Page 128 of Crown of Briars
My shadows coiled at my feet as anger bubbled within me. “Just check the damn wards,” I said through gritted teeth.
Before Tislora could respond, someone knocked at the open door, and we both turned. Clermont stood at the doorway, panting, his eyes wide.
“What is it?” I demanded, my body tensing.
“Warwick,” Clermont said. “He’s—He’s escaped. He killed Tavish.”
My blood chilled. Tavish was the fiercest fighter I knew. How the hell had Warwick overpowered him?
“Shit.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Where was he last sighted?”
“Just outside the training yard.”
“Your trousers are glowing,” Tislora said.
Clermont and I cast her matching looks of bewilderment. When she gestured to my thigh, I followed her gaze. Sure enough, a warm glow shone from inside my pocket. As silence fell, a muffled voice filled the air.
“You don’t want to do this,” said the voice.
My blood chilled. It was Sybelle speaking to me through the amber stone. I’d forgotten it was in my pocket.
I withdrew the gemstone and lifted it to my ear. The glow vanished, and her voice rang in my mind.
“Warwick, think about this. If you hurt me, Varius will kill you.”
A menacing growl rumbled in my chest. “Warwick,” I snarled. “He’s with Sybelle.”
“Where?” Tislora asked.
I shook my head, uncertain. I clutched the amber so tightly that the edges dug into my palm. “Sybelle, where are you?” I asked, not sure if she could hear me or not. Perhaps the amber stone worked both ways. She had mentioned she’d used it to communicate with a friend.
“What are you even doing out here in these woods?”Sybelle asked.“Aren’t there supposed to be enchantments to keep fae out?”
I bit back a roar of rage. “She’s in the Noxen Forest.” What the hell was she doing there?
I was moving to the door when Tislora stopped me.
“I’m coming with you.”
“The hell you are,” I barked.
“You have no idea how many soldiers he has with him,” shesaid, already drawing her black cloak around her shoulders. “If the human’s life is at stake, you could use my power.”
I whirled to her, fangs bared. “And how can I trust you won’t aim that power at my wife?”
She leveled a cold look at me. “I swear on my fae blood that I won’t. Is that good enough for you?”
“Varius,” Clermont said before I snarled at Tislora. “If Sybelle is in the Noxen Forest, you’ll need powerful magic to help you.”
I resisted the urge to ram my fist into the wall. Clermont was right. The moment the defensive enchantments of the Noxen Forest were activated, I would be unable to help Sybelle. The shrill ringing sound would render me helpless.
“Fine,” I growled. “I don’t have time to argue. I hope you’re up for flying.”
Tislora gave me a sinister smile. “I always am.”
I stared at Warwick,my heart thudding loudly in my chest. One hand was pressed to my amber necklace. I hoped it looked like I was clutching at my chest in fear.
And, inexplicably, I heardVarius’svoice inside my head. Just like with Azure. He must have kept the amber stone from earlier.
