Darkness crawled from the trees in the back, the edge of the curse making its way toward us.
“Thorne, get your mother out of here,” I said on an exhale, my eyes fixed on the approaching black line. It was maybe a quarter of a mile out, and Nox was right—it had picked up speed.
“Clarissa, you?—”
“Go!” I shouted, whipping back to face him. My eyes pleaded with his, a desperation I’d hardly felt before pushing inside my chest. “It can’t hurt me. But it can hurtyou. I need you to leave, Thorne.”
It was bad enough that Marigold was in danger, and I couldn’t focus with him here, knowing at any second he could get sucked into the curse. Knowing I may not be there to save him.
He stood. “That’s my daughter, Clarissa. I can’t leave her.” His head shook as he clenched his fists at his sides. “That’s my little girl,” he whispered, his voice breaking at the end. Those blue eyes bore into mine as his entire body trembled.
I gripped each side of his head, forcing him to meet my stare. “I know, Thorne. Iknow. AndI will bring her back.” I pushed my forehead to his. “Do you trust me?” I’d asked him that once before, but this…this was different.
His hand lifted to cup the back of my neck. “With her life.”
“Then go.” I released him. “Get your mother to the docks. We’ll meet you there.”
“I’m going with you.” To my surprise, Galen stepped forward, quickly averting his gaze from mine and Thorne’s display of affection. “It can’t hurt me either. Not when I created it.”
Azura grabbed my hand. Her eyes, identical to Thorne’s, held mine, and for once I didn’t see the coldness that so often lingered there.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I nodded. With one last look at the two of them, Galen and I turned on our heels and ran for the jungle.
“This is hunting land,” Galen said, breaths uneven. “There are traps and snares everywhere. Watch your step.”
“I’m more concerned about Marigold,” I huffed out, but made sure to keep an eye out for any potential traps.
We rounded the nearest tree, and that was when I heard it.
A scream.
Horrible visions flew across my mind. A snare cutting into her little leg, rot seeping into her skin, animals snatching her in their jaws.
“Daddy! Daddy, help!” her scared voice rang out.
Galen and I picked up speed, leaping over logs and knocking branches and vines from our path. We careened around another corner, and?—
There she was.
“Marigold!” I shrieked.
She was suspended midair inside a net that swayed from a large tree branch. Her hands clawed at the material as she sobbed, her brown hair filled with twigs and tears streaming down her cheeks.
Galen inhaled sharply. “Clarissa,look.” He pointed a finger, and I followed it until I saw the line of black several trees away.
Heading straight for Marigold.
“Come on!” I shouted to him. We clambered to her, but she was hanging too high up for us to reach. I ran to the trunk and dug myfingers into the bark, searching for any foothold to grab on to. Slowly,tooslowly, I scaled my way up the tree and hauled myself over the limb holding the net.
I wasn’t fast enough. The curse was so close, I could throw a rock and hit it. Birds fell like dead weight from the sky mere feet away, the canopy of trees caving in on themselves as they succumbed to the rot.
“Hold on, Marigold!” I yelled, climbing on all fours across the wide limb. When I reached the net, I pulled one of my daggers from the sheath on my thigh and started sawing through the material.
The curse crept closer.
My breaths were sharp in my chest. Sweat beaded and fell from my forehead onto my outstretched hands.
