He would hear a familiar voice call from the forest, sounding far gentler than when he had last heard it. "Briar? Briar, it's me!"
She emerged from the trees, her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. She saw Briar's back and relaxed. "Oh, there you are. The Alyndar..." She froze when she saw Sam before a furious expression crossed her face. "Did he come back here? I knew we should have killed him."
She glared at him before his expression shifted and she turned to Briar. "Briar... you didn't." He was silent for a moment before he sighed. "I think he should get a chance to prove his innocence." She grew silent for a moment, and if Sam were to look up at her, he would see her growing irate. "You do not know him," she said, her voice quiet with great emotion. "He was singlehandedly responsible for the largest massacre of your species in the last 100 years. He's not a sympathetic soul, Briar. He's a... a... he's a monster."
She turned to him sharply and for a moment, she looked as if she might hit him. "I know enough," she replied, her voice terribly quiet. "I know that you were the only human who knew about the Glen and the next day they came and cut off our wings and left us to die. You disgust me. Coward."
"I didn't tell them anything," he growled. "If you were ever my friend, you would trust me. But you don't and you're not."
"Of course I trusted you," she said harshly, her eyes flashing dangerously. "I loved you. I hid in that closet with my sister in my arms and I begged for there to not be humans behind that door. I told myself that you would never do that to me. But you were the only human who knew about the Glen before you left. Only you. Believe it or not, Sam, but it's a little hard to trust someone when you know that they brought a massacre to your doorstep."
He looked at his hands. They were shaking. "I killed my teacher. He spoke so lightly of it after the alyndar took you away. I killed him. I burned him in fire." He took a breath, shaking his head. "You might as well kill me. I deserve it."
"Yeah," she said furiously, pulling her knife out of her belt. "Yeah, you do." Briar moved quickly, grabbing her wrist. "Eden, stop. Both of you just need to calm down. We can figure this out."
Sam huffed, sitting up. "I know how to get a pixies wings back. It's not very much after what's happened, but it could help those in the massacre. I could try teaching it, but I'm not sure how."
He sighed. "My college. In the lab. They would be hard to get, but not impossible. I don't think you two should come."
"Because they'll hurt you. I can't have that happen again. I'll go in by myself. If they catch me, then I'll be the one to suffer to consequences."
“Yeah,” Eden said sharply. “That sounds like a good idea.” “Eden, no,” Briar said, looking over at her. “We can’t do that.”
