AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We would keep them safe.
“Come,” Bracken said gruffly.
He reached out and pulled Sun by the arm, lifting his wing to make room for him to get into his embrace.
Sun went without resistance.
Eagerly, he curled around Clem and Bracken curled protectively around them both and I watched, seething because I could do nothing to undo what had happened.
Something creaked above me and I looked up to see Hadi’s form, braced above us, his long brown and black limbs blending with the tree’s branches.
I could not see his face, but I didn’t trust him anymore.
I would not sleep tonight.
Instead, I spent the hours slinking around our camp, following each creak or whisper until I knew it was nothing more than a mouse or an owl.
When the sun began to rise, a different whispering began from within Bracken’s wings.
“Are you alright?”
Clem’s quiet voice was barely louder than a breath, but I still heard it.
“Yes,” Sun returned. “Are you in much pain?”
“I will heal,” Clem said. “I swear I didn’t know that Hadi would do that to you. I mean, I knew he wasn’t very happy, but had hoped he would warm up to you, the way that Kiar and Bracken have.”
My heart warmed at Clem’s silly optimism.
Sun chuckled softly.
“They are nothing like that creature. You shouldn’t compare them.”
I slithered closer, listening with a soft smile on my face.
It had been silly of me to be so jealous of these two. They were both a part of me now and as such were just as much a part of each other.
That was something I would remember from now on.
What a strange situation Clem had put us all in.
“How did you know you should come find me?” Sun whispered. “Especially after our fight?”
“I am not sure,” Clem admitted. “I had a terrible feeling. Then I lit up like a firefly and I knew. It was a warning.”
So that was it. Clem’s powers seemed to be growing, his strength coming in a different way than it did for the rest of us.
A being who had been in such a low position before now controlled our fates with his powers. It was a humbling thought.
Bracken opened his eyes slowly and peeked at his two pets.
“Hadi can hear you,” he informed them. “He’s up there.”
He indicated the trees above us.
I glanced up, seeing that the giant spider hadn’t moved in hours. I wondered what he thought about all the soft words and tender lovemaking. He would have seen and heard it all while still in his shadow form.
“It doesn’t matter,” Sun said and there was a hardness to his voice now that he would never use toward Clem. “Let him listen if he wants. We have nothing to hide.”
