CHAPTER 33

Morning came suddenly, as though I had slept for only a moment, but as my mind came to, I was certain I hadn't had such a deep and welcoming sleep for as long as I could remember. Unbroken, aided by the warmth of Erix's naked body, where he'd slept in the bed beside me all night. Perhaps it was his closeness that made me feel at ease and safe. It hadn't taken much persuading for him to agree to share my bed, not that we touched more than an inch of skin the entire sleep.

The plan was confirmed by a note that was delivered with breakfast. Althea and Briar had agreed to our request to leave for the Icethorn Court as soon as Althea convinced her mother to allow the gates at the edge of Farrador to open and to arrange our means of travel. Before the sun reached its peak, they promised to send for us. Until then, we were left to a morning of peace. We shared food and spoke of minor, unimportant things to distract me from what was to come.

I should've known this peace would not last.

We were dressed and ready to leave for Icethorn, when the gryvern's blood-curdling screams filled the sky beyond Farrador Castle. I reached the window first, peering out at the cloud of winged beasts as they raced through the dawn-tinged sky towards the castle. The army who camped in the barren fields beyond were alive with shouts, hardly audible above the ferocious noise the demonic creatures created. I could see arrows fired, swords drawn, but the gryvern ducked and dodged every attempt to bring them down.

Everything happened so quickly, but I was certain not a single beast was hit.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me–"

"Get away from the window!" Erix interrupted, tugging me with force from the window and into the belly of the room. "They can't know you are here. If they sense you, we will not stand a chance."

Of course the gryvern were here for me. On the dawn that would change the course of the realm's future.

It was almost too obvious. Someone knew of my plans and was attempting to stop me.

The thought encouraged the winter inside my bones to escape, laying the stone wall in a layer of famished ice.

"We can't let them stop us, Erix. We need to leave now," I said. I was ready for one of the monsters to break through the window and face the wrath I held back. The dagger Erix had given me was already drawn free, gripped tightly in one hand. My magic only a thought – a beat – away.

"If we leave, they will follow," Erix replied, brows furrowed in concentration. He, too, waited, his hand on the hilt of his sword as the other held me close to his chest. "I'm sorry, Robin, but it is not safe. If they come, then we fight. You stopped them before. You can do it again."

I had no doubt.

"Let them come," I warned, arms and legs beginning to shake as adrenaline raced through me. Pure, blinding anger filled my veins in a flash. How dare these creatures ruin yet another moment? We could not let them postpone our plan, but if they did, I was ready to give them a fight. "I get the impression this is to stop us from leaving?"

"I can't help but think the same, little bird. But we should see this through and then worry about who sent them. The important thing is we still have time."

But time was fickle and quickly running out.

The wait for the gryverns' destruction went on for long, painful moments. Surely, they had passed over the army's camps and reached the castle? I wanted to return to my post by the window and see, but Erix's strong arm held me in place.

All I could do was listen to the noise of leathered wings as they beat against slick dark bodies. How they screeched and clicked and made sounds that no person or living creature should dare make. The discomfort of not knowing, of being blind to their positioning, itched at my skin. I evened my breathing, trying to stop my mind from racing so I could focus. Each exhale came out slower, colder, breath fogging in a silver cloud just before my lips. Ice crept along the floor beneath my feet, spreading like flooding water across the room. Erix tensed as he noticed the release of my magic but did not loosen his hold on me.

Glass smashed somewhere beyond the castle. Then again, and again. The gryvern had reached us. I waited with bated breath for a creature to smash through our window. But as more of the heavy crashing sounded all around us, followed by the screams and shouts of horror within the castle beyond our door, none of the monsters found me.

"We should help them," I muttered, wanting to rush to our door and throw it open. It was hard to make sense of the terror that occurred as the gryvern had clearly crashed through the different levels of the castle, yet the screams tugged at my gut, and I knew that we had to do something.

How many more people would be hurt – or die – because of me?

"I am sorry, but I will not let you leave this room," Erix replied, deep voice more a growl as his gaze was now pinned to the chamber's main entrance. "We are safer here. There is an army to win this battle. This is not only your fight."

