Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Abandoning what was left of my dinner, I claimed Eadric’s swinging bed until he attempted to join me. Then they made a game of rushing to their beds so I would need to choose who to cuddle. Brandle, the most responsible one, ignored them and gathered the dishes, leaving his bed open. I took it and closed my eyes.

The night air had a chill in it that slowly bled the heat from me. I shivered lightly and listened to the brothers’ soft conversation about keeping watch as I waited for sleep to claim me. The clank of dishes and the creak of the well’s handle echoed from around the side of the cottage.

When I felt a blanket cover me a while later, I opened my eyes to look at Brandle.

“It won’t be enough,” I said. “Can you join me without spilling us into the dirt?”

He studied me for a long moment then leaned close.

“Put your arms around my neck.”

I did as he said and gasped when he lifted me out of the bed and nimbly climbed in with both of us. I lay partially on his chest with one leg over his hips and the other wedged beside him.

“Cover us, will you, Eadric?” he asked.

A blanket settled over us. Then Eadric began tucking it around me, kneading my backside briefly in the process.

“What did he do?” Brandle asked, having caught the flicker of surprise in my expression.

“Just making sure she’s adequately covered,” Eadric said as he sauntered to his bed.

“Kitten?” Brandle asked softly when I remained silent.

“Just hold me, Brandle, and let me sleep.”

He nodded, pressed a kiss to my temple, and rubbed my back as I closed my eyes.

I woke to the low murmur of conversation.

“Do you think she would notice if we pulled Brandle from his spot and took his place?” Darian asked.

“Yes,” Brandle said beneath me. “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“You just don’t want to lose your place,” Daemon said.

“Her arm is wrapped around me. She will notice.”

“What’s she touching?” Eadric asked. “I like when she touches my chest. Are you touching hers? She likes it too.”

Brandle’s fingers lightly brushed over my breast. Without the protection of my dress, I would have shivered.

“He’s not answering,” Liam said. “Either he’s thinking about it or doing it.”

“Go back to sleep,” Brandle said. “All of you.”

“Can’t,” Garron said. “It’s almost dawn. The weather is starting to change. I can feel it. The mist is coming. You should wake her.”

“I know how I’d wake her,” Eadric said.

“Boastful git,” Edmund muttered a moment before I heard the hushed sounds of a scuffle.

I snuggled closer to Brandle, not yet ready to give up the peace I’d found sleeping next to him.

A soft sound, like a groan mixed with a growl, sounded from Brandle. The scuffling stopped.

“What did she do?” Eadric asked.

“She—”

Feeling mischievous, I brushed my lips against Brandle’s throat, and he exhaled a curse. His hand returned to my chest, brushing gently over the material.

“Kitten, you need to wake up,” he said.

I pushed his hand away, and instead of kissing his neck, I nipped it.

“Garron, take her,” he said. “Now.”

I found myself plucked off Brandle and facing Garron.

Before I could open my mouth to ask why, Brandle spun me around and kissed the side of my neck. Then he nibbled a path from my collarbone to my ear. I was breathing heavily when he pulled back to look at me.

“I welcome every bit of affection you wish to give and beg that you will return to this bed with me to continue your efforts after we deal with the men who wish you harm this morning. Tell me you agree.”

Before I could do either, he kissed my neck again.

“What do you think she did to get that reaction out of him?” Liam asked.

“I don’t know, but I would like to discover it for myself,” Daemon said.

“As would I,” Darian said.

I tried retreating from Brandle but bumped into Garron. It was enough to get Brandle’s attention, though.

“Right. Sorry, Kitten. You caught me off guard.”

“We should stick to our normal routine to catch them off guard as well,” Garron said. “Eadric, walk her to the privy.”

The mist had started to roll in. Between it and the gloom of pre-dawn darkness, it was nearly impossible to see by the time I left the privy. Eadric was there, though, and helped me wash at the basin, playing with my fingers more than cleaning them. I didn’t complain, appreciating the distraction.

“All clean, Sparrow,” he said softly. “Is there anything else I can wash for you?” He made a humming sound. “No, I think a bath later would be best. I can reach everything better that way.”

“You are not bathing me, Eadric,” I whispered.

He chuckled and took my hand, leading me through the mist.

To the east, I could just start to see a hint of light.

