What they do next surprises me. Beaufort holds out his hands above my body and Dray takes them in his. Their shadows rush from their palms, twisting and twining around one another in tight cables, then they dive towards me with intent and if I could speak or move I’d be squealing and darting away.
“Stay with us,” Beaufort says to me.
At first I feel nothing at all. Then a slight warmth in my shoulders, exactly where the demon gripped me. To begin with, it’s actually quite pleasant and I wonder if these shadow weavers were exaggerating. That pleasant feeling doesn’t last long, though. Soon my skin is heating rapidly, burning me and soaring from my shoulders up my throat, down my stomach until it’s engulfing the whole of my body. I feel like I’m on fire, like someone has placed me in an oven and is roasting me alive – from the inside out.
“Briony!” Beaufort growls, seeing the agony in my eyes. “Fight it, don’t let it consume you.”
I try to do what he says, fighting back against the heat, but it’s so hot, too hot, I’m going to burn to death.
Then suddenly my muscles release. I can move.
Immediately, I’m wriggling, flailing on the ground, trying to claw myself away.
“Thorne!” Beaufort snaps. “Don’t just stand there – we need your help. You need to hold her down or we won’t be able to wrestle the venom out of her.”
“I can’t–” Thorne begins.
“Don’t be a dick,” Dray growls through gritted teeth. “You have no choice.”
Thorne falls to his knees, hovering over me. For a moment he hesitates, gaze flicking over me as I scream and thrash about in agony. Then, he drops forward, his hands landing on my arms and pinning me in place. Almost exactly at the moment his skin connects with me, his shadows come roaring from his body and swirl above us like a menacing whirlpool.
“Beaufort!” I cry out, my face wet with tears. “Beaufort, make it stop!”
“Nearly there, sweetheart,” he says through gritted teeth, “nearly there!”
I scream as the heat sears through my body and Thorne holds me down. It lasts several never-ending agonizing seconds before both Dray and Beaufort tumble backwards, groaning and swearing and the heat stops – just like that.
My body goes limp in relief. However, Thorne doesn’t let me go. His shadows roar in the air around us, fierce and violent, and his face is all scrunched up in concentration. Sweat swims across his brow, his shoulders rise and fall quickly, and he’s trembling, his fingers digging into my flesh.
“Thorne!” I cry out. “Thorne!”
His eyes are screwed tightly shut. He seems lost in his own world.
“Beaufort! Dray!” I call out, not knowing what to do. Should I fight my way free? Try to reach him.
It’s Blaze who comes to my rescue, bellowing at the shadow weaver and then knocking him off me with his snout.
Immediately, I scramble upward and Blaze is slurping his tongue over my face.
I look around towards Thorne. He’s hunched in a ball, every muscle in his body rigid, his shadows soaring angrily about him.
Beaufort and Dray stumble up onto their feet and come to stand beside me.
“What’s going on?” I ask them in alarm.
“He’s fighting to regain control of his shadows,” Beaufort says, arms raised as if he half expects to have to intervene. Or is it to protect me?
He doesn’t need to, though, because Thorne’s shadows come hurtling back into his body and he collapses forward in relief.
“Thorne,” I whisper, about to rush forward to him. Dray stops me.
“Give him a minute.”
I do, watching as he slowly catches his breath, swiping his arm around his brow. Finally, he lurches back to his feet.
“Briony,” he says, his voice all scratchy, not quite able to meet my eyes, “are you okay?”
“I’m perfectly fine,” I say, managing a smile. “Very glad I can move again.”
