Among the Beasts & Briars

by Ashley Poston

“Never let anyone make you feel unworthy. You deserve the moon just as much as anyone else.”

“Oh, come on, now! Those were quality puns.” She shook me one good time. “No! They were terrible, and you should feel terrible!”

“Courage gets you killed, Daisy. I’m in the business of staying alive.”

I’d be a fool if I turned around, I thought. But at least I’d be a loyal fool.

“You said I was a coward. I had to prove you wrong,” he replied with a pitiful laugh.

How did they know what they could be if no one told them what they couldn’t?

Then he grinned. And oh, what a dangerous look that was, trouble tucked into the corners of his mouth like sin.