Page 110 of Brambles and Bellflowers
“Goodness no,” Kathleen replied, her frown deepening as she waved a dismissive hand. “I haven’t the time.”
“What else do you have to do?” Miles asked.
“You have your prophecy to contend with,” she replied, her voice low and contemplative. As she spoke, the room seemed to grow still. “I have my dealings. It’s ironic that, in the end, fate has a way of catching up to us all.”
Damen POV
“It’s still following us.”
Julian trailed behind me, and his droll tones spoke heavily of boredom. I turned just as he threw another acorn, this one barely missing my face before it disappeared into the distance.
“Did you just try to hit me?” I asked, even though I was sure he wouldn’t resort to such things. It was anacorn, but what if it’d put out my eye?
Julian was quite adept at finding innocent things to use to inflict pain.
“Don’t be so sensitive.” He shrugged, catching another in the air. “I wouldn’t have missed if I tried. Did you hear what I said?”
“Yeah…” I replied.
We’d broken through the trees, and I glanced behind us. We’d been tracked since we’d left the river where Bianca and Miles had disappeared, but the creature following us was loud and clumsy and didn’t feel like a threat. Since our priority was locating our missing quintet members, we’d ignored it, hoping it’d go away.
But that didn’t appear to be the case.
Instead, it’d grown bolder the further we traveled. Before, it’d stop as we did—but now it drew ever closer.
“Why are you taking off your shirt?” Julian said suddenly, pulling my attention to the dragon.
Titus had dropped his backpack and grunted as he turned toward us. And, as Julian had said, he was in the process of shedding his clothes.
“I might need to shift,” he said, looking at us as if we were morons. “This is the last shirt I have.”
But we weren’t the ones not making any sense.
“So what?” Could he be losing his mind because of Bianca’s absence? But no, he’d also acted like this earlier—when he shifted with Bianca nearby. Why, though? In the past, he didn’t care about destroying whatever he wore.
“Because it scares her,” he replied, pulling off the plaid. “And, also, Bianca likes this shirt.” He folded it, and his green eyes showed an almost reverent gleam as he spoke, “I need to take care of it.”
“No, she doesn’t,” I told him. Why in the world would she like that thing? “You look like a nerd.”
Titus growled, and a dark look entered his eyes. “Trust me, shelikesit,” he purred as he set the shirt on top of his backpack.
“You’re ridiculous.” Julian crossed his arms. “Bianca has far more refined tastes.”
“I know what I know,” Titus said. “We need to be ready to fight.”
“What makes you think she likes it?” I raised my eyebrow. There was no reason to be concerned about our stalker. After all—we had a real dragon with us. Nothing in the world could beat us, not even if our foe were the presumed Snallygaster.
It was unlikely to be the same beast, but Bianca’s worries had gotten it stuck in my head.
“It’s none of your business.” Titus straightened and held up his hand. “It’s coming—”
“Wait just a minute!” How dare he change the subject. “Tell me—”
He growled again; this time, the sound radiated from deep within his chest as his gaze moved past us. I sighed.
I wasn’t finished with this conversation, but it seemed our follower was done keeping its distance. The sounds of its lumbering flailing had grown exponentially louder.
Julian moved behind me; his back pressed against my own. He threw open his arms, two obsidian blades in his hands. These were his go-to weapons, wielded throughout his many lifetimes. I had no idea where he hid those things between our lives—he didn’t have the same abilities as Bianca and me.
