32. Brinley
Chapter 32
Brinley
A strange humming sensation flooded Brinley’s body. It felt as if the blood in her veins had been shocked into being, as if it now had a life separate from her own.
Except, it wasn’t separate.
It was a part of her. An integral part she hadn’t realized she was missing.
She held Gabriel’s gaze. There were two pieces she’d been missing, apparently. But she needed to focus on one at a time, and right now, the magic flowing through her was too overwhelming.
“You can feel it?” he asked.
Nodding, she moved to sit on the ground beside him instead of in his lap. The distance helped somewhat, but her body still felt too warm. She was an inferno, blazing from the inside. Closing her eyes, she held her head in her hands.
“Brinley?” Concern filled his tone.
And she knew now that it was genuine without a shred of doubt. Because he cared about her. He always had.
“It’s too much,” she barely managed to say.
He grabbed her wrists and pulled them down. “Look at me. Open your eyes and focus on me.”
She blinked them open to find him on his knees in front of her. Before she could second guess it, she leaned forward to wrap her arms around the back of his neck again. She needed to ground herself, to feel something other than the power threatening to pull her under. Gabriel hugged her to him, and she buried her face against the curve of his neck, inhaling his familiar scent.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered, triggering so many memories. His arms completely encircled her, making her feel more secure than she had in a really long time. She hadn’t even realized how much she was longing for this—someone to hold her, comfort her. Since her mother’s death, there hadn’t been anyone other than André. Her grandmother wasn’t exactly affectionate.
“They made me forget.” Tears fell again, soaking into his shirt.
“I know, sweetheart.”
“The magic is too much. It… it hurts.” The pressure beneath her skin continued to build. “I think I need to use it, let it out.”
Gabriel nodded but waited for her to pull away first. When she did, she stood and looked around the space. She didn’t know where to begin. Holding her hand up, she focused on the pink tree. André had taught her all about the different uses, without letting her practice. The basics—moving items, manipulating the elements around them—could be accomplished through thought alone. Elder witches and wizards with more experience didn’t even need to direct the magic with their hands. More was possible with spells, plants, and other ingredients, but she didn’t care about that right now. She just needed to release this increasing pressure.
Imagining the wind flowing from her fingertips, she tried to move the hanging branches. Nothing happened. She remembered lifting Gabriel from the ground weeks ago and tried to hone in on the feeling.
He pushed to his feet, moving behind her and putting a hand on each of her shoulders. “You can do it.”
Brinley took a deep breath. As she exhaled, she pictured that air moving toward the tree.
Some of the pink leaves fluttered. Gabriel’s hands tightened their grip a little. She focused again. If she could do this and learn more, maybe she could… Well, she didn’t know how to break the curse, but she could at least try to heal Rose.
Gritting her teeth, she tried to direct more power toward the tree. Her head began to throb, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t. It felt as if her very essence was pouring from her, and she mentally threw it toward the branches.
They swayed more this time. A lot more. They twisted and turned, flying up into the air. Leaves broke off, fluttering around them.
Her arm dropped, and she let out a breath, her body drooping. Gabriel’s hands moved down to her sides as he guided her to lean back on him. “You did it.”
“I…” She licked her lips. For so long, she’d yearned for the day she could use her magic. But she never dreamed it would happen like this. She was supposed to be with her best friend. She was supposed to be back at the castle, taking her place beside her grandmother. Not surrounded by DeLoup who were changing everything she thought she knew about her life.
“Gabriel, why couldn’t I remember you?” She was grateful he couldn’t see her face right now. Too many emotions were swirling through her mind. “Why did they make me forget?”
He reached around her to hold her hand. She chewed on her lip. Somehow, she was related to this curse. Her lack of memories had to be connected too. If she could just figure out how the pieces fit together…
With a sigh, she turned to face him. “There are still gaps in my memories. I remember you though. I… I remember standing here with you six years ago.”
He visibly swallowed. “What else?”
