“No,” he says.
“What do you mean no?” I demand, tilting my head back at an awkward angle to see him properly.
He shrugs. “Just no. You get yourself out or you sleep there.”
“What!”
It’s still early morning. Long slices of light pierce through the reaching branches above me. It’s quite pretty, actually. All this green, with the blue sky brightening shade by shade.
“Killian, I thought we agreed that this kind of training is dangerous,” I try to argue.
“You’re safe under there. Even you can’t cut yourself on a tree.”
Footsteps crunch up the hill. I can’t see anything because I have a chuckin’ tree on top of me, but I know it’s Seth.
“Seth,” I call out – it feels like Seth.
“What’s going on?” Seth asks, jumping over the log and landing near my shoulder.
He looks from relaxed-and-polishing-his-dagger Killian to squished-and-laying-in-the-dirt me.
“He did it,” I say, pointing back at Killian.
Seth offers his brother a lopsided smile. “Why?”
“She needs to move it herself.”
“Oh, so this is a training session. I’m pretty sure Pax didn’t have this in mind when he told you to take Vexy away from the cottage,” Seth says, turning his smile back to me and squatting down next to my head. “Learning anything yet?”
“No, Seth. Just get me out.” No reaction.
The ground is hard. Leaves are sticking into my hair because Roarke refused to just put it in a band like I asked. The log is heavy, no surprise there, and it’s not perfectly round, and the ridges in the bark are starting to dig in. Add that to the small stone or stick or whatever it is underneath my right shoulder, and Killian’s sense of humor is already pissing me off.
“Please, Seth,” I beg, trying to pull a little of Roarke’s Allure.
Or a lot. Whatever it takes.
“Is she trying to Allure you?” Killian asks.
“Yes,” I cut in. “Is it working?”
Seth’s eyes roll up towards the sky for a moment – thinking. “No, nothing. Try again.”
“I don’t want to try again. I want you to lift the damn log and let me out.”
Seth shakes his head. “Not working. Are you doing it right?”
Roarke had said something about the words I use being lyrics to the song I want the person listening to sing. Actually, I don’t think he said it that way at all, but that’s the idea.
I take a deep breath, think of Roarke’s trickling water, and say, “Seth, you want to get me out.”
“Nothing,” Seth says, shrugging.
Nothing? How can it be nothing? I’m doing everything right! Everything I normally do to grab Roarke’s power and put it to use.
“Seth,” I growl, pushing hard against the log in pure frustration. Searching for some sign that I can actually access Killian’s strength. Nothing. “Let. Me. Go.”
Seth turns away from me, walking a few steps closer to Killian.
“Don’t leave me,” I gasp… and he ignores me.
“Maybe she needs to be close to us, to whichever person she’s using the power of?”
Killian points his dagger in my direction. “She’s close to me right now. She can move the log, or she can sleep there – no breakfast, no lunch, no dinner, or supper, or lates.”
I groan. This is Killian trying not to hurt me.
“Let me help,” Seth says, striding back to me then jumping over the log.
“What are you doing?” I demand.
“How ticklish are you, Vexy?”
Before I can answer, he’s running a stick or leaf or something up and down the bottom of my right foot, instantly hitting the nerves that make a kid giggle – and I can’t even squirm!
I bite my bottom lip and tilt my head back to glare at Killian.
“Help,” I strangle the word out – trying not to fall into laughter.
“Move the log,” he says, pointing at me with the knife one more time before slipping it into its sheath.
I punch the damn log, then groan in pain. “Seth, stop.”
I’m so pinned I can’t even bend my knees or pull my feet out of his reach.
“Yes, Vexy,” he says, still dragging something sharp ever so softly over my soles.
My leg muscles jerk involuntarily. Damn, I didn’t even know I was this ticklish! Left foot, then right foot, then the left one again.
I am not giggling, I order myself, trying to say, “Stop it,” out loud.
“Should I stop, Killian?”
“No.”
“Bralls to your no! Yes! Yes, you should stop.”
I fall into the need to laugh.
Which chuckin’ hurts – there’s not enough room under here for this.
“Stop,” I gasp.
“Move the log,” both of them order.
Move the damn log!
Seth doesn’t even pause in his tickling.
I’ll move a log. I’ll move a whole tree – and it will be in your chuckin’ direction...
The trunk of the tree behind Seth shatters, followed closely by the next tree over. Wood splinters with thundering booms, reducing the world to a high pitch ring.
But there’s no time to care about that as the first tree twists and smacks into Seth harder than I could survive. He’s tossed off his feet and into the air. I’m not even sure the guy knows what hit him. He somersaults, still looking far too calm, then disappears into the canopy.
I have this strange moment of relief, because I didn’t kill him, before focusing back on the fact that I’m going to be crushed.
Both massive trees collide and plummet towards me. Trunks too big for me to wrap my arms around.
Me – stuck under a fucking log with nowhere to run.
Bare threads of time, not even whole seconds or whole breaths or whole beats.
One – the branches hit the ground first, stabbing down, cracking and breaking off, making the ground shake as wood shatters all around me.
Two – pine scent fills the air, not that I dare take another breath.
Three – I wrap my arms around my head, but I can’t even close my eyes to protect them. Too scared.
About to die.
Four – Killian dives over me.
Staring me in the eyes with nothing but black pits, he forms a human shield, and the first tree slams into his