“It’s us,” Eadric said softly.

“They’re moving in the trees,” Garron said. “I think Kellen is right that they have protective charms. They have no fear of the beasts. They left the wounded man at the fire and are walking toward us with no light.”

“I’ll see if I can learn more,” Eadric said.

I grabbed his arm and kissed his cheek. “Please be careful.”

“If I promise to come back without a scratch, can I bathe you later?”

“You’re ridiculous. Go.”

“She didn’t say no, did she?” I heard Darian say from somewhere nearby.

“No, she did not,” I heard Edmund say with a hint of something in his tone. Satisfaction? Anticipation?

I didn’t want any of them to be seriously hurt, but perhaps a slight cosh upon the head wouldn’t be amiss.

A hand closed around mine.

“Come, Princess. It would be better if you were tucked away somewhere safe so you aren’t accidentally caught in another brawl.”

I held his arm as he led me away from the muted glow of the cooking fire, and I listened to the latch clank quietly as he opened the cottage door.

Behind us, I heard a grunt.

“They’re here,” Edmund called.

“Stay inside,” Darian said before bolting away.

The sun was just cresting the trees, changing the mist’s color in the glade from midnight blue to milky white. It obscured the fight and muffled the sounds.

I opened myself to feel what I couldn’t see. The brothers shone as brightly as before, moving quickly as if dancing with less bright energy—the trackers. Beyond them, I could feel Eadric advancing through the trees.

“Where is she?” one of the men demanded. The sound of a solid punch followed.

Fluctuating between the need to flee and the need to help, I hesitated just outside the cottage. Something whispered that I’d be taken if I didn’t move. It said I needed to be higher. Higher than the roof of the cottage.

“Kellen, hide!” Brandle bellowed.

Pivoting away from the open door, I ran around the back of the cottage. My feet carried me past the shrouded garden and toward the cave. The opening didn’t beckon, though. It echoed a warning of danger. The craggy face of the rock around it called to me.

“Grace me with handholds and the foresight to reach them,” I said under my breath a moment before I reached the sheer face.

Without hesitation, I placed the toe of my boot on the first ledge and reached for the first handholds to pull myself up. The tingle of warning drove me to climb higher quickly a moment before a loud crash echoed from the cottage. I remained focused on the next hold and the next, not turning to look. My skirts saved my legs from the rough edges of the rock as I blindly moved.

My fingers were raw and cramping when I finally broke through the mist and spotted the rocky ledge above.

Pulling myself up and over, I tumbled onto my back and stared up at the blue sky as I caught my breath. As it slowed, I looked at my hands. Brandle would not be pleased.

Another crash, followed by a shout, drew me upright. Sitting near the ledge, I looked out over the mist-shrouded glade below, seeing nothing of the fight. So, I closed my eyes to let myself feel what was happening.

Edmund fought a man alone near the edge of the trees. He moved quickly, avoiding the man’s punches and landing his own against the man’s torso.

“Find her,” the man bellowed.

Edmund hit him in the mouth.

A man flew out of the cottage and landed in an unmoving heap just outside the door. Liam and Daemon emerged. Liam grabbed the man’s shirt and began dragging him toward the trees. Daemon leaned against the door, seemingly at ease, while Brandle, Garron, and Darian continued to fight the remaining two trackers.

A blow connected with the side of Darian’s head. I felt what he was feeling. Dazed. Disorientated. Angry. The man knocked Darian down easily and ran for the cottage.

Unaware of his twin’s struggle, Daemon straightened at the sound of running feet. He met the man blow for blow as Darian shook his head and slowly got to his feet.

I opened my eyes and stared at the mist. If I wanted this fight to end, I needed to remove the trackers’ cover. I considered how I’d previously moved the book and suspended my bathwater. Surely, I could move mist.

A sudden searing pain clawed through Daemon, stealing my breath and his for a moment.

“Knife,” he yelled.

Understanding thundered through me as Edmund’s angry curse echoed in the glade.

I didn’t think; I lashed out, pushing aside the mist. It filled the trees, creating a dense barrier while everything inside the glade was bathed in the light of the early morning sun.

From my perch, I watched Darian bolt for his twin as Daemon dealt the man a solid blow.

