Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I listened to the swish of Maeve’s skirts fade as she retreated. After several moments, I cautiously opened my senses. Her energy entered the forest and continued to move away from the glade. I wanted to weep with relief that she’d left before anyone else returned…until I remembered how she’d distracted my protectors.

An ache filled my chest as I focused on the cave where Darian, Brandle, and Eadric worked to remove the rocks that blocked the opening. Inside, Daemon, Edmund, Liam, and Garron struggled to do the same. I felt their fear, and it fed my own.

It would take little effort for me to move the rocks, but would Maeve sense if I cast now? She was still so close, and I couldn’t risk her returning.

With little else to do, I focused on the spell she’d cast on me. I felt where it had settled. Sticky like sap, it coated me from the inside and made it impossible to move. The paralysis felt familiar. Had the previous times also been due to Maeve?

A span of time later, a shock of rage, not my own, screamed through me. It came from the spell. I checked Maeve’s progress and saw beasts running in her direction. Not Father, though. He was close to the clearing, watching me from the shadows. Had he seen Maeve?

Once the nearby beasts had fled, he howled long and low.

Father, quiet! I thought frantically. If she returns, we could all die.

The howl continued, and I felt Darian’s attention shift away from the rocks.

“Kellen?” he called.

His concern grew and became my own as he rounded the corner of the cottage.

“Princess?” He knelt beside me and carefully lifted me into his arms.

Father stopped howling, and I felt hope in knowing that he had purposely called their attention to help me.

Don’t give up, Father , I thought, even as I struggled to respond to Darian's gentle touch in some way.

“Come now, Princess. Now is not the time to fall into a faint. Open your eyes for me.”

Every attempt to do so failed.

He set me on the table, and his fingers stroked over my face, coaxing me to respond. I could feel his worry growing.

“It’s never lasted this long before,” he said softly.

His need to call out for Brandle and Eadric warred with his need for them to free Edmund, Daemon, Garron, and Liam. The six of them strained against the larger boulders, working together to move rocks as Darian stayed with me. I checked Maeve’s progress continually, but she didn’t move far, surrounded as she was.

Eventually, they cleared a small opening at the top of the entrance. Their relief echoed my own.

“Please wake up, Princess,” he said, unaware of his brothers as they climbed out of the cave.

I knew the moment they saw me on the table. Their low murmur of conversation ceased. The worry that had just left them came rushing back.

“What happened?” Brandle asked.

“I found her lying on the ground by the apple,” he said.

The apple. I’d forgotten about it.

I fought against the spell, desperate to warn them not to touch the apple, but my body wasn’t my own. It refused to respond to my will.

“It isn’t an apple from the cellar,” Garron said. “It’s fresh and…” I heard the apple hit the ground. “It’s been touched by magic. Where did it come from?”

“It was here when I found her. I think the howl was her father. Try talking to him.”

Daemon’s energy moved off toward the tree line and returned moments later.

“His exact words before leaving were: woman and dangerous.”

Their fear grew until it squeezed in on me, creating a panic that made my heart race. I tried to close myself off from what they felt, but it didn’t work. Everything they felt became my own. Their fear, anger, hopelessness, and desperate need to protect.

“What did the Foul Queen do to her?” Edmund asked, his voice shaking with rage.

“Kellen’s breathing,” Darian said. “Maybe she’s just resting.”

“And you call me simple?” Eadric said with a snort. “The spelled apple has a bite out of it, and our little sparrow isn’t waking. She’s been cursed.”

“In order to create a curse, it must have an end,” Garron said. “We’ll find the end to this one.”

“How? The Foul Queen knew we were close. The cost of breaking this spell will be high,” Brandle said.

“For us or for our lamb?” Daemon asked.

Liam reached under my skirt to touch my ankle.

“She’s chilled. We should move her inside.”

Darian lifted me again, and from the safety of his embrace, I listened to them speak as they made a bed for me in the cottage and started the fire.

“The spell is obviously meant to stop us,” Brandle said. “That means we were close.”

“But why not kill her if we were close?” Edmund asked.

No one answered. Even I could not understand why Maeve chose to cast another spell when I already couldn’t speak of her ill deeds. Edmund was right. If I had been close to gaining the help I needed, why spare me? Not that I felt spared.

Darian carefully set me on the mattress and kissed my forehead.

A tingle of energy swept through me, and for a moment, I felt my eyelids move. But the sensation disappeared when he retreated.

“If we were close, we should continue as we were,” Liam said.

The heat from the fire warmed me as they took turns washing and discussing what to do about the mine. Garron was certain it was safe to return to it and didn’t understand how the collapse happened in the first place.

“We have enough from yesterday for another delivery,” Liam said. “It’s not safe to leave Kellen, though. Look what happened when our backs were turned.”

