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Once the rabbits were cooked, we all sat in silence, eating. Juice and fat swirled on my tongue, and I savored the delicious flavor, dreaming of bowls full of roasted potatoes and pumpkin to complement the meal.
“We should settle in for the night,” Shadow suggested as he gnawed on his last bone. “Get an early start for tomorrow.”
Dried blood soaked his bandages. They’d require changing before he went to sleep to keep his wounds clean. Sweat soaked his skin, and he seemed paler, or perhaps it was the dimness in the cave. He wasn’t looking that great, particularly those dark circles beneath his eyes. The tighter collar rubbed against his skin, making it red and chaffed.
I wasn’t tired in the slightest. All the talk of evil had unsettled me, and heaviness occupied my mind. “Think I’ll practice my magic before I go to bed.”
“I ain’t sleeping here if you’re practicing that creepy hoodoo,” Flare said, stuffing his cape under his arm and standing.
Sea God, he was an insensitive jerk sometimes. What did he have against magic? It had saved Phantom and Shadow once.
Shadow shot Flare a critical glare.
“This is for your good, too,” I snapped, letting Flare get to me yet again. “If I figure out how to channel my magic, I might be able to get your collar off.”
Flare’s stance stiffened. “Last time you charged it up, the hunters went even crazier.”
Yes. But for some reason, it hadn’t affected Shadow and Flare. Why? That part I wanted to understand.
“A few days ago,” I countered, “you were exactly the same, wanting to tear out my heart and return it to the evil queen.”
His lips pursed as if he bit back on his next words. Shamefaced and red, he stalked away, choosing a location close to the exit for his bed.
Good riddance.I didn’t need his criticism right now. My magic already scared the heck out of me. His harsh words just added to my wariness when it came to using my powers.
Shadow gave me anI’m sorry for my friendshrug and settled by the fire with his cape bunched up beneath his head.
Phantom paused, as if waiting for me to make up my mind. I sensed he wanted to rest beside me to ensure my safety against the other two.
Well, right now, I was too incensed to fall asleep, so I bent my knees and wrapped my arms around them, rocking, thinking. Flare was a loose cannon with that mouth. I wasn’t sure I wanted him on my side. Maybe once his collar was off, it would be best for him to return to the jungle. The resistance didn’t need someone like him causing them trouble. Neither did I.
Phantom nestled next to me, his eyes never leaving me. Beneath my simmering annoyance, I liked the fact that he protected me and filled me with comfort.
Despite the warmth given off by the fire, Shadow shivered and rubbed his arms. That wasn’t a good sign. Several times in the cell, after the torturer had left me bleeding, I’d gotten infections. I’d barely survived the last one. For over ten days, I’d lain there, bereft of energy, unable to move, sweating like I’d worked in the orchards in the middle of summer and shaking uncontrollably.
I threw a few thick logs onto the fire, hoping it might stoke it further and give off more heat to ward off Shadow’s chills. But as time passed, the frequency of his trembles intensified, telling me he was falling ill to infection. He needed body heat to make it through the night.
I took uneasy steps over the rocky ground to reach him.
“Snow,” Phantom said. “What are you doing?”
What did it look like? I put my hands to the collar, infusing my magic into it, and little beads of glass frosted it, sealing off the dark magic from interfering with Shadow. Last time, it had only worked for a brief moment. But this time, I intended it to last the night. Long enough for me to ward off Shadow’s infection. Hopefully, he wouldn’t kill me as I lay with my back against his burning chest.
“You really shouldn’t do that,” he said, shifting away from me.
For some reason he wasn’t reacting to our vicinity. The sigils on his collar remained dull, telling me he was wither too weak to kill me, or the magic I’d used to stop his collar from strangling him had done something to ward off the dark spell within the metal. But for how long if the latter were the case?
“I’m more worried about you,” I said, nestling right back into the groove of his body, his skin blazing against mine. Each time he tried to escape, I inched closer until he gave up. His shaking rocked through me, and I pressed into him, willing my body heat to chase away his ills.
“I’ll keep watch,” Phantom announced, crawling over to us.
“No,” I said, taking his wrist and squeezing it. “You need to rest. You’re injured. Let me take watch.”
Shadow goaded Phantom again, placing a hand on my hip, digging his privates into my ass. His touch made me jolt, and I couldn’t think straight.
“Do that again and I’ll snap your wrist,” Phantom said.
“Cut it out, both of you.” To show them I meant it, I sat up and held up my hands to their noses. “We’ve had ample fighting for today, thank you very much. You can both lie with me.”
