will take care of the poison.”
“Great.” He tossed me a sheepish look. An apology for not following orders.
I steeled my anger. “You’re lucky it missed.”
“We’ll take him back.” Kost looped one of Calem’s arms around his shoulders, then glanced at Ozias. “We need to set your arm so it heals properly. We wouldn’t want to rebreak it later.”
Ozias winced. “Yeah, all right.”
“I need to check on the Scorpex.” Leena stood slowly, brushing stray grains of sand off her bare legs. Dressed in cutoff, skintight linen breeches and a sleeveless tunic, her body was covered with sand. A sinful bead of sweat dashed down her thigh, and I braided my fingers together to keep myself from wiping it away. Gods only know where that would have led.
“I’ll wait here for you.” After everything that had just happened, leaving her alone wasn’t an option.
Kost stared at me for a moment before relenting. Calem’s pained grunts spurred them into motion, and as one, the three of them disappeared in a plume of shadows. There was silence, save the constant backdrop of the ocean waves. As if the monster had never been sent in the first place. As if we weren’t evading bloodthirsty Charmers.
If I didn’t act quickly, this was bound to happen again. My comrades or Leena? My curse or freedom? The answer was harder than it should have been.
A quiet trill sounded from a nearby tree, and my gaze snapped to the bird. The damn spy. I summoned the last undried droplet threatening to coagulate in my palm. Sharpening my blood into a fine needle, I sent it flying. It struck the bird square in the heart, cutting off its final chirp with sickly finality.
Leena tracked its descent with her gaze and flinched when it crashed into the earth. She’d probably hate me for killing a beast, but I didn’t need her to like me. I needed her alive. I needed my family alive, and tonight, some bastard had threatened that.
My bounty, my terms. I hoped he got the message.
Preparing for her disgust, I turned to face Leena. A single tear slipped down her flushed cheek. A mixture of sadness and…relief? She dug her palms into her eyes. “This is all my fault.”
I tried not to gape. Her fault? We were the ones plotting her murder. And she was worried about putting us in harm’s way? Pinching my nose, I steadied my breath. “What just happened?”
“Not sure. Once I get back from the beast realm, I’ll know more.” She stared at me for a moment, the sadness in her gaze replaced with something I couldn’t follow, before she dropped her attention to the ground.
I don’t know why, but part of me died. I needed that look. I needed it back. Her worry for us, for my brethren’s well-being… It was too much. Between the bounty and the curse, I knew damn well that her company wasn’t something I’d ever truly get to enjoy, but I couldn’t help the gnawing ache in my gut.
I gripped the back of my neck. “Hurry back.”
She peered up at me through her lashes. “You could come with me.” She dropped those words as if they were nothing. Like it was a simple possibility rather than the opportunity to see something that was entirely hers. And while I should’ve brushed her off and put much-needed distance between us, I couldn’t.
“Go with you?”
“You can enter the realm with the assistance of a Charmer.” Without any further explanation, she splayed her right hand out to the side. The inked insignia on her hand grew, roots wrapping around her fingertips. The branches of the tree climbed upward, snaking across her shoulder and reaching up her neck. She’d hidden her face from us when she’d taken Felicks, but this time I watched as the magnificent tree grew over the right side of her cheek. Leaves and flowers bloomed to life, framing her temple and eye in an intricate garden meant only for her.
It was the most striking thing I’d ever seen.
She held out her hand. “Come on. I know it must pain you, but you have to touch me.” Her voice broke. It was so subtle I barely caught it, but the slight dip in her tone shoved a blade deep in my heart. She was so unbelievably wrong. I would’ve kept my fingers interlocked with hers forever if our circumstances were different.
Once she wrapped her fingers around mine, light exploded, washing away our surroundings into a blinding-white stretch of pure warmth.