For weeks now, she’d started to suspect there was something more between them, but she’d been so terrified to say it out loud. They had made her hate him and his people, so the thought of being connected in any way had made her want to deny it. When she used her magic against Paxton the other day to protect Gabriel, it confirmed those suspicions, but she had avoided talking about it out of fear. Whatever they did to make her forget her history with the Crimson Pack had convinced her that this was wrong, a nightmare she couldn’t let happen. Even while every part of her soul screamed at her to trust him.
The corner of her mouth curved upward. She did trust him. And she remembered their conversation that happened six years ago in this courtyard about their future. Together.
Brinley was no longer afraid of this truth. Their truth. “We were talking about?—”
“Gabe!” a voice shouted.
Gabriel whipped around, one arm extending in front of Brinley, as if to block her. Or protect her. His claws retracted as he realized it was only Paxton. “What’s wrong?”
Paxton looked back and forth between them. “The rogues are here. They’ve made it past the gate, at least a dozen.”
The sentence wasn’t even completely out of his mouth before Gabriel was moving. “Go. I’ll be right behind you.”
His beta nodded and took off back toward the darkened doorway they hadn’t even noticed him emerge from.
Gabriel’s eyes widened. “No, wait, Pax!”
“What?” Pax paused.
“Make sure someone stays with Rose, have them bar the doors and prepare just in case.”
“Already taken care of.” Paxton left without another word. “Darren and Harris are with her and Brighid.”
Gabriel walked toward the doorway, and Brinley followed. He stopped and turned to her. “Stay here. Or go straight home to sit with Rose.”
“No, I’m going with you.” Her heart raced. The thought of facing rogues again terrified her, but the thought of being separated from Gabriel was worse.
“I need you to stay inside somewhere, Brinley. You’ll just be a distraction.”
She shook her head. “Why would I be a distraction? I can help fight.”
“You know why,” he whispered, lifting a hand to her cheek.
Leaning into the touch, she said, “Then, you know why I have to go. We don’t have time to argue about it.”
He visibly clenched his jaw. A beat passed before he let out a breath, reached down her leg, and pulled out the dagger that he’d given her when they started training. She’d gone back to wearing dresses, so he’d found an ankle sheath for her. He pressed the handle into her palm. “Fine.”
She took it, and they raced out of the courtyard. They saw no one else in the alley beyond, but the sounds of fighting reached them before they even made it to the street.
Holding an arm out to stop her, Gabriel paused again. He met Brinley’s gaze. “Stay close.”
She nodded, but he clearly wasn’t satisfied with that, so she said, “I promise.”
“I just want to lock you in a fucking room to keep you safe,” he whispered, obviously struggling to fight that instinct.
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she lifted a hand and twisted it in the air, using her newly found magic to sweep some hair from his brow. He growled in response, but the mayhem caught his attention as someone ran by, and he rushed to help a woman battling with two rogues.
Brinley followed, tightening her grip on the dagger. Though, she’d save the blade as a last resort. She would rather keep her distance from the DeLoup rebels altogether.
As she neared the chaos, she managed to use her magic to send one of the attackers flying into the wall of the closest home. He crumpled to the ground. Now that she knew how to access that magic, knew how to wield it, she could use it freely. Not well, but enough to stop some of their attackers. She turned her attention to another rogue she’d spotted running toward them from the other direction. Gabriel’s claws were already embedded in their stomach. He yanked them out and looked toward her, as if making sure she was all right.
When a scream ripped through the air, they both took off toward the melee in the square. Brinley’s breath caught in her throat. Already, several of their people lay dead or injured in the streets. She lifted a hand to cover her mouth at the horror.
“Do not leave my side, Brinley.” Gabriel swept up a sword from one of the fallen before leading the way, his other hand still sporting long claws.
She kept her promise, staying close to him as they fought through the rogues. Many had weapons while some used their claws and teeth, partially shifted. They were the monsters from her nightmares, the ones she’d heard stories of her entire life. As she used her power to block one man, she drove her short blade into the side of a woman. These were the DeLoup she had always feared.