"But what of everyone else?" I let go of the wrath I held within, shouting at Erix for him to understand my urgency. "I can't just wait for them to hurt people just to get to me. Please, Erix, we need to help."

My mind filled with images of their curved claws and fanged mouths as they tore through the guards, servants and nobles who dwelled within the expansive castle.

Erix's straight mouth twitched. He wanted to help them. He longed to; I could see it from the shivering of his body. But when he looked back at me, it was as though I was the realisation as to why he refused.

I was his duty, and he took that seriously.

It quickly became too much to bear, listening to the sounds of fighting and death. Erix held me to him with both arms, keeping me tight to his chest as the horror of what happened beyond the door went on and on.

I was beginning to believe it'd never end. Until something heavy slammed into the other side of the door. It snapped me out of the trance my horror had lured me into. Dagger gripped firm and ready, magic poised, I waited for the inevitable to break down the door.

Erix drew his sword and stepped before me, both hands on the hilt.

"Help!"

Our eyes met across the room. It was no monster outside the door. It was Briar.

Erix pulled the door open, slamming it into the wall beyond. Briar stumbled through. Her face was covered in blood from a wound that had already dried. Her short hair did well to cover the cut, but I could see the slice peeking out of her hairline.

Briar made it three steps before falling to her knees. Her own dagger tumbled out of her hands, covered in dark, slick blood that belonged to no fey. Gryvern blood.

"Althea…" Briar gasped, voice broken through hulking breaths. "I can't find Althea."

"Robin, we need to stop her bleeding," Erix commanded as he unsheathed his sword, readying for anything.

I dropped to my knees beside her, clasping almost too-cold skin. "Briar, look at me. Tell me what happened."

"The glass it…" That must have been what caused the nasty gash on her head. "Then they came in. The gryvern were everywhere. We… we tried to get away to find you. But Althea knew they wanted you, so she… she…"

"What, Briar? Keep going." My voice shook, needing to know the answer to Althea's whereabouts as yet more screaming and sounds of struggle reached us from beyond the now open door. Smoke crept up the walls of the hallway beyond. Briar lifted a weak, shaking arm and pointed into the dark of the corridor. That was when I noticed the three raw slices that cut into her arm. These, unlike the wound on her head, bled freely, causing a puddle of blood to spill upon the flagstone floor. "Althea fell… she is really hurt, Robin. I tried to find her, but there were too many…"

Briar cried wildly, tears spilling from her red-rimmed eyes, and threw her arms around me.

I looked to Erix, whose hand gripped the door. His knuckles were white as he held on, eyes lost as his thoughts raced with what to do.

"Go," I commanded him. He looked at me as though I read his mind. "Find Althea and make sure she is okay."

Erix shook his head, but I could see his internal struggle. "Your safety is what matters. I will not leave you."

"Erix, you must find her. If she is hurt, she will need you. Please go. I command you to do so."

I had to shout over the commotion and the crying girl who I held in my arms. Briar buried her head into my lap, tears and blood soaking the material of my trousers.

Erix's eyes widened as he looked at me. His pursed lips separated long enough for him to speak, but I could taste his regret before he even finished.

"Please," I forced out the final word.

Something dark passed behind his eyes, like the waking of a monster. "I will not be long. If I can't find her, I will come back for you. Do not leave this room."

"Okay," I whispered, eyes stinging as I looked up at him.

"Promise me, little bird."

I nodded. "I promise, Erix."

We shared a moment of silence, not risking taking our eyes off one another. Then Erix released a deep growl, raised his sword and ran into the hallway, towards the terror that waited down it.

Briar's crying slowed into quiet, hiccupping sobs. She'd gripped hold of my hand as I studied the door for Erix's return.

"I need to check your wounds," I said quietly.

I worried that if I spoke too loudly, I'd risk alerting my location to the gryvern. Without Erix, my confidence in facing them had dwindled to a dying flame, hardly strong enough to catch in a dry forest.

"No…" Briar said, head still on my lap. "They will heal, I just need a moment."

Her demeanour had shifted from pure terror to something like poised clarity.

It was strange, but I understood she was likely dealing with a lot of trauma. I could only imagine what she must have seen.

"Can you tell me everything that happened?" I asked her, wanting to fill these moments of Erix's departure.

