Page 5 of Crownless Heirs

“I can be broken without a touch, given without being held. I am both a gift and a curse. What am I?”

Sorcha’s mind raced.

Kyron shifted beside her. “A book?”

Cat looked at Kyron with disgust. “A book, Kyron! Did you even listen to the riddle?”

The ground beneath them shuddered.

“That is not correct,” the tree’s tone deepened.

Its roots curled upward, twitching, and its branches twisted, wrapping tightly around them. Vines then shot across the ground, rapidly entangling the space. These vines clawed their way up their legs, biting into their flesh.

Kyron angrily yelled at Cat, “What’s your answer then?!”

“The soul,” Cat replied smoothly.

The vines twisted higher, slithering like snakes and coiling tighter around them.

Kyron gasped, “It’s getting hard to breathe.”

They squeezed like pythons, leaving only the tops of Cat’s ears visible as he muffled shouts at Kyron. Sorcha’s pulse pounded, urging her to think amidst the chaos. “A gift and a curse,” she murmured, her mind racing.

Suddenly, Kyron yelled, “Sorcha!” just as his face was buried beneath the roots.

Cat, meanwhile, was tearing and clawing at the roots, screaming at Kyron, “Make yourself useful, will you? Use the gods-damned sword you have!”

Kyron muffled something, and Cat began tearing faster at the roots. Sorcha conjured a flame in her hand and focused it on the limbs of the tree. Fire burst from her hand, hungry and blue-hot; flames consumed the limbs, but the bark drank it in. There was no ash or blackening of wood; the tree remained untouched. The tree grumbled, and more roots shot from the ground, whipping around her wrists and now holding her in place. She watched Kyron and Cat being buried alive by the tree, the roots dragging them closer to the tree’s hollow.

Sorcha realized she was running out of time, her heart thundering in her chest. Her heart. The answer came to her in a rush.

She exhaled, whispering, “A heart.”

In the ensuing silence, the vines halted, and the branches paused. As the tree laughed dark and cold, its roots began to retreat back into the soil. The hollow sealed, its eerie voice fading.

“A wise answer and a dangerous truth. Guard yours well, Sorcha.” The warning echoed in her mind as the tree disappeared.

Kyron, out of breath, “Gods, I hate this forest.”

Cat was laughing, despite the near-death experience. “I find it exciting.”

Sorcha didn’t respond. She was still trying to quiet the pounding in her chest; the trees’ warning lingering in her thoughts.

Cat turned to Sorcha, “Thank you for thinking before speaking” he glared at Kyron for a short while and back to her. “We aren’t far now. Just a little further. “

Kyron was constantly looking over his shoulder, and every tree was now a potential threat.

“I think you need to calm down,” Cat laughed out.

“In a few hours, Cat, Sorcha was nearly drowned by a merrow; attacked by a banshee and a tree who wanted to eat us. I think that warrants my mood.”

“It’s home, Kyron,” he said smoothly as his tails flicked dirt off his side. “After all, we have you to protect us.”

Kyron glared at Cat long and hard before replying. “In the Tuatha court, I don’t have to deal with these creatures from the abyss.”

Cat scoffed, “Must be nice.”

As Kyron was preparing to respond, Sorcha put a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s not forget why we’re here.”