Their proximity, the warmth of their skin flowing through me, threatens to spill tears from my eyes again. “I can’t talk about it. I don’t want to,” I say, reading the conversation they want to have in their eyes.
I think for a minute that they may ignore me and push their questions through anyway, but instead, Hans gathers me into his arms. “Okay, but we’re here.”
I bury my face in his chest, and this time, I cannot stop the tears from falling.
Chapter10
Let Me Out
GERRIT
Briar cries for longer than I would think is possible. Her tears aren’t earth-shaking. They don’t demand attention. They trail down her face, tracing patterns of sorrow across her neck. Eventually, she seems not to realize she’s still crying. She stares blankly forward as Hans rubs his hand between her shoulder blades.
Flint told us the gist of what happened to Briar during her time in this confection-patterned prison—the extended hunger, the brutal beatings when the Banisher finally arrived, the crippling loneliness. Like a flower, she is small and fragile, in danger of being trampled underfoot.
“I think I can talk about it now,” she says quietly. She still is not making eye contact with either of us, but that does not surprise me. Briar reaches a hand out to my stepbrother and me, and we both clasp it tightly.
“I know you don’t know me. We just met. But I have been so alone for so long that you two are the closest thing I have to friends. So, I need to tell you about the Banisher. If I am going to help you, you need to know what I’m up against.”
Stroking the back of her hand with my thumb, I nod encouragingly.
“We’re listening, Briar, Whatever you want to tell us,” Hans says in that soft timber of his.
A weak smile crosses her face. “Flint, you could come listen too,” she calls over her shoulder, and the wolf pads over and sits in front of her.
She wrings her hands in her lap, looking at all of the dusty corners of the room rather than at us. “There is no memory of arriving here. One second, it is black, and the next, I am looking into the darkness of the Banisher’s hood. I have never seen his face. Once every twelve moon cycles or so, he comes to me and offers me comfort items. He’ll bring a new blanket, dress, flower seeds, or paints. He’s even brought pitchers of blood. Anything that could make my time here just a bit better.” Her voice is bitter and rough, unshed tears caught in her throat.
“But those things come with a price. I could reject them and face his wrath at the denial of his generosity. Or I could take them but pay for them in ways other than money.”
My grip on her hand tightens. “You don’t mean…”
Her eyes dart to me, as she shakes her head sadly. “No, not like that. He never touched me sexually. He was probably afraid of feeding me.” She barks out a bitter laugh. “It started with manual labor. Just moving things around, carving stones, things of that nature. Prices I was willing to pay for an extra blanket or some bottles to make ale in. But it morphed. Every time he came, he was angrier and angrier. He’s a powerful mage, and his spells are brutal. Eventually, I became the test subject for them.”
Hans winces at the revelation. “What kind of spells?” he asks quietly.
Her eyes are glassy as she answers. “Torture spells. Since he monitors me, he must be a warden of sorts, and I am sure he has less docile prisoners who need a firmer hand than I do. The Banisher would test the new spells on me and record my reactions and recovery time.”
Anger thrashes in the pit of my stomach, imagining anyone wanting to trample this delicate woman.
She shifts on the couch and slides closer to my side, pulling her feet to the sofa. Reflexively, Hans grabs her around the ankles and rests her legs across his lap. “Flint says he’s due to arrive here soon,” Hans says, his fingers rubbing circles on the bottom of her feet.
Her body tenses against me. “It has to be soon. It’s been ages since I’ve seen him.”
She inhales sharply, and then she’s rigid, leaping to her feet. “You can’t be here when he gets here. Ask Flint. It’s dangerous for you to be here. I can’t let you stay. You have to find a way to leave the circle.” I stand and gather her in my arms, pulling her tightly against my chest. Her body is shaking with fear, teeth chattering aggressively. I run my hands down her light purple hair, smoothing it against her neck.
I surprise myself when I tell her, “We could never leave you behind.”
* * *
Briar wentto bed shortly before sunrise. Hans and I could not dream of falling asleep and leaving her awake and alone with her thoughts.
We slip from her bed and wander into the main area of the cabin, rifling through our things for rations. Even Flint is stuck in the fairy circle, so our supply of fresh meat is gone. “I raided her garden. We’ve got some berries and vegetables. It’s something,” Hans is saying. My mind is still on Briar and on how broken she was in our arms.
“How are we going to get her out of here?”
My stepbrother’s eyes light up at my question. “How indeed. I’ve got several ideas.”
We spend the next few hours discussing ideas and their feasibility with Flint. The wolf is brighter than I knew and has knowledge about the Banisher that he gained from listening to the creatures of the woods.
