Chapter 23 Briar
Briar
Vad jerked against the chains, and an agonized cry escaped his lips. Blood gushed from the wound, hot and slick. Ember thrust her other hand over the source.
I set the dagger aside and focused on the hand I’d kept on his chest underneath Ember’s. The cuts were healing, the skin mending back into place. The heat inside me expanded and intensified. Then, all at once, golden light exploded outward like lightning crackling through my veins.
It poured from my chest and shot down my arms, scorching through my wrists with a burning, blinding force. The stone altar beneath us lit up.
The room shook harder. Then the heat in my wrists surged and whipped up my arms and down my spine. I arched forward, then bowed backward with a shaking scream as agony tore through me.
White-hot fire burst between my shoulders and raced down my spine like something alive had just ripped its way out. A scream tore from my throat, and my hand fell from Vad’s chest. I dropped to my knees beside the altar, panting. Breathing hurt, like the air itself was made of fire.
Golden light engulfed me, turning hotter and brighter. The shaking continued beneath me as a heavy buzzing sound started and grew so loud I thought my eardrums would burst. Something howled, seeming far away but also near at the same time.
I fought to open my eyes and reach out to Vad. I needed to feel him and know he was with me, but the weight of the energy blazing through me crushed me down.
Heat pooled at the base of my spine and erupted as if my spine had ripped in two. My back muscles stretched, and flames engulfed me. Something was wrong. Maybe I had to take Vad’s place in death, which I was perfectly fine with as long as he got to live.
Another wolf howl pierced my mind like a storm surge. Not distant this time. Not muted. My wolf’s presence slammed into me full force, so familiar and yet different. She whimpered like she’d missed me as much as I’d missed her.
The pain finally receded, but the fire didn’t leave me.
It entwined deep inside me, threading through my veins like it belonged there, and it curled over me without moving and without hurting me.
Silver streaks shimmered within the gold light still beaming around me, dancing over my skin.
My fingertips tingled, and my ears were still ringing, but I could breathe again.
Metal clanged like chains falling free.
You’ve always been beautiful, but you’re even more beautiful with wings. Vad’s voice seeped into my consciousness, and the bond surged between us, making me feel whole once more.
But then one of the words he said repeated in my head.
Wings.
What was he talking about? I blinked and tried to look over my shoulder, but my vision swam with red, gold, and silver light. The buzzing in my ears dulled to a hum as my wolf settled within me, curling into place like she’d never left, her presence warm and steady.
A hand pressed against a strange part of me that I’d never felt before, and I jolted. Shock rippled through me as I moved unfamiliar muscles in my back. The red and gold fire drew away from my face.
And there was Vad.
He towered over me, shirtless, unchained, completely healed. His silver-gray eyes shimmered with something deeper than magic.
Taking my hand, he helped me to my feet. “How can you keep getting more and more perfect?”
At the sound of his voice, my heart cracked open.
“The same way you do,” I whispered, the bond between us thrumming so intensely I could hardly stand.
“Guys,” Ember said from behind Vad. “I’m thrilled to see you both doing well, but we’re in the middle of a battle. Good news, our magic is back. Bad news, so is everyone else’s."
Maniacal laughter came from outside the silver barrier from both Colm and Calla Lily. I'd recognize those horrible voices anywhere.
I watched as the two of them spread their wings and flew about the wolves. Colm’s smoky gray leather wings had shades of red, blue, and green. But what really stood out was Calla Lily’s. Her former pink leather wings were now dull pink, brick red, pale blue, and garbage green.
Colm removed two of the dark orbs from his jacket.
“I brought your family’s soulshard orbs with me to bash your skull in after ripping the dagger from your chest. But I only need one for that.
” Light reflected off his silver claw tips as he tossed one to Calla Lily.
“In case you need to strengthen your powers again, my love.”
Hot and cold spiraled within our link from both our rage and fear. The merlinite orb was given to him by Vad in exchange for my freedom. He must have located the other one while he’d taken over the palace.
What all can they do? I asked, though fearing the answer.
Given what he’s doing with magic and how their wings are now different, nothing good. This is likely some abomination that comes from siphoning off the essence and magic of other people combined with his constant push to advance his skills, Vad replied with his shadows whirling around him.
