Page 118 of Trivium

Barrow covered his ears and screamed, gripping the hair on the side of his head in agony. “THIS. ISN’T. OVER,” he screamed to the apparitions, tripping over his legs as he disappeared into the forest.

The spirits of the dead crept back into the ground, sinking below the forest floor. Lady Shadows was gone with them in the blink of an eye.

Loveleena sprinted forward and crouched down beside Ahmina, lifting her shoulders and cradling her in her arms. Her head spun, searching the trees to find Park. But in the full cover of dark, he could have gone anywhere. Zeina was only a second behind her, and she held her hand over the wound on Ahmina’s neck to stop the blood. Her heart pounded frantically in her chest. There was no way Loveleena was going to let her sister die. Her sister. It still felt weird to think of Ahmina and Zeina as her sisters. But still, the connection between them was palpable.

“Ahmina!” Lennox’s face fell as he dropped to his knees beside her, taking her from Loveleena. “No no no,” he cried, as he tapped the side of her cheek to try and wake her up.

Loveleena heard a crunch, her dagger out in an instant as a man appeared in the clearing. She could just barely make out his profile. Her heart sank when she realized it wasn’t Park.

“A little hostile of a welcome, don't you think?” Ren said, looking at the dagger and then to her, his emotions masked. His face was marked with soot and sweat.

“Let him through,” Lennox ordered, breathlessly.

“Shut up, Lennox,” Loveleena said, eyes fixed on Ren. “You.” She pointed the dagger to his chest, pushing the tip in just a pinch. He didn’t flinch.

“It’s your fault,” she seethed, her eyes burning. “You were protecting that thing.”

“I would have protected her if you hadn’t gotten in my way,” Ren spat.

“Why!?” The smoke from the fires had filled her lungs, and her larynx was sore from where Park choked her, making her voice raspy. “Explain or I’ll cut your tongue out.” She pushed the tip of her dagger into Ren’s sternum a little more.

“That would be a terrible shame.” Ren lowered his voice. “Then I wouldn’t be able to make you moan like I did the other night.”

“You’d be easy to replace,” she said, her voice venom.

“You know, if you stopped reacting to everything like a spoiled brat, you might actually learn something.” Ren seethed.

“Can you guys argue later?” Lennox yelled, frantically inspecting Ahmina’s body. “A little help here, Ren.” She had never seen Lennox look afraid until now.

Ren grabbed Loveleena’s hand and forced her dagger down. Frustrated, she shoved him back and circled around to be closer to Ahmina.

Kumani was gone.

Park was here. But it wasn’t really him.

Ahmina lay on the ground.

She could barely process it all.

“You’re okay,” Lennox whispered, clutching Ahmina to his chest.

Zeina had created a lamp, a makeshift light using Glowbugs, to see Ahmina’s wounds more easily.

After a quick examination, Ren barked out orders, directing Zeina to acquire certain materials from the forest. But Zeina was already a step ahead, returning with a collection of plants before any of them even realized she had disappeared. Together, she and Ren created two mixtures, one for her wounds, and one to tuck into the fleshy part of her cheek.

Lennox smoothed Ahmina’s hair back away from her face as she came to. Her eyes opened briefly again before they rolled back into her head.

“I will kill him,” Lennox growled. “I told you.” Lennox turned to Ren, frustrated. “We should have taken care of him while he was in the infirmary. This shouldn’t have happened.”

“You know we couldn’t,” Ren shot back.

“Faster!” Lennox urged Zeina, who was moving with such quick precision it startled Loveleena. She didn’t think it was possible for her to move any quicker. When had Zeina become such a skilled healer?

“I will try and track him, but it will be difficult now. And risky,” Ren said.

“I thought the Firebringers were holding off. I thought we had more time.” Lennox’s voice was low, and she strained to hear it.

“Me too.”