Page 28 of Breaking Briar

The phantom jostles my body, holding me against his warmth. Concern drips from his lips as he presses them against mine. Air floods my lungs as light pierces my eyes. With his kiss, I am once more back with the living.

A sob wrenches from my throat as I burrow into Philip’s chest, soaking in the comforting warmth. He wraps his arms around me, clutching me close. His heart beats strong and steady, lulling me into breathing softer and slower.

“Briar,” he murmurs against the top of my head. “What happened? You were gone. Where did you go?”

“A nightmare.” The words drift out on a mournful sigh. “I dreamed you were a dragon. An abomina-” His arms tighten even more around me.

If not for the witch’s blessing, it would hurt with how tight he squeezes. Instead, pleasure rushes through my body, filling me up until my breath comes in light gasps.

“I’ve heard that word far too much from your lips today.”

Fear stills me. It wasn’t a dream? “Everything you did to me… that wasn’t a nightmare?”

“No, my innocent Briar. Enough games. I will have my answers.”

Before I can protest, he lays me down on the bed and grabs my wrist. I twist and turn, but he’s far too strong for me. Helpless, I lie there, allowing him to truss me up, knowing the worst is probably yet to come. Deep inside, I know I’ll enjoy it. It’s some twisted curse I have to endure.

“What do you know about what happened to my kingdom?”

His voice permeates my brain. I hear the words, and yet, I have no answers. I know nothing. I am nothing. Just a child caught in the middle of a political war. At least, that’s what my brain says. Somehow, the voice is not my own. It sounds strangely like the woman in the woods.

“Answer me,” he roars.

This time, my body flinches as the command strikes me dead in the chest. Before, he was allowing me to choose, giving me the opportunity to do the ‘right’ thing. Now, I have no choice.

“I am nothing. I know nothing.” The words spill out in some unholy amalgamation of her voice and mine. Terrified, I look up at Philip. “W- what’s happening to me?”

He frowns and continues to walk around the bed. “Answer me, witch. How are you speaking through Briar when I left you for dead amongst your thorns?”

Could it be? Did Philip really destroy the last person I had to cling to? Tears prick my eyes as I toss my head back and forth. I don’t want to believe it. I don’t want to be so alone.

“Memories last a lifetime,” the voice hisses through my lips.

Try as I might, I cannot keep them in. Even when I bite down, they still flow out, echoing around the room.

“And what have you to do with my Briar?”

“Yours? She will never be yours. Even if you possess her body, her mind and spirit are mine.”

Philip hunches down and brings his face close to mine. “Briar. I order you to tell me how to defeat the witch.”

Tears stream down my cheeks as I laugh in his face. “As if it would be that simple. Your kiss woke her, yes. But there’s far more to true love than a mere peck on the lips.”

He growls and steps away, pacing for a bit as he chews on his thumbnail, deep in thought. Before the witch can say anything else, he lets out a mighty roar, enough so that the walls tremble around me. My heart pounds in my chest as I watch, helpless, as his rage bathes my body.

Deep inside my mind, the wall shifts a bit. It’s as if dust and stone rattle forth, littering my psyche. Light splinters into my skull, making it pound. For the first time, pain ricochets through me with no pleasure to temper it.

Anguished whimpers float from my lips, bringing Philip back to my side. “H- hurts,” I cry out, tugging on my wrists so I can cradle my head. “P- please. It hurts.”

“What hurts? Tell me, Briar. What hurts?”

My eyes drift closed as hazy memories float about inside the wreckage of my brain. Fragmented images bounce about, none of them making sense. The woman. The spindle. Her rasped orders flood my ears as if I’m right there again.

I cannot refuse her, cannot disobey her. Despite everything screaming at me, I prick my finger, succumbing to her spell. As blackness encroaches, I watch her lips.

She’s speaking to me.

Telling me something.