“That way!” Morton pointed behind us, in the direction I’d come from.
I didn’t waste any time, breaking into a run.
“She found out you left and decided to come after you. She was worried you were leaving for good, giving up on your life here. Giving up on her.”
“What?” I yelled so loud Morton jumped.
“Well, what do you expect after the way you’ve treated her? She decided she would come after you and bring you back herself. I told her it was a bad idea, but she refused to listen.”
My legs felt like lead, my heart like stone as I ran up the grassy hill, listening to Morton speak with building dread.
“I couldn’t convince her, so I decided to go with her. Everything was fine until we ran into the brotherhood. They wanted to take me, and Niamh wouldn’t let them.”
I swore. How Niamh ever questioned her bravery, I wasn’t sure. She was no warrior, yet she’d stood up to the brotherhood to protect her friend. Of course she had.
“She told me to go, and I listened. At first I was going to return to Fairwitch Isle, but then I thought maybe I could find you. Maybe there was some hope you were nearby since we’d ridden on horseback.”
“You did good to come find me,” I said. “How far away do you think she is?”
“Not far, I don’t think. I hadn’t been slithering long when I came across you.”
I crested a hill and stopped when I saw Niamh at the bottom, surrounded by three of the brotherhood, their maroon hoods over their heads.
The blood in my veins froze, and Morton inhaled a sharp breath as a woman pointed her sword at Niamh’s throat, a tiny prick of blood welling and trailing down her neck.
I looked at Morton. “Get back to Fairwitch Isle. If they’re after you, then you need to be out of sight. I can’t save her if we’re both worried about your safety. Let everyone know what’s happening with me andNiamh, that the brotherhood is in this area, and that we’ll be back as soon as possible.”
The bookwyrm hesitated, then nodded and slithered to the ground. I didn’t pause before racing down the hill, unsheathing my sword with a quickthwickthat drew the attention of the two men.
“Paloma,” one of the men said.
“Why aren’t you searching for the bookwyrm?” she snapped.
“We’ve got bigger problems,” the other man said as I approached with a deadly calm, sword pointed straight at the woman.
She turned, eyes widening as I stalked toward her.
As soon as she took her eyes off Niamh, Niamh slid to the right, then grabbed the woman’s arm just like I’d taught her and twisted it behind her back. The woman cried out in pain, taking her sword, about to spear Niamh when I lunged forward and knocked the weapon from her hand.
The men charged, and chaos broke loose. One of the men jumped on my back while the other jabbed his sword at my stomach. I blocked the move while reaching behind me to grasp the other man, who had his hands wrapped around my throat. My lungs constricted, my airways blocked, my chest and throat burning and begging for air, but I wasn’t thinking about myself. I was thinking about Niamh and hoping she was kicking that woman’s ass.
The man with the sword charged me again, and this time, I kicked out my leg, my foot connecting with his stomach and sending him flying backward, then I bent forward so the other man flipped over my head right as my vision had started blurring. His hands released my neck, and I sucked in lungfuls of fresh air, my throat burning. I wondered how Niamh was faring but didn’t have time to check.
The man I’d kicked now lay unconscious in the distance, but the man in front of me jumped to his feet, picking up his sword that was lying on the ground. I had no time to recover before he was striking at me in quick jabs. The tip of his sword caught my shirt and sliced it, dragging across my skin, blood welling from the shallow wound.
Damnit. My head was still pounding from the lack of air I’d gotten, and black spots dotted my vision, but I lunged anyway, hoping I couldend this once and for all and get myself and Niamh the fuck out of here.
He dodged my attack, whirling around behind me.
Niamh’s grunts filled the air, and I turned right as she knocked the woman over the head with the hilt of her sword. The woman crumpled to the ground, and Niamh smiled and clapped her hands like a little girl.
“I did it!” she shouted.
“You did,” I said back to her, so fucking proud of this woman and her endless courage and tenacity. When we were finally alone, I’d tell her just how proud I was.
Her smile turned into a distressed look, and she reached for me. “Wolfe, watch out?—”
I didn’t hesitate, whirling right as the man plunged his sword toward my side. I was able to dodge just enough that he didn’t hit any organs, the sword grazing my hipbone and slicing my skin open. Again.
