Donte was expecting me to meet him at nine, but it would be a while before he became concerned enough about my tardiness to become worried.
The faintest rustling preceded flashes of movement in the shadows of the trees. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but as the brothers closed around me in a tight circle, fear gripped me as eight tall, sturdily built men materialised from the shadows, but none resembled the handsome brothers forming a protective circle around me. Bedraggled and weather-beaten, dressed in clothes more befitting the Victorian era, they carried swords and daggers from what could have been the Inquisition. Cryptic tattoos of astrological symbols mapped their hands and bullish necks. They moved silently, their unblinking feline eyes eerily glowing.
I pinched my arm, hard to snap myself back into reality, but not even my fertile imagination could have conjured such a terrifying situation. The strangers approached, their stony gazes fixed on each of the brothers.
"Let the girl go," the leader commanded in a discordant voice. It sounded fractured, like it wasn’t meant to exist in this world. His eyes narrowed on the brothers.
"You flaunt the boundaries that the Gate Order has upheld since the first days You have no respect."
The Gate, what?Oh hell… that didn’t sound good. This was bad. Really, really bad.
Feeling encouraged by the man's words, I shifted, testing the tension of Torin’s grip. The moment I moved Torin clamped my hand to the point of pain. I flinched and looked pleadingly at the leader, but he looked past me, his attention focused only on the brothers. I felt overwhelmed by a sense of unreality.
Who were these people? Worse, what had I stumbled upon?
Fionn straightened and boldly faced the surrounding men with an expression of cold rage.
"You know that's not possible, Horous. His voice was low, lethal. The girl belongs to us."
Cillian pulled me against him. I felt his body's heat and smelled musk and leather. Torin flanked my other side and placed his hand on my shoulder. The heat from his hand seemed to brand my flesh. I felt burning, like I had stood too long in the sun.
I was trapped, surrounded by these maniacs.
Fionn turned toward me. Of all the brothers, he disturbed me the most.
"You belong to us, Tilly," he said, "so banish any ideas of escaping from your mind. If you think the Gatemen are going to help you, think again. They'll kill you because of who you are. These men won't stop until you're dead."
It took a moment for me to process his words.
"What—what are you talking about?" I stammered.
"Who do they think I am?"
Tears stung my eyes. The men were beyond dangerous, beyond human. They were something I couldn't even begin to imagine.
I forced myself to focus. Panic was a trap. If I let it take hold, I’d be useless when the moment came to run.
"You must have me confused with someone else," I said.
Fionn merely looked at me and turned away.
Horous gestured to the others. Silently, they pointed their weapons toward us and approached in unison.
Fionn's eyes darkened with each step they took toward us.
"If you don't free the girl," Horous growled, "we'll have no choice but to free her."
Fionn stepped in front of me while Cillian and Torin pressed me between them.
"You’re hard of hearing," Fionn said with a sneer. "I've made it quite clear to you that the girl is ours. Now, I suggest youand your ruffians be on your way, or I guarantee you'll suffer the consequences."
"The girl isn't your property," Horous said. "She must know your intentions before she's charmed by the snake."
Before Horous had finished speaking, he moved like a blur in Fionn's direction, his weapon poised. I backed away at the sight of a fearsome blade resembling a scythe bearing down on Fionn.
"You've stolen far too much innocence because of your false beliefs! And for those sins, you and your kin must pay!"
I looked for a path. In the trees, there had to be a way out.
