Page 178 of Crown of Briars
Behind me, Ramia reached the ground, wiping sweat from her brow. Gray hairs came loose from her bun. A few moments later, Enzira hopped down with ease. Gerard eyed her tail with unease as it swished behind her body.
“To the stables?” I asked, my voice a touch sharper than was necessary. I wanted him to stop glaring at my friend.
“No,” he said, meeting my gaze. “To the woods. There’s a patch of dark shadows just beyond that we can travel through.”
“All right. Lead the way.”
He reached for my hand, but I pretended to fumble with the clasp of my cloak. With a sigh, he strode forward.
Then, I made my move.
I yelped loudly, and he stiffened, whirling to face me. My hands grasped his tunic as if I had tripped. Together, we slid sideways, crashing into the bed of flowers that lined the castle walls. My cloak tangled with his sword belt, and his armor clanged loudly as we rolled together in the soil.
“Shit!” I cried, twisting further as he tried to extricate himself. “Damn my clumsiness. Hold on, my fabric is bunched here.”
Enzira rushed forward to help, but Gerard barked, “Get away from us!”
“Don’t talk to her like that!” I snarled, shoving his chest hard. “She has been nothing but kind to me.”
His nostrils flared, and he stared at me as if seeing me for the first time. “You have changed. I thought you hated the unseelie.”
“I hate those who endanger my people,” I said coldly. “That doesn’t include Enzira.”
I clambered to my feet and slid the bloodstone in the pocket of my cloak, praying he hadn’t noticed I’d taken it. I brushed dirt and leaves from my clothes, then stepped out of the flower bed and onto the gravel path. “Shall we?”
Gerard said nothing, striding past me, then froze, his hand sifting through his pocket.
Damn it.
“Wait a moment.” He whirled to face me, eyes blazing. “What did you do?”
Fear tightened my chest like a vise, but before I could reply, a voice bellowed, “Gerard!”
Gerard turned. Standing beyond the gravel path stood Tislora, her wings stretched wide and her icy silver eyes pinned on him. She offered him a cruel smile.
“It has been a while, hasn’t it, brother?”
Gerard wentrigid at the sight of Tislora, his arms slackening at his sides. “Lora?” he asked, his voice full of disbelief.
“Don’t play games with me,” she snapped, striding toward him with lethal grace. “I know what you’ve done to my stores of hellebore.”
I slowly backed away from the two of them, then gestured wildly for Enzira and Ramia to leave. “Run!” I whispered. “Remember the plan!”
They both nodded and retreated toward the opposite end of the castle. Enzira shot me one last look of regret before she vanished from view.
I knew they wanted to stay with me. But they were not fighters, and Gerard could easily use them as leverage against me.
Besides, they had explicit instructions to access the armory so they could distribute weapons to everyone in the castle. The Earthen soldiers would likely breach the entrance soon, and I wanted to ensure the staff had a means of defending themselves.
“Azure, are you close?” I breathed, squeezing my amber stone.
“Just say the word, and I’ll grab you,”she replied.
I retrieved the shadowstone from my other pocket, then heldit alongside the bloodstone. The air hummed, and the shrill ringing sound returned. I gritted my teeth, and Gerard whipped toward me.
“No!” he roared, reaching for me. “Stop!”
Tislora’s wings flared, and she flew toward him, claws extended. I took several steps back, then slammed the two stones together.
