Chapter 23 #3
One of the warriors had crawled out of the crater I’d made. Magic-infused steel cut through my thigh just above the knee, and when he twisted the sword, a fresh wave of agony spread like poison.
I screeched, magic funneling out of me and killing the soldier instantly.
But it was too late.
The spellwork, fancier than I would have expected for a foot soldier, spread through my veins as long as the steel remained embedded.
But when I tried to pull it free, it shredded through muscle and bone and tendons.
It cut everything it touched and it was a clamp, a grounding.
The spell disrupted the flow of power so suddenly and violently I lost my bearings.
My vision swam as I shifted out of my halfling warrior form and into vulnerable humanity.
Mike crouched beside me. “Tavi! Shit. What happened?”
He threw up a hasty shield between us and the zombies, surveying my wounded leg and pulling the poisoned sword free without warning.
The bottom half of my leg was a bloody mess of skin and muscle and bone. I waved a hand and the last bits of my power patched the shredded bits together and sealed everything in an invisible bandage. It was a rough job, but hopefully it would hold until the fighting was over.
My trifecta of power had been interrupted, and in the space between heartbeats, the Unseelie regrouped.
A new attack stole Mike’s attention and he hastily threw up a shield between him and Melia and the zombies.
A low roar, guttural and deep, cut through the screeching around us. Noren clawed his way closer, terrifying, beautiful. He was a whirlwind of destruction, taking down anything in his path to get to me.
“Noren—” I pushed out his name, reaching for him. His eyes lit and he yipped at me.
Brilliant white orbs circled over his body, emitting crackles of sparks before they suddenly shot straight down.
For a split second, I didn’t understand.
I couldn’t process those raw, unfiltered hits of magic striking Noren through the spine.
Warriors locked into battle around us seemed to pause when the hit turned day into something blinding and raw.
Noren collapsed, his head dropping forward, his spine snapped. The web of power from those orbs kept him suspended above the ground for a split second before he touched down, and my heart turned to ash.
“No!”
His yellow eyes reflected the glow of power before the orbs transformed and speared him into the ground in a final punctuated act of cruelty.
I let out a scream so loud it shook the earth. My chest ached, raw emotion cutting off my air supply.
“Tavi, hold on.” Melia bent to lift me. “We have to get you out of here.”
I didn’t remember falling on my side.
She hadn’t seen him. Had she? She didn’t know Noren was—
“We’ve got to go,” Melia huffed out, shouldering my weight.
Noren, Noren, Noren.
Hands shaking, a shrill, animalistic sound clawed out of me.
My direwolf wasn’t dead. He wasn’t. Couldn’t be. No way—
I turned to Melia and gripped her chainmail shirt. Her wild hair streamed out around her head like a banner in the wind. Melia was here. Alive. Someone had to make sure she stayed that way.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I pushed out. “You have to go. You must leave now. You’re too important to lose.”
Oh goddess, no, please, not Noren.
Melia’s eyes bulged. “Are you insane? I’m not leaving you.”
“It’s an order!” I had to yell to be overheard when a long chorus of howls cut through the encampment.
I glanced toward the line of forest where the shattered wards were like open doors. A fresh pack of wolf shifters crested the hill, running in killing formation.
I recognized the structure, the elegance of the movement, the intent. I’d been at the tail end of such a formation when Uncle Will tried his damnedest to train the Fae out of me.
But these shifters—
The lead wolf pounced, lean body arcing through the air, and landed on one of the Fevar. The two went down and rolled while the rest of the full-blooded shifters attacked us.
They fought on behalf of Dorian Jade.
I swallowed my surprise, pushing Melia behind me in the same movement. The sooner we got her out of here, the better. I couldn’t risk losing her, not when the entire network of intelligence rested with her. And if the werewolves weren’t fighting for us…
Someone screamed and I whipped around. A wolf closed his jaw around the neck of a slender Dryad and the scream cut short.
“Hold on, Tavi, we’re going to get you out of here. Hold on a little bit longer, honey.”
Livvy? What—
Livvy swore at the sight of me. Terror carved her beautiful face into a monstrous mask. Where had she come from? Why wasn’t she hiding somewhere safe?
A black hole of grief opened inside of me. “Mom?”
“Livvy, watch out!” Melia grabbed me with both hands like she knew what came next.
Drips of power disintegrated like rain on hot asphalt, useless, as Dorian Jade materialized out of nowhere, directly behind Livvy.
His hands, glowing like those orbs, gripped Livvy’s head and he twisted. One sharp sickening crack as bone snapped.
Then nothing.