“Will he be okay?” Seda choked out, feeling the tension in her muscles from the fight and their injuries all release at once. Her hands began to shake as she ran her knuckle down his cheek.
He was breathing.
“Yes. But he’ll be out for a while,” Roya replied. She looked over at Suza. “That trick would’ve been nice to get beyond the rose barrier. Why didn’t you say you could do that?”
Roya quickly stood and marched over to Suza, glaring as she grabbed her by the shirt and forced their noses to touch.
“I can only do it once before my magic has to recharge! It’s not an easy task. I’m not very powerful,” Suza shrieked, trying to get away from Roya’s wrath.
Roya roughly released Suza, causing her to stumble back a fewpaces. Roya marched over to the trapped beast. “You were warned, and you persisted! Now you have dead kin, you fucking fool!”
“There must always be balance,” the beast huffed. “It’s the way of this world since the beginning of time.”
“What are you?” Seda demanded from Cahir’s side.
The beast chuckled. “I know what I am. But you obviously do not know what you are. Refusing yanantin-”
“Shut the fuck up and answer!” Roya shouted, interrupting her and pointing a sharpened claw at the top of the beast’s ghastly nose, drawing a small bead of red blood.
The monster growled in response, “I’m a Lobizon, a spiritual guardian of the forest, a member of the Coven of the Wilds, the first Lobizon of my kind.”
A spiritual guardian?
“What happened, Elco?” Seda looked at him. She knew he wouldn’t intentionally harm something unless he had to.
He was watching the Lobizon with narrowed eyes. “I protected the Fae girl you scared that day in the courtyard from one of them a couple of nights ago. She and I ventured out of the city walls. She wanted to find new flowers. And one of them approached, threatening her. I didn’t kill the beast, but it did run away with a singed tail.” He chuckled through a ragged, pain-filled breath.
Seda looked at the Lobizon. “He says he protected a child from one of your kind.”
“Lies!” the Lobizon shouted. “We do not hurt innocents!”
Elco snarled, and his mouth began to glow, threatening to char the angry monster.
“Don’t Elco!” Seda yelled, running in front of him. “You’ll hurt the plants… They helped us.”
Seda looked over at the flowers, their eyes warily watching as they held the Lobizon within their clutches. They didn’t shed toxic tears that harmed the beasts. They only watched—and helped.
“Is this Lobizon of yours still alive?” Seda asked her.
The beast strained but nodded her head.
“Then I suggest you have a bigger problem on your hands. Elco wouldn’t hurt one of your own without cause.”
“Release me,” the beast snarled. “Release me, and we will leave this place.”
Roya spat back in response, “If we release you, the balance you are looking for has been paid. You came here over a misunderstanding, looking to hurt one of our own. The loss of your friends was your own doing.”
The beast seethed, its teeth tightly clenched, but looked back at Seda. “You have my word.”
Seda looked at the roses. She wasn’t sure if they could understand her if she asked, but she walked closer and lightly touched one of their leaves. “Please release them.”
They trembled at her touch and gradually loosened their hold on the remaining Lobisons.
Five of them jumped out from the bushes, growling as the thorns snagged into their fur. The female Lobizon broke free and shook her fur, flinging leaves and rainwater around them. Seda flared her magic again, readying herself in case the beast launched another attack.
The Lobizon chuckled as she looked at Seda’s palms. “As I said, you have my word.”
“What’s your name?” Seda asked, eyes following her every move.
