CHAPTER 47 CORY
M ili’s scream tears through the forest like a burning blade, and I shoot for it like an arrow launched from a bow. I don’t think about Max or Port –I just fly.
She’s not far, so it only takes me a few seconds to reach her. My heart thunders in my chest, a roar of agony threatening to rise out of me at the sight of her. Seeing her lying there, desperate cries tearing from her lips, burns a hole in my soul.
She’s on the ground, but her wings are beneath her –crushed. It’s not irreparable damage, but it’s certainly enough to hurt, enough to terrify. It also means that Kar found her before we could, before I did. A spike of rage and horror sends my pulse racing, but I kneel beside Mili and steel myself to not show any weakness.
I sweep her into my arms without thought, and she screams louder for a second as she tries to pull away. The sensation of Mili rearing back from me breaks my heart, but I force the pain down and focus on helping her.
“Mili, it’s me,” I blurt out. “I’ve got you. We found you. I’m so sorry, Mili.”
Her eyes shoot open, having been wrenched shut in fear moments before, and I see they’re bloodshot and swimming with tired tears. The knife in my soul twists hard, and once again I shove the agony as deep as it will go.
“Mili,” I whisper.
The furious terror in her eyes melts away, and, finally, my own Milica stares back at me. She whimpers, “Cory,” and catches me in the tightest embrace I’ve felt in a long time.
I hear Max and Port land beside us, one pair of feet after another, and Max murmurs behind me, “Her wings–”
“I know,” Port responds softly. “I think ... I think we should give them a moment.”
Over Mili’s shoulder I catch a glimpse of my two packmates walking to the edge of the clearing, then I bury my head in Mili’s neck again. She shudders into me, and another crack in my strength appears.
There’s nothing I wouldn’t give to save her, my bright gem, but I still showed up too late. The gut-wrenching shame I’m all-too-familiar with briefly flickers at the surface of my psyche, and I mentally shut it out.
I know there’s no room for my feelings here. I don’t even feel a conscious need for them to be given room. Unfortunately, my soul begs to differ. The struggle within me reaches a fever pitch and I shudder in return against Milica.
She stretches a hand until it’s flat against my back, then she strokes it slowly up and down. It’s soothing, and I loathe my weakness all the more for wanting comfort when she’s the one who needs it.
For some reason, I still let her brush her hand over my back as I start to do the same to her. She nuzzles her face deeper into my neck, and I let a low purr from my chest fill the space between us.
I hold the purr at a low pitch, allowing it to comfort Mili. A quiet sigh escapes her, and I feel her squeeze her eyes closed as she leans into me.
“Can we just stay here forever?” she whispers.
Despite my heartache, I laugh. Mili laughs, too, and the two of us hold on even tighter for a long moment. Eventually, Mili pulls back and wipes her eyes, which are finally starting to dry.
We stare at each other, just gazing into one another’s eyes for a while, before I break the silence. “You shouldn’t have gone alone.”
As soon as the words leave my lips, I realize it’s not the time to scold Mili. Still, I can’t stop myself from being so terrified. I can’t stop myself from expressing it in some small way, and I just pray she’ll understand.
Mili bites her lip to keep her eyes clear and replies, “I know. I didn’t think –I didn’t know if you three could forgive me. I thought you might hate me now.”
“What?” I whisper. “That would never happen. We truly care for you, Mili. I just didn’t want you to get ... hurt.” I wince at my last words, trying not to let my gaze fall upon her mangled wings.
Mili’s gaze falls to her lap and she hisses at herself, “I’m so stupid.”
“Don’t say that,” I order. In response, she glares up at me through her dark eyelashes.
“I didn’t want the three of you to get hurt, and I’m glad you didn’t. I just didn’t expect –he’s gotten so powerful, Cory. And he’s cruel, vicious. I couldn’t–”
“It’s not your fault,” I interrupt, leaning down to press a kiss to her temples – the right, then the left. Mili huffs in frustration just as I hear footsteps arriving beside us.
Max says carefully, “Mili, I’m really glad you’re okay.”
She rolls her eyes in a sudden display of real personality, and a flutter of hope passes through me. I can tell Port feels it, because he glances sidelong at me with a sad smile of relief.
“I wouldn’t say I’m okay , but yes, I’m alive,” she remarks.
“We need to see Chrysthinia,” I say. The forcefulness of my voice almost surprises me; then again, I suppose it’s in my disposition to be a leader when one is needed. I continue, “If Kar has harmed you, they’ll know what to do.”