“They were more than turned,” Brandle said, frustration lacing his words.

Their emotions fed the storm growing inside my well.

“It’s no longer safe to remain here if she knows where we are,” Edmund said.

I could feel the edge of his temper bubbling beneath the surface. His fingers traced over my face, and his lips brushed my brow. A tingle of energy washed through me. I grabbed onto it, but too late. It disappeared with his retreat.

Frustration—my own—surged, demanding to be answered.

I opened my senses, checking for Maeve again. Hundreds of beasts continued to hamper her progress. I felt no remorse for my fervent hope that they’d kill her before she reached the edge of the forest. Yet, I couldn’t risk attempting to free myself while she remained close.

“Lamb,” Daemon said. “Please open those beautiful eyes of yours.”

This time, when his hand slipped under my skirt to stroke my leg, I was ready for the tingle of energy. Seizing it, I tried to open my eyes.

“Did you see that?” Daemon said. “Her lashes moved.”

“Kitten?” Brandle called. His hand cupped my face.

I latched onto his energy and added it to the rest. My eyelids weakly obeyed my will; however, rather than opening, they fluttered twice before stilling.

“They moved,” Eadric said. “I think she’s awake. Remember? She said she could hear us the last time this happened.”

“The last time, our amulets glowed when we touched her. This is a different spell,” Garron said.

“Can you hear us, Kitten?” Brandle asked. His fingers trailed over my brow as Daemon massaged my foot.

I fought to open my eyes again, but the energy wasn’t enough. I needed more and sought to pull a small amount from the area around me. Certainly, Maeve wouldn’t sense something so minute. Yet, when I tried to draw from the floor, the earth, or even the air around us, I couldn’t touch it.

Trapped inside myself, I screamed my anger.

The plates on the shelves rattled.

“She is awake,” Eadric said.

Brandle’s lips brushed my cheek. “We won’t leave you, Kitten. Not this time.” His mouth settled on mine, and I felt his need to protect me…to avenge me…to never let me go. I wished more than anything I could do the same for him.

The need to lift my hands, run my fingers through his hair, and kiss him in return consumed me.

“Her fingers moved,” Garron said.

I could feel him kneel beside me as Brandle lifted his head.

Garron held my hand. “You’re stronger than you know, Snow. Fight the spell she cast on you. You can break it and free yourself. I know you can.”

“Break it, then break the one holding us,” Darian said.

“Together, we’ll free your sister,” Eadric added.

Focusing inward on the sticky layer of the spell she’d cast, I tried to imagine myself physically lifting it. However, my arms slid through it, finding no purchase regardless of how I tried. The shelves rattled more earnestly as I fought against the spell.

Daemon took my other hand. His love and desire sparked more energy, which crawled beneath my skin. The four points of contact forced a response from me, but not one I intended.

Instead of my eyes obeying my will, a small pained sound escaped me.

“Kitten?” Brandle said. “Are you hurt?”

I tried to answer as their hands ran over my limbs, but nothing worked as the energy they fed me continued to build just beneath the surface of my skin.

“Help me,” Brandle said. His fingers plucked at my lacings.

Garron gently lifted me, leaning me against his chest as they freed my arms then slowly worked the dress down my hips. Their handling of me felt so right—a comforting reminder that I wasn’t alone and that they cared.

“No cuts or marks,” Brandle said, running his hands over my arms.

Daemon’s hands smoothed up one leg while Darian checked the other.

Another involuntary moan escaped me.

“No cuts or marks here, either,” Daemon said.

“Get some water,” Brandle said.

A cup pressed to my lips a second later, but the water only dribbled down the front of my shift.

Their frustration grew. Edmund, Eadric, and Liam left. The low murmur of their conversation was marked with the sounds of their scuffles. Did they not know they would break my heart if they hurt each other because I wasn’t there to stop them?

A chair clattered to the floor.

“She’s upset,” Garron said.

“She’s been twice cursed, Garron,” Darian said. “I believe she’s more than upset.”

“My poor Lamb,” Daemon said. His hand traced up my leg, hooking around my knee to play with the sensitive skin behind it.

A spark ignited in the spell. Heat burned through me. My eyes snapped open, and I met Brandle’s shocked gaze.

“Kitten, are you all right?”

Daemon removed his hand, withdrawing the energy that had animated me. My eyes closed.

Unable to clench my hands in frustration, the emotion set the objects in the cottage rattling.

“Shh, my little Lamb. We’re here,” Daemon said, his hand returning to my leg. The spark the contact ignited wasn’t as strong as before, and my eyelids only fluttered.

“We’re here. We’re not going anywhere,” Brandle said. He kissed my brow.

