7. Brinley
Chapter 7
Brinley
T he crescent moon peeking through the gauzy curtains let in enough light around the bedroom to faintly see the silhouettes of the various furniture. Brinley groaned, carefully rolling onto her side to put it behind her. It didn’t help. Nothing did.
For days, she’d barely been able to sleep or eat. She couldn’t stop thinking about the lies the alpha had spewed at her.
Her father was not DeLoup. She refused to even consider the possibility. It was the most absurd thing she’d ever heard. Not only did that go against everything she’d been taught, but witches and wolves did not fraternize like that. Even if two somehow got close, a union between them wasn’t allowed. And her mother never would have broken such rules.
Brinley sighed and pulled the pillow over her head.
If Gabriel and his people truly believed her father was this beta, that would mean she was half… No . She couldn’t spiral about that again. Because it didn’t matter. None of it was true.
Giving up on sleep, she threw the blankets off and managed to get out of bed. The day he’d revealed all of that, she had screamed at him until he left. Joel had gone too, but he’d returned shortly with bandages for her torso. He confirmed nothing was broken in her shoulder or wrist, and then he’d helped her bind her ribs, which he’d also claimed were not broken. She hadn’t wanted his assistance, but she also knew she wouldn’t have been able to do it herself. He’d helped her into the undergarments and dress too.
She had blushed furiously at him seeing more of her skin than appropriate, but she wasn’t about to ask anyone else. Definitely not the infuriating alpha. It had been bad enough Gabriel helped her get in the bath. She saw him diverting his gaze, but there was no way he didn’t see anything.
Since Joel had helped her wrap her ribs, she’d been working to get in and out of bed on her own. She’d also started some light stretches. Of course, she didn’t let anyone know she was doing this. They could keep assuming she was too injured to move about or leave. Her body still ached, but the majority of the pain had faded. So much that she wondered if she had somehow managed to heal herself without knowing.
It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she could now move on her own.
She could escape.
If she made it out of this village, she could make it to Créll. Granted, she had no idea where she was currently, but she would find it somehow. When the sun rose the day of her arrival here, they’d been traveling northeast. If she found the River Brira to the south, she could follow it to the capital. However, it would take days. She would need supplies to last that long.
Brinley swallowed past the lump forming in her throat as she carefully slipped her dress on over her undergarments. Despite the front she was putting up for the wolves, she was terrified for so many reasons. She wouldn’t let her fear consume her though. Instead, she focused on her plan.
If her grandmother or André had survived, they would have likely gone to the castle to regroup before searching for Brinley.
Unless they thought she had been killed too.
The entire thing made her sick. It also hardened her resolve to get out. She needed answers. She needed to see if anyone else had made it through that nightmare.
Which meant that she needed to escape this house.
Taking a deep breath, Brinley headed toward the door. She paused with her hand on the doorknob. André had taught her as much as he could about magic without actually letting her practice it. He had explained the concepts of how to perform certain spells, so she understood that her magic was like a well that she could access with her mind and then direct with her hands. For the simpler, basic tasks, such as moving objects, words weren’t needed. Even for healing, he had told her it primarily involved visualizing and feeling with one’s power. Whereas, for spells that weren’t as natural, such as curses or transfiguration, incantations were needed to enhance the magic.
The problem was, she didn’t know how to even access her well. André had said that, when it was time, she would instinctively feel it. It would run through her veins, humming beneath her skin. But she didn’t feel anything.
She closed her eyes and prepared to unlock the door with magic. Or at least try.
Except, when she turned the knob, there wasn’t any resistance. The door opened. Her lips parted as her brow furrowed in confusion. She peered through the crack, searching for the alpha she assumed normally occupied these rooms.
She still didn’t understand why he’d let her stay in them, or where he slept instead. Not that she cared. But she worried nonstop that he would appear in the middle of the night to kill her. It didn’t make sense that she was allowed to sleep soundly in his bed. Just as his insistence that he’d saved her didn’t add up.
Pushing the thoughts aside, she slipped into the dark study beyond. Moonlight streamed through the otherwise empty room. She crept over to the tall window behind the desk to try to get an idea of the village, maybe figure out where she was.
There weren’t any telling signs. The houses on this street were of similar designs—tall homes with intricate latticework and trellises covered in vines. Their curved eaves, towers, and dark siding colors were all common in the northern regions.
She turned her attention farther out, squinting to see through the dim streetlamps to find the outer limits. The idea of traveling through the dark woods alone frightened her, but it wasn’t any worse than staying here, living among the monsters who’d taken everything from her.
Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the tall stone wall, at least two stories high, that encircled the village. She had forgotten about that. She tried to search for a gate, but it was useless from here.
Lifting her chin, she refused to let that discourage her. The village didn’t appear too large. It was a little after midnight; by the time the sun lifted into the sky, she could have potentially followed the wall around until she reached an opening. She could be long gone before anyone even noticed her absence.
