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All she wanted was to find her and ensure she was safe, but she could barely take two steps before more vines came at her. Sweat pooled on her lower back. It was difficult enough to focus and use her shadows on herself. As she tried to push it out, she met resistance. Her body felt weak, fatigue hitting her like a wall of stone. She’d heard ofthe elves’ spell work before in Medeis, so she assumed there was some crossover for what the elves knew in Nemus.

“Vasu, can you amplify my shadow work?”

“Vasu’s indisposed—” Onora grunted, the sound of her sword slicing through more vines filling the air, “—at the moment.”

Enid whipped her head around to see Vasu struggling against vines twined all around his body. Onora hacked and sliced away, barely keeping them off of her, managing to hack a few vines heading toward Vasu to keep him from being entirely crushed by them.

Shit.

Something hit the back of her head hard enough she fell forward, and her vision blurred. She groaned. More of the creeping plants hit her back, swatting and slicing. The pain made her lose focus for only a fraction of a second, but it was enough. Vines came from behind and wrapped around her ankles and up her legs, all around her arms and throat. She fell to the ground in a heap, writhing against her restraints. The creepers came up over her mouth, muffling her cries, filling her throat and nose, blocking the air. Panic pulsed with every heartbeat, her stomach clenching so tight it hurt, her throat gagging. The vines around her limbs pressed so hard that a league of tiny pinpricks ran along herskin. Her vision blurred again, and she knew this would be the end. She blinked her eyes, a small euphoria filling her.

Then a bright light burst around her.

Her body felt weightless, then slowly feeling returned to her limbs. Breath came back to her lungs in great sputtering gulps. Her vision returned, but the illumination remained, and she flung her arm up to shield from it. The light shifted, focusing on the side. Vines slithered around Enid, following the glow, tilting toward it like a caress. A pair of leather boots appeared next to her. Avenay’s hands were up, a beam of light coming from them, focused on the edge of the road, making their enemies follow it.

“Are you well?” she asked.

Enid nodded. “I am now. And just in time.”

Vasu held his hands up, muttering a spell, and light came from his palms as well.

Her brothers were fine, though cut up and bruised, like she was. She had several nasty gashes on her wings and shoulders, and she was certain she’d be mottled purple and black later.

The seraphs were well too, though breathing hard and bedraggled.

“If Vasu and I can walk like this, we can move along still, and hopefully get to a place where the vines aren’t,” Avenay said.

The others nodded, all forming a line with Onora at the front and Vasu and Avenay spread out to cast light away. They walked on, into the woods, a path presenting itself as Onora led them up the trail. The vines followed them, staying out of reach of the light, still slithering along the forest floor, up in the branches above them.

After several hours, Avenay’s foot caught on a root, and she stumbled, slamming into a tree trunk.

“Hey, easy there,” Enid said, grasping her.

Cyrus was on the other side, giving Avenay a short, concerned look before leveling a glare at Enid. “I can help her.”

Enid frowned. “I think I’ve got it. We may need your flames if anything else pops out of the woods.”

Cyrus pursed his lips, giving Avenay a questioning look, which she returned with a nod. Enid swiped her hand across the small of Avenay’s back, tucking their hips together to steady her, letting her grasp Enid’s shoulder for support.

“Let’s go, and if walking gets to be too much, I’ll carry you,” Enid said.

Avenay choked on her breath. “Surely that won’t be necessary, but still, I thank you.”

Avenay grew more and more tired, but her light didn’t falter or dim. Still, the vines followed them, still slithering, still hounding them along the forest trail. The day wore down to dusk and other noises came with the vines. Other rustling in the darkness of the wood. Something like muffled moaning. Enid perked up when the noises began, the sounds hounding their steps.

“It sounds far away,” Cyrus said. “But who knows what it is, or how quickly it could get to us.”

The noises finally died down, and Avenay cast her light deeper about them into the woods. The vines had stopped following them.

“I think we should keep casting for a while,” Avenay said, weariness in her voice.

No vines had followed them for miles now, but she wouldn’t let up even as her steps continued to falter.

“You’re incredibly strong,” Enid whispered in Avenay’s ear.

The light shuddered for a moment before shining steadily again.

“Sorry,” she said with a chuckle. “I didn’t mean to distract you.”