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Sadie cried and screamed for him again.

“Daddy!!!”

Myka was lifted into the air, his hands clawed at the root, desperately trying to tear it away from his throat.

Sadie wanted to go back and help him, but she didn’t know what she could do. Tears streamed down her face as she watched him struggle to get free.

Then a sudden movement caught her eye, something in the trees. It dashed forward and severed the root that held Myka in the air. He fell to the ground, coughing and pulling the remains of the root from his throat.

“G.o… Sad..ie!” he shouted through coughs and gasps for air.

Behind him, Ashleigh stood in a defensive stance, prepared to protect him from any other attack.

Sadie smiled and took a relieved breath before turning around and crawling back through the bushes toward the lake.

Myka got to his feet, still panting but recovered enough to fight.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Glad I made it in time,” Ashleigh replied.

“Me too.”

Ahead of them, the trees shook and moved. The treant was finally coming out to greet them rather than sending its roots alone.

“By the way….” Myka said. “Did… did Sadie call me daddy? Did you hear that?”

Ashleigh blinked several times.

“Is this really the time to worry about that?” she asked.

“I don’t know, is there a right time?”’ he asked. “Seems like this is it if she called me that now, don’t you think?”

“Myka,” Ashleigh sighed. “Focus, please.”

Myka took a deep breath and sighed.

“Fine,” he said.

He opened his palm, preparing to summon a weapon, but Ashleigh placed one in his hand instead. It was a karambit made of obsidian.

He looked up at her.

“They are a matching pair,” she said, holding her own. “Caleb gave them to me as a gift from the Alpha of Burning Ember.”

Myka looked down at the small blade again. It was beautiful and meaningful. He looked at Ashleigh.

“Are you sure I can use this?” he asked.

Ashleigh cleared her throat.

“Whether you can or not is on you,” she smiled. “But these blades cut through the fae like butter. So, I would definitely recommend at least trying it.”

Myka grinned.

“Sounds good to me,” he said.

There was loud cracking and snapping from ahead. Finally, the treant pushed itself into the clearing. They were both surprised by the state of the creature.

“What the hell happened to it?” Myka asked quietly.

Every treant that Ashleigh had faced started with at least six roots. Beyond that, they still had a thick trunk with two large limbs and a gaping hole of a mouth with teeth of splintered wood that could crush a man in two if they got close enough.

But the one that moved into the clearing had only two whole roots, while the other four were in various sizes and states of decay. Ashleigh and Myka had each severed one. She suspected the scout had been responsible for one as well. But something else had gotten rid of the last one.

The tree trunk was also covered in strange burn marks, slashes all over it as though it had been whipped by fire. There was only one limb, while the other appeared to have been snapped in half. Finally, the mouth of splintered teeth was empty, and large chunks were torn away.

“What could have done that?” Myka asked.

Ashleigh felt a chill through her spine as she thought of the scouts warning in the report. New creatures. What kind of creature could have caused so much damage to the treant?

“That’s not what we need to worry about right now,” she said.

“True enough,” Myka sighed. “Let’s get this done. I don’t like the kids being alone for too long.”

Ashleigh nodded.

***

“Sadie…?” Dane whispered.

“He’ll find her,” Stefan said, again trying to reassure him. “Myka loves Sadie like a daughter. He won’t let anything happen to her. She’ll be okay.”

“No,” Dane shook his head, his eyes lighting up as he smiled. He pointed behind Stefan and then said, “Sadie!”

Stefan turned around, his eyes widened, and his heart raced. Sadie was walking toward them. She had her hand on her stomach, her clothing was torn, and she looked in pain, but she was walking toward them.

“Sadie!” Stefan shouted, turning his body and running to her. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

Sadie cried out and pulled away from him. Stefan took a step back and looked down at her stomach. He could see the redness and swelling now.

“Sadie…” he whispered mournfully.

She followed his eyes and moved her arm over her stomach.

“It’s okay,” she smiled weakly. “I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt that bad.”

“Are you really okay?” Dane asked as he approached.

Sadie looked up to see all four of them looking at her with concern.

“Were you worried about me?” she asked.

“Of course!” Dane said immediately. Then lowering his eyes, he added, “You’re our friend, Sadie. We always worried about you.”

A swelling of emotion formed in Sadie’s chest at his words. Being Holden’s pet project had always made her stand out in the lab. She assumed that the other kids kept away from her because they were afraid of her. But looking at these four now, she realized that the looks they gave her in the past were not full of fear but concern.

Sadie could only smile at them now.

“Where’s Myka?” Stefan asked.

“He and Ashleigh are fighting the monster,” Sadie said, looking back in the direction she had come from.

“Ashleigh?!” Stefan asked excitedly. “She came back?”

Sadie nodded.

“It has no chance now,” Stefan grinned.

Sadie furrowed her brow.

“Not at all,” Dane added, “Ashleigh’s gonna tear that thing apart!”

Sadie tilted her head.

“She’ll make it regret that it ever touched you, Sadie,” Stefan smiled.

Sadie pursed her lips and took a deep breath, letting it out with a huff.

“Ashleigh is a great warrior,” she said. “But are you saying that without her, my daddy wouldn’t have been able to fight it off?”

“Well, Myka isn’t exactly a—Wait… what did you just call him?” Stefan asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

Sadie straightened her back, clenching her teeth as she felt a twinge of pain from the movement.

“My Daddy,” she stated. “Myka is my daddy, and Peter is my dad. Is that a problem?”

Stefan blinked at her, unsure how to respond.

“And just so you know, he is very strong and brave. And he was the one that saved me!”

“Okay!” Stefan said, “I didn’t mean anything by it!”

“Guys…”

“You better not,” Sadie continued. “And you know, they’re your dads too.”

“Well... I mean… they…” Stefan stammered.

“You don’t have to say it,” Sadie smiled. “Not if you don’t want to.”

Stefan looked away.

“Guys!” one of the younger boys shouted.

Stefan and Sadie looked back at him, he was staring out toward the lake, and the expression on his face was frightened.

“What is that?” he whispered.