Page 55 of Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches

Sebastian, however, only nodded solemnly.

“Once I gave you the antidote, that seemed to help. But at that point, Briar and Delilah were the only ones fighting the mercenaries. Briar got hit with a spell, and when Delilah tried to help her, Elias managed to knock her out. Briar went berserk. Trouble was, it was her against four. She didn’t stand a chance. ”

“But she’s okay, right?” Kieran’s eyes widened. “And Delilah? Please tell me they’re—”

“Briar is fine. Bruised and angry but fine.” Sebastian grimaced. “But Delilah…I’m so sorry, Kieran, but Elias took her. And the Crown.”

“Took her?” Kieran repeated in horror. “Why—”

“As a hostage,” Sebastian explained. His inky hair fell in his eyes as his gaze went to the floor. “Elias told us that if we want her back, we have to bring the Hilt and Stave to the Pinwhistle Forest vein and exchange them for her.”

Kieran’s entire body went cold all at once.

He imagined Delilah tied up somewhere, bruised and bloody from the fight.

Elias had no reason to treat her well. She was his rival’s daughter, after all.

So long as she was alive, he could use her as a bargaining chip, regardless of how ragged and injured she was.

Fire ignited around Kieran’s heart, licking at his ribs as rage built within him. Elias could poison him twenty times over, but hurt his best friend?

“Elias,” Kieran snarled, “is a dead man walking.”

“Briar shared a similar sentiment,” Sebastian said, unfazed by the waves of fury rolling off him. “She hasn’t been taking it…well, exactly.”

“Where is she?” Kieran asked. He could only imagine what Briar’s unfiltered rage could have amounted to in the time he was unconscious.

“She’s been on the top deck since we got back a few hours ago,” Sebastian said. “She’s, ah…taking it out on some crates. Loudly. With a lot of fire. Frankly, it’s good the wood this ship was built with is heat resistant.”

“I need to talk to her,” Kieran decided, starting to sit up again. Even as his muscles screamed their displeasure, he simply gritted his teeth and pushed through it.

Sebastian held out his hands. “You should probably wait for the painkillers—”

“I’m okay,” Kieran insisted as his feet hit the floor.

The full-body ache only throbbed more as he straightened.

He was still wearing the same clothes from earlier, now with holes in the shoulder where the bolts had pierced him.

He could feel the bandages that had been applied there and on his hand.

He wondered if Sebastian had been the one to do it. “Really.”

Sebastian went to his side, gently putting a hand on his back. “If you need to, you can lean on me.”

Even in a state of full-body agony, Kieran wasn’t exactly going to say no to more of Sebastian’s hands on him.

He gratefully leaned into him, immediately feeling something in his muscles loosen.

Together, they made their way to the door, and Sebastian led him down the hall.

Even before they got to the door to the main deck, Kieran could already hear screaming.

“That’s not a great sign,” he whispered.

“At least she’ll be happy to see you’re up.” Sebastian reached out and pushed open the door. “Come on.”

After a few hobbling steps forward, the scene opened up in front of Kieran, and he froze.

Debris from shipping crates littered the deck, scorched at the edges.

There was a dusting of ash across the entire deck, and a few smoldering embers winked out in the wind.

The air smelled of burnt pine and smoke.

Standing near the crow’s nest was Briar, her eyes glowing blue as she fired off two more plumes of flame at another crate.

She was screaming, voice raw and hoarse as if she’d been doing it for hours.

As she slammed the crate with another spell, it exploded, spinners of wood and sparks raining down around her.

Her knuckles were bruised and bleeding, clearly having punched more than one rigid surface.

“Briar!” Kieran called, having to summon up what felt like half the energy in his body just to yell.

She paused, turning to look at him. In the light from the dying fires around her, Kieran saw the ash coating her skin, and the pale tear tracks that cut through it on her face.

The light in her eyes flickered out, leaving the normal blue of her irises.

The whites were bloodshot, and her cheeks and nose were red.

She was panting, the sound ragged in her scream-raw throat.

“Briar,” Kieran said a little quieter. “I’m so sorry.”

Briar sniffled, her chin trembling. She closed the distance between herself and her brother, then threw her arms around him, pulling him into a fierce hug that made his sore muscles ache even more.

Still, Kieran wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly as her shoulders began to shake with sobs.

“She’s gone,” Briar said simply, voice choked by tears. “He took her. That motherfucker took her. ”

Kieran rubbed her back. “I know. I’m so, so sorry.”

“I’m gonna kill him,” Briar said, gritting her teeth through the sobs.

“He’s drawn his last fucking breath, you hear me?

When I get my hands on him, I’m going to shatter every bone in his body one by one and grind him into a paste.

I’ll burn him inch by inch until there’s nothing left but ash. I’m going to…I’m gonna…”

She broke down, sobbing too hard to speak.

“He’s not getting away with this,” Kieran promised her, holding her tightly. His throat and sinuses burned as tears welled in his eyes; the next time he blinked, two of them rolled down his chin. “I swear it. I swear it. ”

For a moment, Briar simply cried, fingers tight around her twin’s coat. Her entire body shook. It was as if she was going into shock, unable to control the violent sobs. All the while, Kieran just held her, blinking away his own tears.

He’d failed Briar and Delilah both. Thinking about it felt like a spike straight to the heart.

“I can’t lose her,” Briar whispered.

“I know.” Kieran squeezed her tighter. “But we’re not going to. We’re going to find Elias and get Delilah back, okay?”

“And that Crown,” Briar said. She pulled away from Kieran, setting her jaw. Her expression was fierce but firm. Something about it reminded Kieran of a white-hot blade that had just been tempered. “We didn’t come this far not to complete the scepter.”

“It doesn’t matter compared to—”

“It does, though.” Briar met his eyes, unflinching. “Delilah and I swore we were going to help you do this, so we’re going to do it. We’re going to get it, finish your Calling, and make things right. And if Elias winds up in a shallow grave, well, I guess that can’t be helped.”

“I wouldn’t be against that,” Sebastian muttered, having politely stepped aside to let the twins have their moment. “Anything you want me to do, I’ll do it.”

“Any experience with skinning people alive?” Briar asked.

Sebastian held out a hand and wiggled it. “A bit.”

“Fantastic. We’ll need that.” Briar swiped her sleeve across her face, rubbing away the ash and tears. To Kieran, she said, “I’m…I’m relieved you’re okay too. Things didn’t look great back in the ice caves.”

Kieran shrugged. “Another thing to add to the list of things that almost killed me but failed. I’m okay, I swear. Just sore.”

“Good. We’ll need you in fighting shape when we land tomorrow.” Briar cracked her knuckles. “Ariel said that we should be able to get there by sundown. Then we can finish this.”

“Gladly,” Kieran muttered. He asked Sebastian, “You still with us? Even for this? Hélène may well still be working for Elias, and we might have to fight them again.”

“Oh, don’t worry. There’s no way they’re recovering from their injuries enough to fight tomorrow.” At the look of horror on Kieran’s face, Sebastian reached out and gently took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “But that isn’t important. Where you go, I go. Simple as that.”

Kieran’s eyes flashed to Sebastian’s fingers—the ones that twitched when he was lying.

They remained perfectly still.

“Guess it’s settled,” Briar said. “We save Delilah, then we finish your Calling. Deal?”

Together, Kieran and Sebastian echoed, “Deal.”