“Your mother,” I guessed. “And Sorrell’s.”
“Yes.” Silence echoed after that one word and I could feel my sleepiness drifting away, making way for responding worry. I still hadn’t thought of a thing to say when his chest moved as he sucked in a breath. “If you belonged to one of us, you'd be untouchable,” he mused. The worry and longing in Roan's voice made my heart break for him.
"Then tell people I belong to you. I don't care so long as they leave us alone," I said. That solved everything, didn’t it?
“Just like that?” he asked.
I yawned, my eyes sliding completely closed as I sighed and sank into him. “Just like that,” I said. “I belong to you—see, it’s not so hard to say.” I could say it all day and night if it meant we’d get back to the Court of Crimson in one piece and I could see Nellie again. At the thought of my best friend, guilt crept into my heart. She must have been so scared without me. I missed her, but—and I’d never admit this out loud—the guys, including Sorrell, had probably been right to leave her behind. The only thing worse than being stuck in a dark crevice in the middle of an icy wasteland was doing it with my best friend. I’d already proven I could survive impossible situations, but I was sure she already regretted following after me and I didn’t want to put her in any more danger.
Even as those thoughts lingered, sleep crept up on me. I wasn't sure whether it was from being snuggled against Roan or finally being away from all the tension of the camp and our traveling companions, but finally, I fell into blissful slumber.
No sooner than I felt like I’d fallen asleep something jerked me awake. I gasped, the sound hitting my ears loudly as I sat up abruptly. The body under me—Roan, my delayed mind recognized—shifted in discomfort and let out a sleepy grunt. Normally, I would’ve just tried to go right back to sleep, but something felt wrong. My senses were screaming at me. I strained to listen for what had woken me.
At first, I heard nothing, then a slow, low growl came from below us. I froze and then, half-terrified of what I would find, peered over the edge of the branch we were spread out on. A pair of red, luminous eyes stared back at me. My heart leapt into my throat when another pair appeared next to it, followed by another, and another.
I couldn’t tell how many creatures there were, but their eyes lit up the floor of the forest. "Roan," I hissed, slapping at his chest. When he didn't respond, I groped around frantically. "Roan!" I said a little louder, snapping my hand out again.
"Ugh.” He grunted. “Why are you hitting me?" his groggy voice asked.
“You said you weren’t going to fall asleep,” I accused in a panic, unable to look away from the eyes staring back at me. "There's something below us. A lot of them, I think.”
I immediately felt the change in his body. Tension flowed through his muscles and when he leaned over and followed my gaze, a muttered curse left his lips.
"What are they?" I squeaked.
"What we were hoping to avoid by sleeping in a tree," he growled. His hands gripped my waist as he turned his face away. "Orion!"
I turned my head to where Orion was as he jerked up out of what appeared to be a fitful sleep. His hand snapped out and wrapped around the branch he was on, balancing himself as he came to full awareness in a matter of seconds. “What?” Orion’s deep voice rumbled as he replied. “What is it?”
Roan didn’t even get a chance to respond as a vicious snarl sounded from below. My gut clenched and I swung my gaze back to the ground, squealing as I saw one of the creatures—their shadows barely visible—lunge up into the branches.
“Roan!” I screamed.
He released me as he reached up and cupped both of his hands over my mouth. “No,” he snapped quietly. “Don’t scream. You’ll only draw more.”
More! I thought with alarm. It looked like a fucking army of creatures down there already. With dagger-like teeth and blood red eyes. Oh, I was going to have nightmares about this until the day I died. I just knew it.
“What do we do?” I couldn’t breathe as I wheezed out the question. He pulled his fingers away from my face.
Another, even more feral, sounding growl erupted from below us, cutting him off as his mouth opened. “Shit!” he cursed. I tilted and the next thing I knew, something had snapped onto Roan’s cloak and was pulling us both down.
I watched in horror as Roan’s arm lifted and he caught himself with one hand, clinging to the branch we’d been sleeping on. But me … I tumbled down behind him, literally being thrown to the wolves, or whatever these creatures were.
Despite Roan’s urging not to scream, I couldn’t help it. It was automatic. As I fell, my lips parted and I let loose the loudest scream I’d ever screamed in my life—and considering how many times someone had tried to off me as of late, that was definitely saying something. I saw the exact moment when Roan realized what was happening. I reached up as he lunged down, trying to catch me, but one of the creatures launched itself at me at the same time.
Teeth clamped down on my boot and I thumped to the ground with a jarring thud as red eyes hovered over me. Drool dripped onto my face as my scream cut off to make way for the rush of air that escaped at my landing. All I saw was way too many shiny white teeth and those creepy, pinpoints of red coming toward me as they began to circle. Without thought, I curled in on myself, bracing for impact, waiting for their sharp teeth to dig into me and rip me apart.
“Cress!” Orion’s voice rose above the growls. “Run!”
There would be no running, I thought. Only death. My breath hitched as it finally came back to me. I curled tighter as the creatures crept closer, sniffing, drawing back—preparing for their attack.
No, I couldn’t die like this. It wouldn’t happen. I wasn’t done yet. What would happen to Nellie if I died? Would the guys keep her safe? Would they protect her even though she was human? I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure.
My panicked mind was racing so hard. I had to survive. At any cost. With that thought, I knew I couldn’t just lay here curled on the floor of the forest waiting to be eaten. I had to … they weren’t pouncing, I realized a bit belatedly. Why weren’t they pouncing?
I lifted my head and looked around curiously, uncurling from my prone position. They weren’t attacking because they were … backing away? Confusion filled me as I struggled to my feet, my legs feeling weak. I didn’t understand.
Sweat coated my palms, drawing my attention, and it was then that I saw the light—a golden glow emanating from my fingertips, racing up my arms and down across my chest. I felt warm. More than that, I felt hot. Like I was boiling from the inside out. I couldn’t breathe properly. My breath kept catching in my throat as if there wasn’t enough air.
“No!” Roan shouted as he climbed down the tree. “Cress, stop! Your magic is being depleted! Stop using your magic!”
“She can’t!” Orion shouted back as I looked up and saw them doing the same—both of them mirroring each other’s movements as they scaled down the trunk of the tree. “It’s the only thing keeping them at bay.”