And now, she understood. Those in the Crimson Pack truly weren’t like this. They didn’t attack innocents; they were just trying to live their lives. Gabriel had told the truth. Even if she hadn’t started getting back her memories, she would have known this as surely as she knew her own name.
Silver gleamed as a sword swung near her head, but another parried the blow before striking the man down. Brinley glanced over, her heart hammering. Paxton dipped his head.
Joel and Daciana were close by too, as well as a handful of others, fighting off the rogues. There were also many trying to save the people who’d already fallen.
The bloodshed, the shouting in agony, and the wailing of those seeing their loved ones killed was a strong reminder of that little village that had been attacked while she’d gone to hide.
Well, she wasn’t hiding anymore. She fought beside her new friends, her father’s pack. Her people.
She fought against the wolves who wanted to destroy her queendom.
The battle didn’t last long, however. The DeLoup who’d infiltrated were vastly outnumbered, making Brinley wonder what their plan had actually been. Why would they attack knowing they wouldn’t survive?
She turned, realizing she hadn’t seen Gabriel in a few minutes. He was on the other side of the square, dueling with one of the final rogues. He took the man down and then appeared to frantically look around. His eyes landed on her and she saw his shoulders drop in relief. She gave him a small smile and started toward him, with Paxton beside her.
Before she could reach Gabriel, she heard Daci yell out just as a blade appeared at his throat, and she stilled.
“Drop the sword,” the man behind Gabriel said. “All of you. Drop your weapons.”
Gabriel threw his borrowed sword aside and nodded to his beta, wincing as the man’s dagger nicked his skin. At the sight of the blood falling down Gabriel’s neck, Brinley’s heart squeezed.
“You too, girl. Blade down.”
She tossed it to the ground. Daci appeared on her other side, also without a weapon in hand. She growled, flexing her claws. “Let him go.”
The man just snarled.
“What do you want?” Paxton asked, remaining calm, yet tense. “Why are you here?”
“We were hired to bring the witch to our… benefactor.”
A deep growl emitted from Gabriel. His claws extended, but the man dug his blade in.
“You move, you die.”
“No.” Brinley stepped forward without even realizing she’d started moving when more blood dripped down Gabriel’s throat to his chest. Someone said her name, but she could no longer hear the world around her. All she could focus on was the blood, on the man threatening Gabriel. Lifting her hand, she imagined the sword being ripped away.
It shot out and clanked to the ground several feet away, and Gabriel ducked out of the path of her fury. She squeezed the man’s throat without so much as touching him, sucking the life from him. His eyes widened. She stepped closer and forced him to his knees.
Someone reached for her, but she pushed them back. She created an impenetrable force around her and this slimy man who’d tried to take what was hers.
With her other hand, she flicked her fingers, and the sound of bones snapping ricocheted around the square. The man screamed, begging for mercy.
“Brinley, stop! We need him for questioning. Stop.”
Something warm trickled from her nose.
She heard her friends’ shouts, but she couldn’t cease. It was as if her very soul demanded this rogue paid for his threats, that he forfeited his life by touching?—
“Bijou,” a familiar voice broke through her wall. Somehow, he was at her side, pushing past the invisible shield she had built. “You can stop now.”
Tears fell from her eyes.
“I’m all right. You saved me; you can stop now.” A rough hand gripped her chin and turned her face. Her gaze collided with brilliant blue eyes. His thumb brushed beneath her nose, coming back with blood. “You’re using too much, Brinley. I need you to stop. Please, sweetheart. For me.”
All at once, the world came rushing in around her. She sucked in a breath and released the rogue, who collapsed onto the cobblestones. Pax and Daciana were there in an instant, their blades drawn on him.
But Brinley couldn’t look away from Gabriel. “You’re all right?”
“Yes, bijou. It’s over.”
Nodding, she whispered, “Good.”
Strong arms caught her before she hit the ground, and her vision went black.