Chapter Eighteen
Shaw Black
The shift came instantly, bones reforming, vision sharpening until the world was nothing but sound, scent, and motion. The forest came alive in colors humanity wasn’t meant to see. The chase was on, and the three of us were running for our lives.
My lungs burned with every breath, but we couldn’t stop. Not yet.
Neera darted ahead, her doe form a flicker of pale gold between the trees. Every few strides, she glanced back, pale green eyes bright with urgency, her mind brushing against mine. “This way. I know a place we can hide.”
Or at least a space to breathe.
Behind us, the growls grew louder. Low, guttural sounds that made the ground vibrate. Garmr were hunting us through the woods, with gods only knew what else.
I tensed, claws digging into the soil as I jerked my head to the side.
The first garmr lunged through the brush, its body as large as my own with venom dripping from its gaping jaw and spikes along its back.
I met it head-on, slamming it aside, teeth sinking deep into its throat.
Black blood stained the trees as the melody of snapping bones followed a sharp cry from the beast that hung lifeless in my jaws.
Then, another came. Bigger, faster. But I was already in position, ready to rip the creature to shreds. Above me, wings shrieked through the treetops. Harpies.
Zola was there. Her shadow powers rippled through the canopy, allowing her to drift unseen until the final strike. I caught glimpses of her between flashes of silver daggers spinning end over end, each one finding its mark with deadly precision.
The sky rained feathers and violence.
Neera’s voice touched my mind again, urgent. “I’ve found the clearing! Around the bend, there’s a hidden thicket where we can find cover.”
I roared in response and pushed forward, muscles burning, the last of the hounds snapping at my tail. One leap, one fatal strike, and their bodies fell lifeless at my paws. I turned and ran, thanking the gods above for a silent forest at my back.
When I broke through the tree line, moonlight washed over me.
I inhaled deeply, allowing the open air, the smell of earth and pine, to fill my lungs.
I shifted back, landing hard on my knees, panting.
I spotted Neera bounding beside a thicket before disappearing entirely.
I followed, sliding over a small mound behind her, where I disappeared into cover.
In the next breath, Zola dropped beside me in the shadows, eyes scanning the clearing behind us. “I think that’s all of them.”
Neera was trembling with exhaustion, but thankfully, we were all alive. “The coast isn’t far,” she said softly. “If we keep—”
Suddenly, my world went black.
“Zola!” I reached out to find her, but my hands only felt air. “Neera!”
Panic surged through me. My vision was gone.
“Daxton should have killed me when he had the chance.” Seamus’s voice echoed in my mind, and my stomach dropped.
Drawing on my magic, I forced up a barrier around my thoughts once more, shutting out Seamus and trying to dissolve whatever illusions his cousin Anjani was weaving.
However, the moment her scream cut through the dark, my heart stopped.
“Zola!”
Power surged through me like wildfire, tearing at the edges of my control as I pushed through the veil of glamour. The air was thick with magic, sweet and poisonous, the kind that sank claws into your mind.
Suddenly, my vision returned, and I saw her. Anjani stood above an unconscious Zola, her arm hooked around her middle with a dagger glinting against her throat.
“Let her go!” I snarled.
Anjani smiled like a vicious serpent. “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”
Illusions reached for me once more, invisible threads lashing out, trying to sink into my mind.
For a heartbeat, I felt the pull, the dizzying sweetness of her glamour whispering surrender.
But then I felt Zola. The bond between us flared to life in my chest, scorching through every barrier Anjani tried to weave.
So, I let that fire rage.
The world cracked open. The High Fae’s illusion shattered like glass under my power, scattering into shards of cold air and broken light. Anjani released Zola, eyes wide with disbelief.
“How?” The dagger clattered to the ground as Anjani stumbled back.
I closed the distance in less than a second. Shoving back at the High Fae’s magic, my own power roared in my veins, fueled by pure instinct to protect my mate.
“Your death will be at my hands, Anjani.” My voice came out in a low, dangerous growl as I stepped protectively over Zola, who was already coming back to me.
“She’s mine, Shaw,” Zola said.
A rush of pride swelled in my chest at her ferocity.
Anjani’s glamour flickered, a slight panic bleeding through her composure before a wicked grin replaced it. “You won’t win this. Bring out the other female.”
Gods, no. Neera!
I spun toward the tree line. Guards stood on either side, pinning her arms. She was fighting, every muscle screaming, every ounce of her will focused on breaking free, but their hold was too strong.
Zola stood beside me, ready for blood. Thankfully, Seamus seemed to fade into the forest, likely trying to fight against the commands of his blood oath and give us a fighting chance.
We had seconds to clear the guards, free Neera, and figure out how to take Anjani down before she could twist this into another trap.
We launched forward to attack, with Zola fronting Anjani, while I took on the guards holding Neera.
One guard went flying before he even had time to react, slamming into the trunk of a tree with a sickening crack. Neera twisted in my direction, relief flashing in her eyes, but then a third guard came at me from behind the brush.
A heavy blow knocked the wind from my lungs and spun me sideways. I turned and slammed my shoulder into him, forcing him off me. My hands found his throat in the next breath, squeezing until I felt his throat collapse in my grip.
Standing, I surveyed Neera as I approached her side. She was bound in irons, but hope returned to her gaze.
“We’re going to get out of here,” I said.
She inhaled a sharp breath before screaming, “Shaw! No, behind you!”
His footsteps were silent. I never heard him coming until it was too late.
A roaring scream erupted from my chest as a blade sliced through my flesh, the iron-tipped weapon digging deep.
An intense pain radiated throughout my entire body.
The overwhelming burning sensation engulfed my senses as the blade's tip sank deeper.
Until all I could see, all I could think, was pain.
“Pathetic,” a familiar voice said, the blade twisting further. “You’re so predictable, Shaw.”