“Got you, bitch,” a guard snarls in my ear.
“Dahlia!” Eden yelps. “Let go of her!” She charges at the guard on top of me, but another scoops her up and throws her against a tree.
“No!” Blossom panics. Maeve gasps, her chest heaving as she scrambles behind a shrub. There’s only two guards here, but I can hear more through the trees.
“Run!” I yell at Blossom. “Get Tauren!”
The guard strikes me across the face. “Quiet, bitch.” Stars blur my vision as he presses my wrists into the dirt. “I’m not falling for your freak sister’s magic trick again. I’ve got you now,” he sneers while my stomach drops. “Just wait till I get you back to the palace. Once Elheart throws you in the dungeon, you’ll be mine, little slu—” His eyes widen. An awful choking sound gargles up his throat. Then, he’s launched across the forest, taking out two more guards as they burst through the trees.
I gasp when the guard who had Eden pinned to a tree also flies through the air. His body takes out another two guards like a cannon, while my sister turns as white as a sheet.
Two arms scoop under my back, lifting me from the ground. Warmth blooms inside me.
Suddenly, I’m no longer afraid.
“I heard you screaming. I thought I’d lost you.” Tauren clutches me to his chest. “Are you hurt anywhere? Speak to me, sweetheart.” His words are soft, but his tone is deadly.
“No, but?—”
“We have to move. More guards are coming.” He whisks me through the trees, his arms so tight I can barely turn my head. Still, I catch a glimpse of pink and yellow behind us. My sisters are following, but Maeve…
“Tauren, wait!” I squeak. “Maeve isn’t?—”
“I don’t care.” Trees rush past us. “You tried your best. If she doesn’t want to leave him, I have to accept?—”
“No, she’s…” My voice trails off.He knows?Of course he does. Everything Elheart said was true.
Anger burns in my throat, but we don’t have time for this. “Tauren, no. Maeve is here. She came with us!”
He stops. Sunlight dances off his parted lips, and his muscles tense beneath his shirt. “She’s here?” There’s still guards following us, but demon soldiers are rushing past us now, their swords drawn.
Tauren places me down gently while my sisters huddle at my side.
“It’s alright,” I whisper to them. Eden’s tucked herself behind Blossom, who’s glaring at Tauren with more fire than the sun.
Tauren ignores them, focusing only on me. “Where is she?” he breathes. He turns back to the trees we just came through. “Was she hurt? Did I leave her behind?”
“She’s fine.” I touch his arm. I can hear her quiet footsteps. Blue silk flickers through the trees as I smile at her. “See for yourself.”
She steps out from behind a shrub just as Tauren turns to face her. His eyes widen, and a relieved breath shakes his shoulders.
But then his grin falls. The joy on his face turns to horror.
“What is it?” I move to his side.
His voice hardens. “That’s not my sister.”
32
TAUREN
“Of course she is.” Dahlia grasps my arm. “Who else would she be?” Her tone is gentle, like she thinks I’m just refusing to see what’s in front of me.
But I know my sister. It’s been years, but I’d know her face anywhere. This girl, thischild, is not my sister.
Fists clenched, I march towards her.
Her hair is light blonde like Maeve’s, and her features are sharp like mine. As I circle her, she twists her fingers together like Claren does when he’s nervous. Maeve used to do that, too. Claren learned it from her when he was a boy.
