Page 4 of When Roses Burn

Nestled in our cocoon of blankets, I lost myself to our love as I claimed her. I blamed that for the reason I never heard or smelled them coming.

I was still inside Briar when someone grasped my arms, pulling me back. I shouted in surprise as Briar screamed.

I kicked and thrashed against their hold before realizing it was more than hands gripping me; a mystical air also imprisoned me. It pinned my arms to my sides as it lifted me off the ground and floated me past the line of men and women, all dressed in black, and all eyeing my softening erection with interest.

I’d never met them before, but I knew what they were… dark sorcerers and sorceresses.

I’d heard tales of them and known Briar for eight years, but this was the first time I’d seen and experienced the full wrath of their magic. I thrashed against the bonds they’d restrained me with, but my movements were useless.

“No!” Briar shrieked from behind me.

I floated to a stop before a beautiful woman with flowing, dark brown hair and ice-blue eyes. Her etched features were similar to Briar’s, but this woman’s eyes were full of cruelty instead of love.

“Well, what do we have here?” the woman murmured as her eyes raked me.

Trapped within the bubble of air, I couldn’t respond as she rotated her hand to spin me slowly around like a pig on a spit. I spotted Briar’s petrified face briefly before the other night casters swallowed her in their midst.

The rest of them watched me with a calculating gleam that made my blood run cold. I recalled the stories of shifters who’d vanished while in Nightshade, the night casters’ kingdom. While these eternals had no claim over anyone in No Man’s Land, they did have a claim over Briar.

“You’re a shifter,” the woman said when she spun me around to face her again. She leaned around me to peer into the crowd. “You know the rules, Briar.”

“Mother—”

If this woman was Briar’s mother, then that made her Queen Marina, leader of the night casters, and one of the most powerful beings in the kingdoms. And I was floating before her like a bundled-up sausage waiting to be eaten.

“You know you’re supposed to remain pure until your Needing,” Queen Marina continued.

“He doesn’t know that, Mother. He’s not aware of our ways!”

Except, I had known that. Briar told me she was supposed to remain a virgin until she entered the harem and went through her Needing. She’d revealed this after we’d already had sex. She’d worried about her mother finding out, but said she didn’t regret her decision.

I’d worried about her returning to Nightshade, but she insisted she had to, and I let her go. As the days passed into years, my concern for her and myself faded. However, something had gone wrong.

“He doesn’t matter; not to you, not anymore,” Marina said sharply.

I squirmed within the confines of the air enveloping me, but there was no breaking free of the spell. Maybe if I were older, bigger, stronger, or able to shift, I could break free, but not now.

“He’s ours now,” another woman said.

The queen stepped closer as her head tilted to examine me more intently. “Yes, he is,” she murmured.

“No! Wait! He’s the alpha’s son!” Briar shouted.

The queen chuckled as she grasped my chin. She pinched it between her long, red nails. Blood welled from my punctured flesh and dripped off my chin.

When she released me, she licked the blood from her fingers. Her eyes narrowed on me as she tasted my blood.

“There is much power in him,” she murmured before licking her lips. “Take him to the harem.”

“No!” Briar shrieked. “No! Let him go!”

Her screams followed me down the tunnel as I floated onward. Briar’s terror bit into my bones and clawed at my insides.

I glimpsed Briar struggling against the sorcerers who held her. Her face turned red, and the muscles in her neck strained as she leaned forward before tearing free of them.

When she raced toward me, her espresso hair waved like a banner behind her. She dodged the hands grasping at her and darted to the side to avoid others.

Fingers snagged in her hair; she shrieked before throwing herself backward to dislodge the offender. The animal that surfaced to mark her rushed back to the forefront. It thrashed and bellowed as it fought to break free of my magical confines.