"Althea and I were on our way to get you as planned. Queen Lyra had agreed for us to leave for Icethorn as a matter of urgency. But then the attack happened and…" Briar choked on her words.

"Shh," I hushed, running my hand carefully along with her short, dark hair. "Althea will be fine. She's fearsome. I fear more for the gryvern than her. And Erix will find her. They will come back for us soon."

"Not too soon I hope," Briar said, her hold on my hand gripping noticeably tighter.

"What?" I tried to pull away, but her nails dug into my skin, drawing a splintering gasp from me.

It was the pause in her response that had my heart sinking to the pits of my stomach. Briar lifted her head, looking up at me through her lashes with a smile so terrifying I would've rather faced a gryvern. "I said, I do not want them returning soon. Not yet, at least. Would not want them to ruin all my plans."

I yanked my hand away from her, scrambling backwards as Briar stood before me. I met her stance, holding the dagger before me as she, too, held the bloodied one out before her. Words failed me as I could not make sense of the scene before me. It had all changed so quickly.

"Don't look so confused," Briar said through a pout, flicking the blade towards me.

"You have just been crying in my lap, and now you are pointing a blade at me. Forgive me, but I think I've every right to be fucking confused." I forced much hostility into my tone, but even I noticed my voice tremble.

"Didn't expect it to be me, did you?" Briar revelled in her questioning, looking as pleased as a dog with a new bone. She stepped back to the door and kicked it closed. "I admit I have been dying to see your reaction when my little secret was finally exposed. So, how did I do? Impressed?"

"Do what?" My hands shook. I could take her, with or without my magic. She was far smaller than me and housed no natural magic, but there was something goliath about her confidence that made me feel pathetic and small.

"As much as I could stand here and boast about my stellar performance, I'm not completely finished with my task." Briar's gaze narrowed as she stepped forward. "You've been one slippery little fish. But I've got you now."

"It was you. You've been trying to kill me." The words fell out of me, rushed by my panic.

"What a silly thing to say. Oh no, I am not going to kill you. At least not anymore. But hurt you, yes. The updated contract said nothing about causing you as much pain as I desire."

I raised a hand, calling upon the coiling of magic within me. In my panic, I couldn't think of what I required it to do. I simply let instinct decide. But I hit a wall. Reaching down within, I could not feel it. The magic –

It was missing.

"Not making the same mistake my predecessors have," Briar said, clicking her tongue across her teeth. She flicked the dagger to my wrist. I risked a glance down to see a thin band of familiar metal wrapped around it. "The iron will keep your magic at bay. Evens the playing field, one would say. Consider the bracelet a gift to soften the blow of what I have to do. And do you know what… when this is all over, I might even let you keep it."

The bracelet wasn't much different to the one my mother had left me to wear, cold and draining. Except before, I'd been indifferent to its effects. Now having experienced the freedom of my magic the iron had kept at bay, I felt… empty.

"Pretty, isn't it? Picked it myself."

Instinct had me reaching for the bracelet. As I tugged at the thin string-like metal, it got tighter.

"Oh yes. About that. The band was given to me by my employer, then spelled by another Asp I know," Briar said. "Only the hand of the person that beautiful piece of jewellery belonged to can take it off. The more you struggle, the tighter it will become. Too much and it will slice right through that dainty little wrist of yours. You can say goodbye to that hand, not that it will have much use where you're going."

A snarl broke free from me as I gave up on hopes of reaching my power. "I've spent more time without my magic than with it. Whatever you want, I don't need it to stop you."

"Oh, alright big boy. Someone's finally found some balls. If you were so clever, you would've noticed me slip that little band on in the first place."

It was clear from her wide eyes and roaming tongue, Briar enjoyed every second of this.

"Why are you doing this, Briar?"

"Don't take it personally. It's all part of the job," She laughed, throwing her head back but not once taking her eyes off me.

"The gryvern attacks. It was you."

"Altar, no. They aren't my doing. You've got to be joking, one nearly took my arm off. All part of the job. Comes with the territory. May even get me a little bonus for taking the role so seriously."

"Get to the point." I was backing away from her, edging slowly towards the bedroom. If I could get inside and barricade the door, then I could wait for Erix to return. That, or I would have to fight my way past her, and I was beginning to believe that was her preferred option.

