AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What?”
“Kicking near the nut would have rendered unspeakable pain if it was a regular guy, but you have to hold stronger creatures at a different standard. Kicking me very hard in the nuts would have prevented me from following you altogether. Same with Moon. I can’t speak for Fae because I don’t even know if they have nuts. Maybe they don’t.”
That rendered her speechless as she gaped at him. Then she went into defensive mode, which he preferred over the Ruby who judged herself too hard.
“I’m not kicking you in the nuts.”
“Hmm.”
“I’m not. That’s just foul.” A pause. “I’m not saying throwing that stone wasn’t foul, but the nut-kicking would have been fouler. Nut-kicking hurts. Your nuts are sensitive.”
His lips twitched, not about to point out that she had mentioned nuts thrice. She peeked at him suspiciously until he nodded.
“Hmm, noted. Who is he?”
Ruby glanced at Brian, who was far away enough not to hear.
“My brother’s best friend.”
The puzzle of their closeness clicked into place.
“Exiled?”
“No. But he left the island to lay low after what happened with Silver. His return caused quite the stir.”
He hadn’t known about the stir, which proved how good James was at hiding stuff from him.
“Can you trust him?”
“I would like to think so. I—”
“Quiet.”
Brian’s words cut through the air, the commanding tone an abrupt change from his gentle one earlier. At once, Maddox was on guard, sensing the tension that rose from the man and looking around to find its source. When he couldn’t find it, he gave the man a questioning look.
“Death. I can feel it.”
That Maddox couldn’t didn’t bode well. A sharp sound had him glancing at Moon, who was doubling back at Brian’s gesture. Then the warlock waved a hand until something wrapped them in a circle, forming a cold sensation and a sheen that was visible every time Maddox shifted his head.
“Can it move?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Then let’s.”
No one argued. They crowded together as they navigated their way through the trees, with Brian growing tenser by the second. It radiated within the group and put him on edge, too, but Maddox soon realized that his tension was all his own. It ticked like a time bomb, switching from telling him nothing was wrong to pressuring him to get out of there. A minute later, the same instinct ran through Moon’s body as a shudder ran through.
“Don’t shift,” Maddox warned in a low tone.
Moon nodded tersely but glued himself to Maddox’s side, as if drawing comfort from him. It helped give Maddox a purpose as he suspected they were walking in circles, confirmed when Ruby pointed to their right.
“That clump. We passed that before.”
“Can’t you guys magic a clear path for us or something?” Moon asked.
Brian eyed the boy in disbelief, then turned to Ruby. She shook her head and gestured at them to keep going, which they did but with Maddox now watching both their way and Brian in case the warlock figured out what Moon was. When they passed the glinting clump a second time, Ruby made a sound of frustration…and Maddox felt the whiff of something different in the air, transitioning the environment into something dark and suffocating.
“Incoming,” he called out.
