“No, if Bardin was nearby, she’d be out here fighting alongside the demons. She wouldn’t want to miss her opportunity to annihilate Briony.”
“What about the dragon?” Thorne asks.
Beaufort spins on the spot and, although I can’t move a muscle in my face, I can move my eyeballs. I roll them to the side and can just make out the form of Blaze several feet away.
“Come on, boy,” Beaufort calls to him. “She’s going to be okay. You come with us.”
Then Beaufort is racing us further up the hill and to the entrance of the crumbling fort. From what I can see, it’s just one rectangular-shaped tower, with some remaining turrets running along its top.
Thorne uses his shadow magic to tear open the large decaying wooden door that blocks the entrance – an entrance big enough to let a dragon pass through. Next, he lets his shadows race inside, checking for danger. His face is drawn in concentration but then suddenly his brows shoot up his forehead in surprise.
“There’s someone in there!”
My heart leaps with hope.
“Tudor?” Dray asks, speaking the word I can’t.
“I can’t tell.” Thorne frowns again. “They’re injured though, weakened. So whether they’re friend or foe, I don’t think they’re any threat to us.”
He leads the way inside cautiously, Beaufort following next, then Dray and finally Blaze, the giant door slamming shut behind us.
It’s dark inside, and Dray uses his magic to light our way.
We find ourselves in one large entrance room, several much smaller doorways leading off it. A rough ceiling rests above our heads and a staircase weaves away to the upper floors.
“We need to seal this place with our magic,” Beaufort says, lowering me carefully to the hard floor.
“We need to remove the fucking venom!” Dray says with a snarl.
“And risk being attacked by another swarm of demons in the meantime?!” Beaufort shakes his head. “No, we ensure this place is secure first. Then we see to Briony.”
Thorne nods his agreement and Dray, outvoted, pouts but raises his arms along with his bond brothers and lets his shadows race away. All three of them close their eyes, whispering the old language and the old walls of the fort seem to creak and groan in response.
After a moment, they all drop their arms and open their eyes in unison, then Dray and Beaufort are lowering to their knees either side of me, rolling up their sleeves as they do so.
Thorne stands a little away from us, but his eyes are trained on me, never flinching away.
“Okay, sweetheart,” Beaufort tells me, resting his hand against my cheek, “seems we’re back here and unfortunately, once again, I can’t pretend this is going to be pleasant, but once it’s done, you’re going to feel a lot better than you do now.”
My eyes flick to Dray.
“It’s gonna hurt,” he confirms.
If I could move or speak, I’d sigh dramatically. Of course, it’s going to hurt.
Beaufort tears away my clothing – I hear the material ripping – exposing the puncture marks the demon made with its talons.
“I’m going to touch these wounds now, Briony,” he tells me, but I don’t feel anything. My skin is completely numb. “They’re deep,” he mutters to Dray.
“Can you feel the venom?” Dray asks.
Beaufort’s brow furrows. I hear a squelching noise and try not to think about what it could be.
“Ahhh, yes!” Beaufort says.
“How much is there?” Dray asks.
Beaufort’s gaze flicks my way, meeting mine. “A fair bit. I’m going to need your help, Dray.”
