Page 99 of The Unseen Hour

Orion ran past me. I twisted my neck in time to see him retrieve his own knife and begin hacking at the remaining vine holding me. More vines slid past him, twisting around both my legs. One snapped him in the face, and I saw a line of red appear on his cheek.

“Ry!” I yelled, then screamed as the knife holding me fast started to slip out of the dirt.

It wobbled, and my grip loosened. I tried to grasp it and slam it back in the ground, but the moment I adjusted my grip I was pulled backward, losing my hold entirely.

“Ry!” I screamed again as I flew past him, being dragged backward by the singular vine still intact.

I was pulled into the hedges, and the last thing I saw before they closed in was Orion’s wide eyes as he ran for me.

CHAPTER 41

Vines twisted over me, thorns digging into my arms, my leg, my side.

“Orion!” I kept screaming, trying to break free.

I heard him yelling for all he was worth on the other side of the hedge; then, for a moment he got quiet.

“I’ve got an idea!” he called before going silent again.

I stilled, trying not to do anything that would bring forth a response from the plants and further injure my limbs.

He’ll come back, he’ll come back, I repeated to myself.

Vines slid over my neck, and even with all the adrenaline coursing through me, my vision began to go black.

I could still hear Orion yelling, but I didn’t think he’d make it through in time.

“Let her go! Let. Her. Go!” he yelled.

There was a flash of light, and the vines began to retreat. Fire. Eating the leaves and stems and thorns.

A hand closed around mine, and Orion hauled me to my feet.

“We have to run, Starlight, can you run?”

I tried to nod as the vines around my neck slid away, but it was too much of an effort. I could barely breathe. Smoke, and whatever the vines had done to hurt my throat, made it impossible.

“It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

Orion scooped me into his arms and ran, directly through a wall of flames and disintegrating hedges.

“The. Fire.” I managed in a hoarse rasp as we got farther away.

“If it saved you, I would burn the entire Ether down without regret,” he responded.

As he spoke, it began to rain.

Orion stopped at one point to bend down and scoop up my lost knife but then continued on carrying me.

He’d had no sleep, but he didn’t set me down for what felt like hours. When he did, he examined the areas where the vines had dug in. His touch was gentle, but the slightest pressure was agonizing on my throat where the vine had twisted around it.

“Can you speak?” he asked.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Swelling must have started since we’d run from the hedges. It was ludicrous, since I’d been breathing the entire time, but I grasped at my throat, feeling like I was short of air.

“It’s all right, Starlight. We’ll fix this.”

Orion lowered my hands and got the healing water for me. After it took effect I was able to manage walking at his side, but I was so shaken that it was a while before I felt safe to speak again.