"Why help me?" Briar asked when her breathing finally steadied. She studied these strangers who'd risked everything for her and tried to make sense of it.
"Because someone should," Ferria answered simply, though she swayed on her feet. Blood trickled from her nose—backlash from broken illusions. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, the gesture tired but practiced. "Because what's happening to you is wrong, even if you were foolish enough to make a bargain with him."
"We've seen what the Forest Lord does to those he claims." Halian's quiet words came between shallow breaths. His staff served more as walking stick now than a weapon. "We couldn't stand by and watch it happen to someone else."
Arion watched her carefully. "What deal did you make?"
"My life... for my sister's," Briar replied. "She was dying. When I agreed I thought..."
"Thought you could outsmart him?" Ferria scoffed and shook her head. "You humans will never learn. Promises with fae are binding contracts."
"Save your breath." The water sprite's voice wasn't unkind, but her gaze stayed fixed on their backtrail. "We should keep moving. We're not safe yet."
She was right. Briar could feel it in the mark's increasing burn, in the way the trees seemed to lean toward them despite no wind. They'd escaped Thaine, but something told her that had been the easy part.
Chapter six
They ran until Briar's lungs burned and her legs trembled. The forest blurred past—ancient trees giving way to younger growth, then back to giants so vast their roots formed natural walls. The mark throbbed with each heartbeat, muted but angry, trapped and fighting against Arion's dampening spell.
The strange group moved with practiced efficiency. Sian flowed between forms, sometimes solid beside them, sometimes a rushing current scouting ahead. The siblings stayed close together, Halian's staff never leaving ready position despite his injury while Arion guided them with absolute certainty through paths Briar couldn't even see.
Finally, when she stumbled for the third time, this time over a root that seemed to appear where none existed before, he motioned for them to stop.
"Here," he said, pressing his palm against what looked like an ordinary oak. Briar watched in awe as the bark shimmered and split, revealing a hollow space within. "Quickly."
Briar hesitated. Trading one trap for another seemed foolish, but the mark pulsed harder, Thaine's words echoing:You've only made it worse.
"Unless you'd prefer to wait for him to catch up?" Ferria said sharply. "Because he will. That mark is practically a beacon."
"Ferria," Arion's voice carried a quiet warning.
"What? We're all thinking it." She gestured at Briar with one elegant hand. "Thaine was right. He'll come for her, and he won't come alone. We've exposed ourselves for what? A human who made a bad bargain?"
"That's enough." Halian spoke softly, but Ferria subsided with visible reluctance.
Briar felt heat rise in her cheeks. "I didn't ask for your help."
"No," Sian said, materializing fully beside her with a gentle smile. "But you needed it. Come on, let's take the arguments inside where it's warded. I'd rather not have this discussion where every tree has ears."
They filed through the opening. The space beyond defied physics—what should have been a cramped hollow opened into a comfortable chamber lit by some sourceless warm glow. Roots formed natural furniture, and the air smelled of sage and safety.
Briar sank onto what might have been a bench, exhaustion hitting with full force. The mark pulsed steadily, each throb a reminder. She pressed her hand against it, feeling the thorns shift beneath her skin. Still growing. Still claiming.
"Let me see," Halian said, setting aside his staff. His hands already glowed with soft green light.
"I said I'm fine—"
"The wound. Not the mark." He gestured to her wrist where blood had soaked through her sleeve. "I can't touch his magic, but I can heal what it damages."
She reluctantly extended her arm. His touch was thorough but gentle, the healing magic warm and soothing. The pain eased, wounds closing, but the mark remained unchanged.
"Why did you save me?" The question tumbled out before she could stop it. "You don't know me. I'm nothing to you except—what did she call it? A human who made a bad bargain."
"Ferria speaks from fear," Arion said, though the woman's expression suggested otherwise. "We've all lost people to him. The caution is... understandable."
"Caution?" Ferria laughed, the sound bitter. "Is that what we're calling it? We just declared war on the Forest King for a stranger. Do you have any idea what he'll—"
"I know exactly what he'll do." Arion's voice dropped, and for a moment Briar saw something dangerous flicker in those dawn-bright eyes. "I've watched him destroy everyone who defies him for—" He stopped, jaw tightening. "For too long."