I could feel the surge of energy. Four points of contact: one kissing, three simply touching. Yet, previously, it had been Daemon’s touch that had enabled me to open my eyes. What did it mean that I could feel their energy when they were protected from me by their amulets?

Worried, I tried to close myself off from it. I didn’t know how, though. The lid on my well was still firmly in place.

Rather than panic, I focused on my breathing until everything in the cottage stopped moving. Through it all, they continued to touch me in small, comforting ways.

“Dinner is almost done,” Liam said. “Any change?”

Dinner? Had so much time passed already?

“Nothing yet,” Brandle said. His hand left my hair as he stood. “Edmund’s right. Whether Kellen wakes or not, it won’t be safe to remain here for long. I’ll help the others clear the opening so we can leave as soon as possible.”

I listened to his retreating footfalls and wondered what they planned to do next. Even if I could speak, though, I wouldn’t ask, fearing that any answer they might provide would risk my ability to break their spell. Yet, I couldn’t close my ears as Garron held me and I listened to his conversation with Darian and Daemon.

“How did the Foul Queen find her?” Daemon asked. “Was it the casting?”

“I don’t know,” Garron said. “It seems most likely, though I find it hard to believe. We tested Kellen’s range. The queen shouldn’t have been able to sense her. But what other reason could there be other than she’s known where we were all along?”

“Which is unlikely,” Darian said. “If she knew where we were, the glade would have been empty when Kellen arrived.”

“I agree,” Garron said. He kissed my brow and rose. “I’ll check the barrier and attempt to speak with Kellen’s father again.”

“We’ll stay with her,” Darian said. “Our eyes won’t stray for a moment.”

Garron’s steps retreated. Darian’s hand smoothed over my leg.

“I know you can hear us, Princess,” he said. “Can you make the dishes rattle when you will it?”

I thought about it for a moment and freed some of my frustration. The dishes rattled. I immediately calmed my mind, which quieted the dishes, and felt Darian and Daemon’s pride.

“Well done, Lamb,” Daemon said.

“We have questions. Rattle the dishes if the answer is yes,” Darian said. “Are you hurt?”

He waited a few moments then let out a relieved sigh. “Good. Very good. Do you know how to break this spell?”

I couldn’t say for certain that I did, so I kept the dishes silent as I checked on Maeve’s progress once more. She remained too close yet. Until she was a safe distance away, I couldn’t attempt to break the spell.

Darian patted my thigh over my shift.

“It’s all right. We’ll figure it out together,” he said.

Daemon reclined beside me and pulled me into his arms.

“We should sleep while we can,” he said. “Brandle will want us to keep watch tonight.”

I lay there and listened to his breathing slow as I monitored the others. They milled around the yard, and I could feel what they were doing. Cooking. Washing the dishes. Garron was even checking the barrier.

I could feel the sun’s energy fading. Edmund, Eadric, and Liam drifted in a short time later.

"Brandle and Garron will take the first watch,” Edmund said.

They settled in. The temperature dropped. Darian sighed and rolled toward me. His fingers brushed over my face.

“She feels cold,” he said softly.

“I’ll get a blanket,” Eadric said.

Once I was covered and warm, I felt the tug of sleep. After checking Maeve one last time, I gave in to it.

“Edmund, wake up.”

Darian’s whispered words penetrated my sleep.

“Is it my turn?” Edmund asked groggily.

“Yes. Keep her warm for me.”

“I’ll keep her warm for me,” he said, sounding more awake.

Darian moved away, and Edmund took his spot, sliding an arm under me so he could steal me from Daemon’s loose embrace. Daemon grumbled and burrowed closer, not waking.

“You smell so good, Trouble,” Edmund said in my ear. “If you’re awake, can you make the dishes rattle for me?”

I rattled the cup on the table and checked Maeve’s progress. She was outside of the forest now, and the sun was close to rising.

Edmund’s lips caressed the back of my neck, snapping my focus back to him as my eyes opened. A breathy moan escaped me. He withdrew, and my eyes closed. Yet I could feel him shifting his weight to look at me. After several beats of silence, he dipped his head and captured the shell of my ear gently between his teeth.

The energy didn’t simply tingle under my skin this time. It heated my skin, pebbling my nipples and creating an ache between my legs as my eyes opened and another sound escaped me. I recalled the previous times Edmund had touched me in the bath and the pleasure he’d shown me. Though I’d liked it, I hadn’t responded like this.

Need churned beneath the surface.

The contact ended too quickly, though, as he lifted his head again.

“I saw that, Trouble. Shake the house if I go too far, okay?”

He reached over me and nudged Daemon awake as he kissed my neck again. The fire spread under my skin, heating me. My exhale was filled with longing I truly felt this time. Edmund’s desire echoed my own.

“Lamb, finally,” Daemon said softly.