“We’ve got to help them.” Ember snatched her sword.
My attention snapped to the chaos beyond our protective shield.
Shadow wolves were tearing into guards, snarling and snapping.
Fireballs streaked across the hall as magic returned like a tidal wave.
A noblewoman levitated a guard into the air and slammed him into a column.
Two others conjured lightning. It was a battlefield of color and blood.
Ember charged forward, and Vad and I started to follow, but the silver barrier flashed up. We were trapped.
Vad put his arms around me, scowling. “What in the scaffing void?”
I put my hand out. “We have to get out there!” My wolf howled in response. Not in fear, but in warning.
Ember sprinted back toward us, her expression tight with urgency.
“Briar! Vad!” She slammed a fist against the barrier.
The shield flared and hurled her backward in a blast wave.
She collided with a wooden display shelf, sending severed heads to the ground with dull thuds. “It won’t let me back in!”
The earth groaned.
Cracks split the marble floor in jagged lines, spiderwebbing outward from the altar. The wolves stopped attacking, ears flat, eyes wary. One by one, they backed away from the dais, tails low.
“Vad, what’s happening?” I grabbed his arm, and the pulse of magic built under my skin. The silver shield around us brightened with every tremor. “Is this because of Colm?”
He couldn’t answer because the roar that followed stole every word. It wasn’t human. It wasn’t animal. It was raw power and judgment, echoing from the deepest bones of the world.
The massive stag appeared at the entrance to the Ceremonial Hall in front of the double doors. Light radiated from its antlers, casting shadows across the room as it moved forward. The ground trembled beneath its hooves, which cracked the broken tile with each step.
The room hushed. Even the wolves bowed their heads.
The stag’s eyes glowed ancient gold as they locked on mine.
My breath caught in my throat. Vad’s arms tightened around me.
In the far-right corner, the giant shadow wolf emerged, its hulking form swirling like smoke made flesh. Crimson eyes met mine, and my own wolf surged forward in my mind.
From the left corner of the hall strode the bear. Each lumbering step shook the hall to its foundations. Its footprints left traces of grass before it faded, and it shook its heavy head.
A hissing sound came from behind us. The sea serpent slid down the wall, its blue scales glistening and its eyes burning like gems.
The eagle screeched above, the rustle of wings making me tip my head back.
The air stirred as the massive golden eagle passed us.
The crimson dragon appeared as well with a roar.
The two circled us as the other four moved toward us with powerful intensity.
A humming vibration built around us, one that moved through my core.
The rubble and debris began to shake again.
The hairs on my neck and arms lifted. “They’re here for us.” My wolf shook her head and surged forward, barking and howling as if she had been waiting for this all along. She paced, urging me to shift.
Vad adjusted his grip on me, keeping me flush against him as the guardian beasts converged on us from all sides.
My dream, I linked to him. This is just like my dream.
Yeah? he linked back, his unease tightening our bond. And how did your dream end? With us dying?
Fear and excitement swept through me. No! It was—
The guardian beasts reached us in an explosion of light, color, and heat that burst in every direction like a shattered prism. The force knocked the breath from my lungs.
A strange, resonating pulse surged through my veins. The sound of it echoed in my bones. I blinked against the blinding glow, shielding my eyes.
When the light receded, the world looked sharper. Clearer. Changed.
I slowly pulled back from Vad’s embrace and stopped short.
The shadows of his wings had darkened dramatically, no longer wisps of ink but solid obsidian etched with silver veins, as if starlight had been forged directly into them. They moved with a life of their own, absorbing light instead of reflecting it.
“Vad…” I breathed.
He turned to me, his silver eyes burning bright, his gaze scanning every inch of me. Reverence softened his features as he lifted one hand to my shoulder and trailed his fingers to my wing.
“Briar.” His eyes widened. “Your wings... they’re beautiful.” His voice cracked with wonder. “It’s like… they became what they were always supposed to be.”
A tingle ran along my feathers, and I looked over my shoulder.
They weren’t the faint glowing lines they’d been before. Now they were fully formed, shimmering with fire and shadow swirled together, like the wings of my butterfly tattoos.