. And then you try to do something your magic would’ve never let you do before.”

Hans’s hand rubs across my belly before turning north and sliding between my breasts. “And they call me the Brain. Great idea, brother.”

I whimper as Hans makes contact with my nipple through my shirt. Gerrit grabs my chin and tilts it up, kissing me sweetly. Our tongues tangle together as I hear Hans drop on his knees to the forest floor. His hands grapple with my boots, but he gets them removed and yanks my pants off shortly after.

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