Brinley turned around and took in the room. She went to the desk to look for anything that might be used as a weapon, but the drawers were locked. All she spotted was a letter opener atop the smooth wood.
That would have to work. At least it was sharp.
On quiet toes, she went to the next door and pressed her luck. Again, she found it unlocked. She didn’t question it, instead glancing up and down the hall to make sure it was clear.
She spotted the iron spiral staircase at the end, opposite the way out. It would be foolish to go in that direction instead of running down to the ground floor. She knew that. But if there was a window up there, it could be high enough to get a better view of the village. If she was able to spot the gate, it would only help her get away quicker.
Deciding that was her best option, she crept toward the stairs that led up to the third floor. The cold iron drew her attention to the fact that she was barefoot. She stopped and silently cursed. That would make things more difficult. This dress had come from someone though, so perhaps she could find a pair of shoes that fit too. Not that she wanted to explore this house any more than was necessary.
A hand clasped around her wrist, making her jump and let out a short scream. She whirled around. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she cowered back from the beast towering over her. He was barely more than a shadowed figure in the darkened hallway, but she knew it was Gabriel before even hearing his voice.
“What are you doing?” he all but growled in her face.
Brinley tried to retreat, but he had a firm grip on her arm. She brought up the letter opener with her other hand. In a flash, he grabbed it from her and tossed it aside. It clattered to the floor. She shook her head, terror washing through her.
“I-I…”
He pivoted and started dragging her back toward the study. She dug her heels in, trying to tear her arm away. But her bare feet slid along the smooth wooden floor. She grimaced as she tried to keep from falling.
“Let me go!”
To her surprise, he did. He didn’t go far though. Instead, he turned them around, angling himself between her and the stairs. From this direction, the dim lanterns along the hall showed his features, but she didn’t need to see his face to feel the anger radiating off of him.
Brinley held her sore arm against her chest. “Th-the door was unlocked. You s-said I wasn’t a prisoner.”
“That doesn’t mean you can just go snooping around my home wherever you want,” he said in a low voice. “The third floor is off limits.”
She looked up to the landing above them. “Why?”
“Because I said so.” He crossed his arms.
Fighting not to roll her eyes, she mirrored his stance. The slight lingering pain in her ribs twinged, but she ignored it. At least, she tried to. She must have winced though because Gabriel softened a fraction.
“You should be resting,” he said. “What were you even…” He trailed off, his eyes moving to the floor in the general direction of where the letter opener had gone. The tension returned in full as he swept it up.
When he turned and began charging toward her, she spun and ran. She knew she didn’t stand a chance of escaping. He would easily catch her. So, instead of heading to the stairs, she went into the study. She tried to throw the door shut behind her, but he was too close. If she could just get into the bathing chamber and lock?—
Gabriel’s arm caught her around the waist, and she let out a cry. He momentarily lifted her off her feet before pushing her back against the nearest wall inside the office and closing the distance between them. She couldn’t help the whimper that left her lips. It was agony to draw in a breath.
He held the pointed object up in front of her face. “What were you planning to do with this? Why were you going upstairs?”
She shook her head, not bothering to hold back the tears anymore. “I wasn’t… I was just going to look for a window.”
“Then, why did you have this?”
The sliver of metal touched her cheek, and she sucked in a breath, waiting for him to pierce her skin.
“Because I didn’t want to walk around completely unarmed!” She managed to grasp on to that frustration, pushing the grief and fear aside enough to yell at him.
“I don’t believe you.” He leaned in close enough that she could smell the same pine soap she’d found and used herself but also something else. Something uniquely him.
Her stomach twisted at his nearness. At the way his other hand gripped her waist, his fingers digging in. She knew that, in an instant, he could extend his claws and gouge her side.
Gabriel snarled at her. “Was this all a trap?”
Brinley stared at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Did she send you here to finish the job?”
At that, Brinley narrowed her eyes. “ You kidnapped me , remember? How in the stars would that be a trap?”
“I’m sure she could figure out a way to lure me in to find you.”
“Who? What are you talking about?” Her head reeled, and she fought the pain from twisting the wrong way that threatened to consume her. She’d thought she was past this, healed enough not to need the essence of willow she’d stashed in her pocket just in case. Knowing she didn’t have much of a choice, she said, “I was trying to escape. When I left the study, I saw the stairs leading up and thought a higher view would help me spot a gate in the wall around the village. All I wanted was to get out and find my way home. I just want to find my grandmother.”
Her voice broke on the last word.
The sharp letter opener lowered. Gabriel stepped back with a sigh. “There is no one for you to return to, bijou.”
“What?” she barely whispered.
“They’re all gone,” he said, meeting her eyes. “The rogues burned the village to the ground. There’s no sign of any survivors.”