Chapter 63: Chapter Sixty-three

Shit, Briar thought.

Alaric looked paler than normal. He gave her a look that made her realize she'd definitely fucked up.

“Just a little trick I picked up along the way,” She said but she couldn't keep the nervous edge from her voice.

Amara didn't look too convinced. Her eyes narrowed into slits and her gaze was calculating as she stared at Briar. Briar held her breath as if even the slightest motion would cause Amara to realize.

“The sun is rising. We should get going.” Tobias said, thankfully saving the day.

They went outside, waiting for the first rays of the sun to hit the earth. Anticipation welled up inside Briar. She bit her lip. If this went wrong, they would all go up in flames and be nothing but the ash in the wind. After all,Amara could’ve easily been lying to them. She stood to the side, watching them closely. Briar felt Alaric's anxiety too. His jaw was set, his face straight ahead. She threaded her fingers with his, a silent reassurance and he squeezed his fingers around hers.

Briar closed her eyes and felt the warmth envelope her, just like old times. She cracked an eye open. No searing pain, no smell of burnt flesh…nothing. It really worked.

Kieran laughed, a victorious sound nothing like the snickering he was used to. Tobias touched his skin reverently, smiling to himself. Alaric had eyes only for her, staring like he couldn't even be bothered about the sun.

“Your eyes are beautiful,” he said.

Briar felt a pang in her chest. She badly wished he was talking about her real eyes, with the green irises. Those were gone now. She had died and the red eyes that all vampires shared were all that remained.

“We all have the same eyes,” she managed to say.

“I know but yours are stunning because they complement your hair, especially in the sunlight.”

Briar was about to say something when she felt something form and clamp around her throat. Her hands clawed at it, feeling an iron collar that wouldn't budge.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”Alaric bellowed at Amara.

Briar turned to see Amara, a sinister smile on her face.

“I'll ask you again, Briar,” she said. “Where did you learn to bloodweave?”

“I don't fucking know! Get this thing off me now.” Lying was the right thing to do. Amara knowing about this was bad enough. Her knowing even an inkling of the connection between Briar and the moonstone would be so much worse.

She tugged at it but it wouldn't come off. It was sealed completely, not even a place where the two ends of the collar met.

“Amara,”Alaric said slowly and calmly, “Briar just happened to have this ability. We don't know.”

Amara cocked her head, predatory gaze fixated on them. “I think you're lying. I wondered how there was even still something left of you to salvage. Selene's killing spells never miss their mark.”

Briar's heart beat faster in her chest. This wasn't how she imagined this going. Alaric, ever protective, angled his body in front of her.

“Careful,” he said.

Amara laughed. Briar growled.

Amara's threads were stark and easy to see but frayed at the edges but as she took hold of them, ready to yank with all her might, she felt the iron go impossibly hot and turning a deep orange. She cried out, dropping to her knees. Alaric clutched his neck too, the mark of a circular band already forming there.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” she singsonged.

Kieran and Tobais stepped in front of them defensively.

“Sorry Alaric, but your mate just became very interesting to me.”

She twirled her fingers in their direction. Kieran, Tobias and Alaric vanished like smoke before her eyes, their forms dissipating into thin air.

“Where did you take them?!”Briar glowered.

“Back to Kaelindor,” she said flippantly. Amara walked towards Briar and raised her chin up with an index finger. Briar jerked her head away. “Don't you fucking touch me,”

Her eyes flashed. “I'd cooperate if I were you. Remember, anything I do to you affects Alaric.” She strode back inside the mansion, leaving Briar all alone on the compound floor. The heat of the morning sun burned hotter now. The sky looked beautiful, a canvas of pink and golden hues with like dotted clouds.

If only Alaric were here to witness this with her.

Her chest had a dull ache and she felt like something was being pulled out of her. The bond between her and Alaric was being stretched thin. They were practically worlds apart. She fingered the iron collar on her neck, feeling a deep sense of rage coil deep within her. No, not again.

She felt like she was back to square one; just as helpless and weak as before.

Briar screamed then, full of rage. Amara had captured her. Fine. But she wasn't going to see her break. She would rue this fucking sunrise.

Briar got up and walked back inside, heading straight for Amara's office.

"Ah, you're back."She said looking up from her computer. "You shouldn't scream so loud here. Some of my daughters are still asleep."

"What do you want me for?" Briar asked.

Amara shrugged. "Lot's and Lot's of things, Briar. Bloodweaving hasn't been seen in a while. I'm not going to allow an ability like yours go to waste."