At those words, Mili bites her lip and fidgets under my gaze. I raise an eyebrow and she says slowly, “We need to reverse a spell.”
“What?” Max and Port say at once. I just sit silently as I wait for her to continue, my blood already boiling.
Mili sighs shakily and I watch her lip tremble. “He tried to – well, he has Evil Sight now, and he’s performed a Chasm Ritual.” The fire in my veins explodes into a raging inferno at her words, but she presses on. “He tried to ‘claim’ me. Come nighttime, my mind won’t be my own anymore.”
As she speaks, her words take on a hollowness that alarms me. She shows no emotion, but I never see her that way. Without thinking, I take her hand in mine. It’s practically limp.
I gaze into her eyes, feeling Max and Port’s silence horribly, and tell her, “We’ll go to Chrysthinia’s.”
“I can’t fly,” she hisses.
“Cory can carry you,” Port offers.
Max interjects with a raised eyebrow as usual, “We could walk, too.”
All the while, Mili and I stare at each other, a sort of heartbroken understanding passing between us. Port and Max pick it up through the bond, too, and quickly fall silent.
“We’ll find a way, Mili,” I say. After a few moments, she nods. I nod back at her, then glance up at the two shifters. “Let’s go.”
–––
Chrysthinia sits in a corner, silent fury radiating off their small frame, while Mili recounts her interaction with Kar. Mili avoids eye contact with them, evidently sensing the extent of their wrath, and elects to face Max and Port instead.
I stand in the corner, keeping watch by the window. I suspect it will be a while yet until I can be around my pack and Mili without paranoia commanding my every action.
Port and Max each rest a hand on the other’s thigh, quiet companionship evident in their body language. Mili sits beside them. She’s not terrified anymore, I notice. She just looks ... exhausted.
“What was the exact chant?” says Chrysthinia.
Port looks up anxiously. “It can’t be safe to repeat it, can it?”
Chrysthinia scowls ferociously at him. “Spells require intention , young shifter. Mili doesn’t have the Chasm Ritual anyway –even if, Realm’s Mother forbid, she wanted to steal one of our minds it wouldn’t work.”
“Duh,” Max whispers, nudging Port.
Chrysthinia catches the teasing gesture and arches an eyebrow accusingly at Max. He furrows his brows and mutters a quiet apology, apparently easily scorned by the wizard. I take a mental note: if Max is being ridiculous, consult Chrysthinia .
The wizard turns again to Mili with a loud huff. “Well? Go on, then.”
Mili breathes shakily and chants the vile words quietly.
By the end of it, all my hairs on my body have raised in repulsion. The evil nature of the words coat Mili’s tongue, and she winces as she fakes the chant. Port fidgets uncomfortably, and Max actually grimaces as they ring out through the cottage.
Chrysthinia seems to be the only one unaffected, though I do catch their lip twitching with disgust near the end of the words. “Well, that’s fantastic,” they guffaw, rolling their eyes.
I raise an eyebrow and cross my arms, turning to face them directly. “Call me crazy, but when I hear that foul chant I don’t think it sounds ‘fantastic.’”
A low hiss comes from Chrysthinia, and I recoil slightly – I didn’t know they could make that sound .
“I am not pleased with this turn of events. Mili has been the subject of a sort of ‘claiming’ spell, as you may all have guessed. The sort of dark magick wielded by Kar as the White Warlock is, frankly, unheard of, so I may have to research a bit to find a suitable reversal spell.”
“Do we have time for that?” Max scoffs. “The spell is final at nightfall.”
Chrysthinia tuts and waves again at the air, dismissing his words. “I will consult the archive. Return in one hour’s time.”
Then, despite our arguments against it, Chrysthinia has pushed us all out the front door of their cottage. Mili sighs and runs her hands over her face, the very picture of hopelessness.
Port holds an arm out to her, and she crawls to stand under it, pressed against him. Then, to my surprise, he swings Max around from his other hand to Mili’s side, positioning her between the two of them. Max tenses as he first wraps an arm around Mili, but she smiles up so sweetly at him that he quickly relents to the embrace.
Mili sighs. “Let’s go home.”
So we do. We return to the cottage and rest, the four of us piled awkwardly on Milica’s bed, until an hour has passed. Then we return to Chrysthinia, anticipating the worst.
Instead, the wizard says simply, “Well, I found something.”
“Well, what is it?” Port blurts out. He curls in on himself when Chrysthinia fixes him with a cold stare.
“You have to claim Mili back.”