Chapter 48 #2
Ren snorted under his breath, though it came out more like a nervous laugh. “Or maybe she chose it because she’s fucking mad, mate.”
Esmyra raised a brow and turned to the stag shifter. “You know Jenli?”
“Unfortunately,” he let out with a sigh.
“That never stopped you from trying to fuck her when we hid her all those years ago,” Jak growled, shooting him a sharp look.
Ren’s mouth fell open, and Esmyra snorted. “Well, well, well, the truth comes out.”
“Just because she’s beautiful doesn’t mean the woman isn’t out of her mind,” Ren countered.
“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” Draevyn cut in from up ahead, peering over his shoulder at them. He shrugged. “It keeps things fun.”
Esmyra let out a laugh as she kicked a rock at the back of his boots.
“For the love of Villaem, can we stop talking about my cousin this way?” Jak grumbled.
“You started it!” Ren yelled.
Riven nudged him with his elbow. “Maybe I’ll take a stab at her.”
“By all means!” Ren shoved at him until he stumbled into a tree.
The crew fell quiet again as they trudged deeper. Strange noises echoed through the woods, like low croaks, the flutter of unseen wings, and the distant splash of something moving through water.
Esmyra stopped short, a gasp rushing out of her as she caught sight of something in the trees. She called on her power instinctively and let out a hiss as it refused to answer.
Tits, this is getting so old.
Eyes appeared through the trees, glowing faintly and scattering as they watched. She thought it was a trick of the darkened woods, but as they moved, the eyes followed, blinking slowly. The crew began to mutter under their breaths, hands tightening on weapons as their nerves frayed.
“What the hells is that?” Riven whispered.
Jak’s hand hovered near his sword, but he didn’t draw it. “Ignore them. They’ll only watch so long as we stay on the path.”
“What path?” Samwell muttered.
Esmyra glanced down, and sure enough, there was a barely visible trail of darker earth winding between the trees, almost as if it had been worn down by something ancient.
“Just keep walking,” Jak ordered as he caught up with Draevyn. “Don’t look away from the path.”
The path grew narrower as they walked for miles, swallowed by the fog until the crew could only see a few feet ahead. Each step squelched against the wet earth, and the tension among the crew stretched tighter with every passing second.
Then—click.
Everyone froze mid-step, eyes wide.
“Uh… what was—”
Before Ren could finish, a hidden mechanism snapped beneath his boot, triggering a series of clicks in the underbrush. A net, woven with vines and bones, shot upward from the ground, wrapping around his legs and yanking him into the air with such force he let out a strangled yell.
Oh shit.
The crew stumbled back, weapons raised, scanning for the source.
But then the forest erupted.
The triggered trap set off a chain reaction, and a dead branch fell, releasing sharp-pointed sticks swinging from above, forcing the others to duck.
“Look out!” Esmyra screamed.
“Fuck!” Riven was yanked off his feet as a rope snare whipped around his ankle and hoisted him upside down into the air.
The crew became mayhem, tripping over one another to avoid the traps.
Fire sparked to life in Draevyn’s palm, flaring bright against the swamp’s dim light. The mist hissed where the flames licked it, curling back as he launched a controlled burst upward, searing through the vines holding Ren aloft. The net snapped, and he dropped to the mud with a grunt.
But then vines slithered down from the trees like living serpents, snatching blades from hands before coiling around wrists, and yanking them all upward—including Esmyra.
They shot from the underbrush, coiling around her legs, her arms, her waist. She cried out as they yanked her upward, the world lurching upside down. She let out a yelp of pain from the sudden movements, nausea climbing her throat. And then her limbs were pinned, wrapped tight like a cocoon.
What the fucking tits.
A chorus of startled yells erupted from the rest of their crew as more traps triggered around them. Esmyra twisted against the vines, trying to wriggle free, but the more she fought, the tighter they strained. And the more they constricted, the more agonizing the pain in her spine became.
“Shit, that hurts,” she muttered as she continued to try and free herself.
“Esmyra!” Draevyn bellowed.
She found him barreling toward her, eyes blazing. “Get her down!” he roared at Jak as fire leapt to his hands.
Another trap sprang, wrapping around Samwell’s leg and dragging him toward the trees. Draevyn spun, his flames scorching the vine clean through before it could lift his friend off the ground.
But for every snare he destroyed, two more seemed to come alive.