“She’s still cursed,” Edmund said against my skin. “Kiss her.”

My heart stuttered in my chest, and the tingle of need spread, but my eyes remained shut.

“Are we trying to make her mad enough to throw us like she did with Garron?” Daemon asked.

“No. She opened her eyes when I kissed her ear.”

“They’re not open now.”

“I know. That’s why I’m asking for your help. Kiss her and watch her eyes.”

A moment later, I felt Daemon’s mouth close over my nipple. A sound escaped me, and my eyes opened. Edmund met my gaze.

“Don’t stop, Daemon,” Edmund said, his hand gliding down my leg to the edge of my shift.

I could move my eyes, but nothing else.

His fingers glided up my thigh, teasing the sensitive flesh and quickening my breath. Daemon’s hand closed over my other breast, adding to my building need.

“Can you speak, Trouble?” Edmund asked.

My tongue wet my lips. His gaze dipped to my mouth.

“Rattle the cup if you want me to continue,” he said softly.

The cup fell off the shelf, and he chuckled.

“Focus on the spell. Find a way to break it. We’ll help keep you here,” he said.

His hand tugged my shift up over my hips, baring me to his touch beneath the blanket. Daemon caught the hem and tugged it up further so his tongue moved over my bare nipple. I arched into his mouth.

Daemon groaned and caught my tender peak between his teeth.

A moan escaped me, and I felt the desire of the others increase, proving they were awake and listening.

Edmund’s fingers found my folds, and I gripped his forearm.

“Can you speak yet?” he asked.

“Edmund,” I managed on an exhale.

“Lamb,” Daemon whispered, replacing his mouth with his hand. “We need you. Please.”

I understood what he wanted. He wasn’t asking for my body but completely committing myself to doing whatever was necessary to free myself, them, and my sister.

“Yes,” I breathed.

He groaned again and tugged me from Edmund’s hold so I lay on my back. My eyes closed at the loss of contact, but I knew they wouldn’t stop what they’d begun when the blanket covering me vanished.

“Not everything, Edmund,” Brandle said softly. “Not when she’s unable to tell you to stop.”

“Not everything,” Edmund agreed.

“Just a taste,” Daemon said before suckling my other breast.

Edmund groaned this time, and I felt him move beside me. His hands caressed down my legs.

“Throw the cup at me if you want me to stop,” he said before hooking his hands behind my knees and lifting them. I didn’t know what he intended until he spread them wide to the sides. I could feel my folds part for his view and struggled with shame and embarrassment for only a moment until I felt his fingers gently caressing my opening.

“So wet already.”

He circled the center of my pleasure with a fingertip, and my eyes opened.

“Brace yourself, Trouble.”

I watched him lean down and kiss me right on that sensitive bundle of nerves. My hips jerked.

“Edmund,” I rasped.

“Break the spell,” he said as he opened his mouth and began kissing that nub the same way that Daemon did my nipple.

The intensity of the pleasure was too much.

Planting my foot on his shoulder, I pushed him away and instantly returned to the spell’s cocoon. Edmund tumbled to his side and grunted while Daemon laughed around my breast. Had I had use of my hands, I would have cuffed him.

“You’re lucky she used her foot and not magic,” Brandle said softly. “Do better or move aside.”

Edmund mumbled something under his breath and settled between my legs again. I paid him little mind, though. Brandle’s words had struck a chord.

Why hadn’t I reacted with magic?

I focused on my well as Edmund kissed my inner thigh and Daemon kissed my neck. Energy tingled through me, and I could feel it gathering within my well, but I couldn’t move the lid to connect with it. The lid was firmly closed, weighted down by the spell that bound me in place.

Fear built behind that barrier, screaming for release. I was so lost in it that I wouldn’t have noticed when Edmund’s attention shifted from my thighs to my folds if not for the influx of energy.

My eyes snapped open. Instead of focusing on the stimulation, I turned my attention to Maeve’s binding spell. It had lifted so minutely that it hardly rose at all, but that tiny space was why I could open my eyes. I attempted to nudge the lid from my well, but it didn’t move. The spell weighed too much. It needed to be higher in order to reach my well. How?

Understanding filled me. The spell lifted with their touch…their sensual touch. And the more they touched me, the more the spell reacted.

I recalled Maeve’s words.

“If you ever wake, no man of worth will ever want you. This, my sweet daughter, will be your greatest fall.”

In the darkness of my mind, I understood what Maeve had done and what her words had meant. I alone could not break the curse. Only the seven men with me could.

Edmund’s tongue swept along my seam, and the spell lightened a bit more. Enough that my fingers twitched.

Maeve thought these men would be my ruin? If I could have laughed, I would have.

They would be my salvation. One I was ready to fully embrace.