A sapling erupted from the ground a moment later, drawing everyone’s attention. Saoirse walked toward it, growing the thin tree until the trunk was as thick as her leg. Saoirse bent it to her will and sat upon the smooth bark. To Arianna’s surprise, Zylah sat close to her, each positioned to face the fire.
Everyone’s faces were haggard, shadows lining their eyes. They’d all gone through so much. Finding out the truth about Vairik and their land. Discovering Levea’s destruction.Attempting to accept that Connell’s group might no longer be alive. That her father and her people might have fallen prey to Vairik’s monstrous forces.
She sat beside her sister, soul heavy. Kirian was gone, too. So much loss, yet they had to keep moving. There wasn’t time for grief.
Arianna massaged the back of her neck, trying to ease the dull ache there. Silence settled over the space, broken only by the crackling noises from the fire. It was so quiet, so—
A violent curse shattered the stillness, followed by the metallic scent of blood. Arianna’s heart jolted, and she watched The Demon shove off from the tree he’d been leaning against, shaking his hand vigorously. He’d already dropped his knife.
Talon lifted a brow as if concerned, but a smirk played on his lips too. “You all right?”
“Fine,” Rion bit out from under his breath. The Demon rummaged through a pack with one hand, his other clutched tight. Blood dripped from the edge of his palm. He withdrew a bandage, and Talon’s smile faded altogether. Her friend’s gaze flickered toward Arianna, a question there.
The Demon didn’t look at her once. He moved back to the tree at the edge of their camp and poured water over the wound, examining it before securely wrapping the bandage around his palm. It bled through immediately.
Arianna tried to ignore the way the others were not so subtly glancing at her. She knew what they wanted, but to get that close to him. To touch him. A shiver ran through her body.
The Demon settled against the tree again and slid down to his feet, knife forgotten in the dirt. He just stared into nothing, reminding her far too much of Ellie.
An uneasy silence filled the space, and Arianna chewed her lip. The Demon was helping them. It would be in their best interest if she healed him. Even something small could takea bad turn. But if Ellie snapped out of her stupor and their opportunity to escape arose, wouldn’t an injury, no matter how small, give her some advantage? She almost laughed at her own logic. As if a small cut on his hand would do anything to hinder The Demon’s abilities. He had a reputation for a reason.
Once the food had warmed, they ate, then returned to their resting positions. Ellie, thankfully, didn’t require prodding this time, but she still wouldn’t feed herself. She opened her mouth each time the spoon came to her lips, a habitual instinct rather than conscious thought.
Ellie would return to herself, eventually. She had to. Arianna would accept no other alternative.
She adjusted another blanket around her sister, then settled against the same tree, leaning her head against the scratchy bark. Arianna stared up through the trees, searching for the stars between the thick clouds. Her gaze snagged on a loose strand of fabric trapped in the branches, billowing in the light breeze, reminding her of a youngling’s kite tail.
But there weren’t any villages nearby.None that she’d seen on the map either.
Arianna furrowed her brow, squinting. Another strand moved with the wind. Then another. She sat up slowly, counting them. Four. Eight. Twelve. They were everywhere, on all sides. She glanced toward the others, but no one else seemed to have noticed. A break in the clouds revealed a sliver of moonlight. It reflected off one of the tendrils, revealing the silky white surface. Arianna’s heart sped up.
“What is it?” Saoirse asked first, the warrior automatically following Arianna’s gaze. The female stood slowly then, her hand reaching for the sword at her side.
“What are those?” Arianna whispered.
Saoirse didn’t have time to answer. Not as something white shot out from the shadows and latched around thefemale’s waist, yanking her back into the growing darkness beyond.
Chapter Nine
Arianna
Saoirse screamed and cursed in the same breath. Everyone was on their feet in an instant. The Demon’s magic shattered the ground alongside his sister’s. Vines and sand tore in every direction. Fire erupted from Raevina’s arms, snaking across the ground in a wide arc that bathed them all in flickering orange light.
Them and the dozens upon dozens of creatures lurking beyond.
Legs of all sizes yanked away from the sudden brightness as though burned by its mere presence. Either that, or Raevina’s shadows were at work. Reflective yellow eyes seemed to glare at them from just behind the trees, each promising retribution for the interruption of their meal. Raevina’s fire continued zigzagging back, back, back, revealing more and more of the sinister beings, along with the thick webs they’d spun in absolute silence.
Dread settled in the pit of Arianna’s stomach. Spiders. Impossibly large spiders. Dozens. Hundreds.
The Demon clutched his sister’s arm, pulling her back from the vile monsters’ clutches. Vulgar words spilled from the Lady of Brónach’s mouth as she fought to pull sticky strings from her new tunic.
Arianna stepped closer to Ellie on instinct, grabbing her sister’s wrist and hauling her to her feet. Ellie staggered, but Arianna caught her and pushed her body toward their group’s tightening circle. Ice coated Arianna’s arms and spread from her feet, layering the ground in a light frost that thickened with each passing second.
Clicking rose from the largest beast’s jaws. Too many. There were too many. She stepped back again, her heart hammering in her chest as she searched for an escape.
Dark Fae. But Arianna had never imagined them like this. She’d always visualized them as the strange, uncanny creatures from her storybooks. Certainly nothing she’d seen in real life. Somehow this was far, far worse. Were they one of Vairik’s experiments, or a species that predated the Fae’s arrival on the continent? Had her ancestors fought these exact beings before they’d called upon the gods for help?
The clicking grew faster, louder, then several sprang into the air, their legs fanning out wide. Everyone reacted at once. Raevina’s magic caught three mid-flight, her dark shadows melting their exoskeletons on impact. They screamed, curled in on themselves, and fell to the ground in sizzling heaps. Arianna leapt back from the bodies. Ellie didn’t move with her. Arianna quietly cursed as she fought to correct her footing before shoving Ellie behind her again.
