the calmer one of the group, as Trice then snapped,
“More lik' begged...if I recall, ye wur desperate fur us tae break ye oot of there.”
“Well yeah, that was when I thought I was going to find my head on the end of a noose or on some demonic chopping block!” I pointed out.
“Ah bit fckin' th' king 'n' bein' his whore is just bonnie, is it?!” He threw back at me and I ignored Vern’s,
“Harsh that be, Brother.”
“Trice!” Gryph also snapped, whereas I lost my shit altogether and slapped him across the face before stepping up into him and snarling,
“I am no man’s whore!” His head had whipped to the side and before waiting around for his response I turned on a heel and started storming off.
“Fckin’ ungrateful crazed Lass…Where dae ye think yer going?!” Trice said suddenly grabbing my arm and jerking me back to facing him.
“To try and sort this shit out that’s what!”
“Whit urr ye saying, lassie?” Gryph asked walking past Trice after I had yanked my arm free from his hold.
“Aye, fur a'm lost ere,” Vern added.
“I am sorry, but you don’t understand, I have to go back.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s the only hope I have at trying to save you from Lucius.” They each frowned before giving each other another one of those silent looks. So, I rubbed my forehead as I tried to think how to put this before just coming out and blurting the truth,
“Look, I was the one that got you into this and now it’s on me to get you all out of it again and if I don’t do something, then Lucius is going to hunt the three of you down and I won’t have any power to stop him!” I said making Trice scoff and say,
“We are nae as weak as ye think we are!” I gritted my teeth at the stubborn response and made my point,
“Why, do you have an army and a whole fucking kingdom on your side?”
“She haes a point there,” Vern said rubbing the scruff of a beard on his jawline.
“Besides, right now he may be busy facing off an army but how long do you think it will be before he discovers I am gone. If any luck and I am not too far…wait, what are you not telling me?” I asked cutting myself off as their sheepish looks said it all.
“Thare is na army,” Trice declared sternly making me look to Gryph.
“What does he mean?”
“It wis a decoy tae git ye oot of' there.” I sucked back a breath, both relieved and not as Lucius would be bloody murderous.
“A decoy?” I whispered to myself as I looked back towards the way we had come, the castle now long gone from sight.
“Aye, that good blue haired beauty, Nero.” So, it had all been magic. There was no army and now Lucius would know it too. This was when I started walking, telling them,
“I have to get back to him, I have to…”
“Awright, c'moan now, ye dinnae have tae do this...you can be free,” Trice said, this time losing his anger and wrapping his arms around me from behind. I let my head hang down and told him,
“I was already free, you just didn’t get to see it.” His arms dropped and he turned me back around to face him.
“Ah dinnae understand,” he said.
“And you never were supposed to,” I confessed raising a hand to cup his scarred cheek.
“What are ye saying ere, lassie?” He asked and just as I was about to explain, I froze as this time when I heard the thundering demonic roar…I knew who it belonged to.
“Och, shit,” Vern said the second the air cracked as Lucius landed about thirty feet in front of us. This was when Trice made his second mistake by trying to get me to stand behind him, holding me back. Lucius looked up from his landing on one knee, and in that moment he looked like some dark avenging warrior just dropped down from a Hell above not below. He raised his head and snarled low, letting his fangs lengthen, looking ready to eat out the heart of his enemies.
But the second I tried to go to him, Trice again made the mistake of trying to stop me, which I knew my only choice here was to show Lucius where I wanted to be. I needed to pick a side and for him to calm down when he knew it was his. So, I did something that surprised