"I want nothing from you. I'm simply doing the job that I've been employed to complete. It is the benefactor who wants you, and for me to get the coin I'm promised, you're coming with me."

I wanted to ask whom she spoke of, but I didn't have a chance as she sprung forward.

Briar moved with a grace that I didn't expect. I threw out the hand holding Erix's dagger, hoping the edge of the blade would meet skin. It didn't. At the last moment, Briar changed her footing, twisting her body and sidestepping out of the way, enough to miss the blade but close enough to wrap two arms around me and pull with all her body weight until I was splayed out on the ground. My shoulders screamed as she pulled back on both my arms, pinning them behind my back with the side of my face pressed into the floor.

"What were you saying about beating me without your magic?" she joked, leaning down close to my ear. "Care to remind me?"

"Fuck – you," I bellowed, cheekbone pressed against the floor, stone aching against my skin.

"That's no way a princeling should speak. I'm frankly appalled. Now, why don't you settle down and have a little rest? It will make what is to come easier."

I struggled, wriggling beneath her like a worm entrapped by the claws of a bird. Briar, only short, held firm and did not let go. Stradling my lower back, she was able to keep me secured on the ground. Erix's dagger rested on the floor, taunting me just out of reach.

"Who… are you?"

"Briar, Child of the Asp. And thanks to you, I'm about to be officially inducted into the Guild."

Nothing she said made sense. Not that there was much room for thinking with a face pushed to the floor and a dagger pressed to the soft skin at the back of my neck. The tip of her blade sunk into my flesh, and a cool rush of numbing exploded beneath its touch.

Briar let go of my arms. I tried to move them, but they didn't shift an inch. My entire body was numb, unable move at all. Even my breathing laboured as my lungs struggled to drag in air.

My body was shutting down.

I felt the lack of Briar's pressure on my back and watched, through strained eyes, as her boots came into view. I couldn't look up at her where she stood before me, but I got the impression of her winning smile from her tone.

"The poison will fade in time, don't panic."

I wanted to reply, but my tongue had swollen in my mouth. Dribble wet my cheek and spread across the dusty floor.

"At first, I wasn't bothered if you succeeded in your task to claim Icethorn or not. All I cared about was proving myself to the Guild and claiming the ever-growing bag of coin each time another one of the Children failed in the task."

Briar walked towards the chairs we had sat in the day before, searching the books for answers together. Carelessly she knocked a pile to the floor and picked one of the smaller chairs up until it was held over her head, not a bead of sweat visible as she kept it aloft.

"It started with the Tugwort. It was my idea to poison myself, to eliminate myself as a potential threat. Poor little Taster, no one would've thought that the person behind poisoning me was, in fact, myself."

She padded over to the large window, letting the dawn light halo around her short frame.

There was a name on the tip of my useless tongue. I longed to cry it out aloud, matching the keening scream in my mind.

"Erix. Erix. Erix."

"The only part of me that feels some sense of regret is knowing what Althea will think if she found out. But that does not matter now. No one will be able to tell her once you are gone."

I couldn't even close my eyes as Briar threw the chair towards the window. Glass exploded upon impact, raining down upon the world outside, and the metal framing bent and jagged.

"You do not know how lucky you are, Robin."

My eyes followed Briar as she walked away from the broken window in the direction of the door and out of view. No matter how I struggled to follow, my body was set in full paralysis now.

"When Erix comes back for you, he'll see that the gryvern got here first. They attacked me and took you without hesitation." Briar clapped her hands, rubbing them together. "No one will question poor, friendly little Briar. They never have before, and that won't change going forward."

My ears pricked at the sound of flapping wings. I no longer cared for Briar as the gryvern lifted itself into view beyond the shattered window, mouth wide, exposing the rows of fangs as it surveyed me.

I wanted to close my eyes, but even that was impossible. I was forced to watch the gryvern climb inside the room, talons gripped onto the window ledge, not caring about the spears of glass that embedded into its already mangled skin.

"See you soon, Robin."

The gryvern pounced towards me, screeching rotten air over me. I was swept from the floor, just as my consciousness decided now was the moment to protect me.

And everything went dark.