‘Wearein this together,’ he said. ‘Always. Forever.’
She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him, and his arms tightened around her, holding her close.
He smiled down at her. ‘My little porcupine.’
She smacked his chest. ‘Don’t call me that!’
‘Fine, fine.’ His eyes glinted. ‘How about my feral kitten? Pumpkin? Honeybunch?’
He was trying to make her laugh now, and it worked.
‘We need to work on your terms of endearment,’ she said.
‘Anything you say, darling dearest,’ he said.
She smiled. ‘That’s better, beloved.’
His entire face lit up. It was the first time she had called him a term of endearment and would most certainly not be the last.
Hand in hand, they ran back to the Enchanted Forest.
32
Bisma and Xander arrived at the Enchanted Forest to find more than a dozen workers already cutting down trees. The fog that usually protected the Forest’s border was completely gone, making the home of the Unwanted Girls easy prey.
A weak whistle sounded in the air—it was the Forest crying out for help.
Rage cracked through Bisma with the force of a whip. She dropped her hand from Xander’s and sprinted straight to the workers, picking up a branch along the way. ‘Stop!’ she cried, swinging. Beside her, Xander was fighting another worker, trying to unhand the worker from his ax.
Bisma hit one of the men, knocking him over, and he cried out. As Bisma reared to attack another worker, she felt an arm lock around her from behind, hauling her back.
She screamed, trying to wring free.
‘Don’t touch her!’ Xander cried. He was there in an instant, striking the worker who held her with the hilt of an ax.
The worker released her, falling back, unconscious.
Xander’s green eyes were wild. ‘Are you alright?’ he asked, caressing her cheek.
She nodded. Then something caught her eye behind him. ‘Watch out!’
Xander turned in time to see a worker running at him.
He ducked, and Bisma fell to her knees, sticking her hands into the soil. Usually, her magic was stronger in the Enchanted Forest, even just outside its borders, but as she felt deep in the earth, she knew the Forest had no magic to lend her.
She called upon her own, drawing up vines which sprouted from the ground, hitting the worker Xander was fighting.
The worker was thrown back, and Xander turned to her, a bruise forming above his cheekbone.
The sight splintered through her. She pushed more of her magic into the earth, and vines emerged everywhere, reaching out to strike workers with vicious precision. Satisfaction coursed through her as she watched them scatter and fall.
But it wasn’t enough. The workers got back up, redirecting their axes to her vines, while some trees were lined with dynamite.
‘No!’ she cried, as they lit the matches, the flames flickering in the darkening evening. Explosions sounded, one after another, and she shut her eyes, her heart tearing.
Mighty trees fell, and dew slid from the other trees’ leaves, as though the Forest was weeping. Bisma felt each loss keenly. She focused on her magic, calling for it to help her, to help her home, and Xander was doing the same. But they were outnumbered—they couldn’t do this.
Just then, Bisma heard a feral scream. She turned and saw the Unwanted Girls running toward the Forest, and they weren’t alone. Behind them was Haru and his family, Razan and her husband, Diego and his teenage kids, as well as a few other villagers who she had sold poisons to, people she had helped.