The tracker stumbled a step. Darian worked with his injured twin, driving his fists into the larger man again and again until he stumbled a second time and fell to his knees. The brothers didn’t stop. They hit hard, causing the man’s head to jerk back with each strike. It would take a miracle for him to string two thoughts together once he regained his feet.

“Retreat,” the one fighting Edmund yelled.

Edmund didn’t try to stop him as the man turned and ran into the trees. The brothers let the other two flee as well.

Brandle hurried to Daemon’s side and checked his bleeding arm.

I turned my attention to the trees, checking for Liam and Eadric. They were moving together and emerged in the clearing not long after Edmund went to the well for water to clean Daemon’s wound.

“Is Daemon all right?” I called.

The seven of them lifted their gazes to look up at me. Even at this distance, I could see Edmund and Brandle’s fierce scowls. Likely, they were wondering how I would manage to climb down again. I wondered the same. Eloise always made climbing look effortless, but my hands hurt, and my arms were tired.

“Sparrow, remember that you eat like a bird and don’t fly like one,” Eadric called.

Liam elbowed him.

Darian and Garron hurried over to the base of the rock face.

“How did you get up there, Princess?” Darian called.

“I climbed.”

“Will you be able to climb back down?”

“I won’t know until I try.”

“I’d rather you wait for one of us to climb up to get you,” Garron called.

I flashed him a smile. “My bedroom was on the second floor of our home. This isn’t my first time climbing down something with few handholds.”

Garron shook his head and said something I couldn’t hear.

“He’s very worried, Princess,” Darian said as I eased my legs over the edge. “If you want any freedom after this, be sure you don’t fall.”

“I will do my utmost,” I murmured, focusing on recalling where all the footholds had been.

Garron and Darian called out their guidance whenever I struggled to locate the next ledge to place my feet.

By the time I reached the bottom, my limbs shook, and I gratefully accepted Garron’s embrace. When he passed me to Darian, who pressed kisses to every inch of my face while whispering I’d scared three years from his life, I didn’t mind that either.

Darian carried me to the well and sat me on the edge so that Eadric could wash my raw fingertips. Darian rubbed his temple as if his head ached, and Eadric’s voice was raspy as he made sympathetic sounds about my hands. The redness around his neck indicated someone had choked him at some point. Yet, the way they were standing so I couldn’t see the others meant they hadn’t received the worst of it.

“How badly was Daemon hurt?” I asked, attempting to see around the pair as Eadric finished with my hands.

“The bastard cut his arm fairly deep,” Darian said.

“Language,” Brandle called distractedly.

“I can make the tea,” I said. Darian helped me to my feet and looked at my fingers.

“Garron thought you might want to and is gathering everything you need,” Darian said. “Will you be able to work with your hands like this?”

“How bad are her hands?” Brandle asked, sounding worried.

“I’ll kiss you if you don’t answer that,” I said with an arched brow at Darian.

“Agreed.” He darted in, claiming more than the chaste kiss I’d intended. His tongue danced with mine as his hands roamed over my sides.

“Me too, or I’ll tell,” Eadric rasped.

Darian pulled back and grinned at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

“I say let him talk.” He dipped his head, intent on continuing our kiss, but I pushed his face aside. He chuckled and turned me in his arms. “Very well.”

I thought he meant to release me. Instead, he passed me to Eadric, who swept me off my feet.

“I can’t kiss you after kissing?—”

Eadric darted in and chastely kissed my lips.

“There is a difference between not wanting to do something and being unable to do something. I can’t cast. You can. Just like you can kiss me after kissing Darian. You simply didn’t wish to do it. And that’s okay. I can wait for my kiss.” He frowned slightly. “How many minutes after kissing one of us does the next one need to wait?”

I sputtered in disbelief.

“It’s okay, Sparrow. Think about it, and let me know after you’re done brewing the tea. Daemon’s cut is quite deep, so make sure the tea tastes awful.”

He deposited me at the cottage door, kissed my cheek, and sauntered away.

“I think I have everything ready,” Garron said.

Shaking my head, I turned toward the most sensible brother of the bunch and scanned the ingredients set out on the table.

“Thank you, Garron.”

He gave me room to work and assisted as needed. Having performed the spell previously, everything went quicker, and I had the tea ready within an hour. I held it up to Garron, whose eye was swelling shut, but he shook his head.