And then, through it all, a manic cackle echoed through the air. It rolled around them like music, bouncing from tree to tree. Everyone immediately went silent and still.
“Ohhh,” a female voice sang out, dripping with amusement, “what do we have here?”
Esmyra remained upside down alongside several of them as they hung from the vines. As her body slowly turned, she scanned the trees, but the voice came from everywhere all at once.
And then she found her.
Perched on a high branch like some wild creature, a woman lounged with one leg dangling, a vine coiled lazily around her wrist. She looked down at them, bright green eyes glinting like a predator’s as her light-brown hair blended with the bark of the surrounding woods.
“Well, well,” she purred, leaning forward on the branch, “look what the swamp dragged in.”
Before anyone could speak, she shifted her weight and swung herself upside down, hanging by her knees as her hair tumbled toward the ground. She shot them a sharp smile before she released her hold entirely.
Gasps erupted from the crew as she dropped, flipping midair, before landing lightly on the ground in a perfect crouch. The fog swirled around her as she rose to stand.
Jak groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Jenli. Put them down.”
Jenli tilted her head, her expression shifting from predatory to intrigued. “Ugh. Always so serious, cousin. You never let me have any fun.” The last few words ended in a whine.
Oh, I knew I’d like her, Esmyra thought, as she struggled against the vines. She just didn’t appreciate being on the receiving end of her chaos.
With a dramatic sigh, Jenli snapped her fingers, and the vines released their hold.
Esmyra’s heart lurched as her body dropped like a stone from the trees. A strangled screech tore from her throat before she could stop it as she plummeted to the ground.
But just as she braced for the impact, strong arms rushed in beneath her at the last second, catching her with a jolt. She landed hard against Draevyn’s chest, the force of it knocking a grunt out of both of them as he took the brunt of their landing before he righted them.
“I’ve got you, Wildfire,” he murmured, voice low against her ear.
She blinked up at him, stunned.
The rest of the crew dropped to the ground in a series of thuds and grunts, leaving them all sprawled in the mud, grumbling.
Esmyra smirked at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Looks like you didn’t have them though.” She gestured to their men with her chin.
Draevyn snorted as he placed her feet on the ground and smacked her ass. She couldn’t help the tiny squeal that rushed out of her.
Jak stepped up to Jenli, gesturing to the crew as they all pushed themselves to their feet. “This is fun?”
Jenli shrugged. “For me.”
She began circling them, her bare feet making no sound on the wet earth. Her stare found Draevyn, who now had tiny flames licking at his fingertips, defensively. “I see you’ve befriended the Phoenix, Jak.”
Draevyn glared at her like he wanted to light her on fire. “You know who I am after being in your little hideaway all these years?”
Jenli twirled her hand, gesturing to the trees. “The vines whisper all things.” Her eyes glittered with a dangerous sort of curiosity when they landed on Esmyra. “And who might you be?”
Draevyn stepped forward instantly. “That’s for you to find out.”
“Interesting.” She lifted a brow.
“We need your help, Jenli,” Jak finally said.
She twirled once, arms out, as if presenting herself. “Well, you found me. Lucky you.”
Ren muttered to the crew, shaking his head. “Told you she was fucking crazy.”
“Oh, zip it, deer-boy,” Jenli shot at him. She turned to face Jak once more. “Honestly, did you have to bring that one?”
Ren muttered a retort Esmyra didn’t care to decipher. If she were being honest, she was too amused by everything unfolding in front of her.
“I’m here to call in that favor, Jenli,” Jak admitted. “You owe me, and you know I wouldn’t risk coming back here if it wasn’t important.”
Her green eyes softened as she stared at her cousin, seeming like she didn’t know what to say. “Shit.”
Esmyra stepped forward then. “I’m Captain Esmyra Blackwood, and Jak has led us to believe that you hold knowledge of the gods.”
“Shh!” Jenli’s stare flew wildly in every direction, her posture growing more tense by the second. “Not here. There are too many ears.”
The crew looked around, confused since they were the only ones around for likely miles.
“Too many roots,” Jenli whispered, giving her a knowing look, as if Esmyra would have any idea what she meant. “Follow me.”
And with that, Jenli raced ahead into the gloom, not waiting to see if they’d obey.
“Gods help us,” Ren muttered.
And together, they all followed the madwoman into the waiting woods.