“Daemon first.”

“Mm. I think you should have Brandle remove your stitches before you take your sip as well.”

“He already removed them. Daemon needs this tea more than I do. Go. Comfort him if you can.”

I left the cottage with the drink and found a pale Daemon with blood-soaked bandages. His vacant gaze drifted over me as I lifted the cup to his lips and told him to drink it all.

Once he finished swallowing the contents, he set his forehead against my side. I ran my fingers through his short hair and looked at Brandle.

“How quickly will it start working?” I asked.

“Within an hour,” he said. “I’ve bound his wound, but it bled fiercely. He’s dizzy and too weak to stand. He wants to sleep, but I’m worried…”

“He fears I won’t wake,” Daemon said weakly.

I handed the cup to Darian, who was standing nearby, and took Daemon’s face between my hands to look at him. His skin was cool when I brushed my lips against his cheek.

“Let’s make a deal. If you stay awake while I make more tea, I’ll sleep with you tonight.”

His unfocused gaze swept over my face, and the corners of his mouth lifted weakly.

“I’d like that.”

“Then stay awake,” I said.

Taking the cup, I returned to the cottage and started on another tea. They were all sporting various injuries again, though none as grave as Daemon's. Edmund was keeping an arm tucked close to his ribs. Brandle’s nose looked a bit crooked. And Liam was limping.

I tried to control my emotions as I worked but failed. My anger at Maeve and the men in the woods boiled inside of me. How dare they hurt another person I held dear? I refused to lose anyone else to her evil.

“Are you all right?” Garron asked.

“No. I am angry, Garron. So much so that I no longer care about the fates of the men in the woods. I simply want them gone. And that compounds my anger, for is that behavior not like every other ill-intentioned person? Does my anger over their actions give me the right to lash out at them in kind?”

I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing.

“Hate and anger breed more hate and anger. Yet, how does one stop those determined to hurt others without causing harm themselves? I very much doubt politely asking them to go away will work.”

“You’re right. It likely wouldn’t. But you’re smart enough to know that taking lives is not the way to bring about peace either.”

Someone snorted from the doorway, and I looked to find Edmund leaning against the cottage just outside. With his back to us, it looked like he was guarding the door while also watching over his injured brothers.

“And you believe taking lives is the answer?” I asked.

He glanced back at me. “I wouldn’t hesitate to take a life if it meant protecting someone I love.”

My stomach sank, and guilt consumed me.

“Do you blame me for what happened to Daemon? Because I didn’t want any of them to die the last time they attacked?”

“No, Trouble. I blame them for their actions, not you.” Yet, he didn’t look at me when he spoke.

“Liar,” I whispered before turning back to the tea.

A few moments later, he wrapped his arms around me from behind and set his chin atop my head.

“I don’t blame you, Kellen,” he repeated. “I’m angry. Angry Daemon was hurt. Angry I can’t do anything to help. Angry that we’re stuck here in the glade and not—” He took a calming breath, and I turned in his arms to cup his face.

This close, I could see the storm he was desperately trying to hide from me.

“You’ve gotten better,” I said. “When you can’t stop the storm, redirect it to something safe. Kiss me, Edmund.”

Surprise lit his gaze a heartbeat before his lips crashed to mine. He released all the raw emotion he’d tried to contain and kissed me with a bruising intensity. I shouldn’t have liked it—his rough handling of me—but I did. It allowed me to kiss him back in kind. Angrily. Hungrily. Desperately .

He groaned into my mouth and lifted me off my feet. His hand guided my leg up, hooking it around his waist. My skirts stopped my other leg, and he growled as he pushed them up my thighs.

I broke off the kiss and looked down at him. His breathing was just as ragged as mine.

“Are you less angry?” I asked.

I knew he was when, rather than speak, his gaze dipped to my mouth again.

“Do you think she’d kiss me like that if I said I was angry, too?” Darian asked from the yard.

“Doubtful,” Daemon said. “But I’ll try it when I’m sleeping beside her tonight.”

Edmund groaned and set his forehead against mine. “Tell him to sleep with Darian.”

I laughed and untangled my legs from around Edmund’s waist. He reluctantly released me.

“The tea’s ready,” Garron said from behind me as soon as my feet touched the ground.

“I’ll take it out.”