Twenty-One
T WENTY - O NE
ESTRELLA
Night fell.
The sound of creatures howling in the distance forced me to curl myself tighter into Fenrir’s side. Brann sat across from me and stared at me in the dark; even if I couldn’t see his gaze, I felt the weight of it.
Felt his focus on my torso, on the stab wound that leaked blood faster than I could prevent. The scent of it permeated my senses, lingering in the air around us. I knew that the creatures of Tartarus could smell me. They smelled the blood of a living being, the real kind of blood they couldn’t gain from those who were already dead.
I was prime prey.
Something growled, far closer than they had been before. Fenrir stood, nudging me with his snout. The female wolves lingered not far, their growls meeting those that came in the distance. I forced my eyes to close, sinking into that hollow within me where there was no pain. Allowing Fenrir to help me to my feet, I absorbed the complete and utter darkness surrounding me.
Night in Tartarus wasn’t just dark. It was the complete and total absence of all light. Without a fire to guide my way, I stumbled into Fenrir’s side and winced as a fresh flow of blood trickled down over my hand.
The creatures of the night were drawn to my blood, the scent reaching them across the distance. I would only bring harm to the others, but particularly to Brann who was next to defenseless here. I needed to leave him, but couldn’t bear to say goodbye again.
“Estrella,” Brann said, his voice coming from the void around me. He stumbled around in the darkness, searching for me and tripping over the stones lining our way.
I didn’t dare to move, holding perfectly still until his fingers brushed against mine. He threaded those fingers through my own, lacing our hands together so that I could feel his lack of a pulse against my hand. My own beat so quickly I could barely hear past it, the steady thrum of blood roaring through my veins.
“Don’t you dare say it,” I snapped, shaking my head side to side even though I knew he could not see it.
He squeezed my hand, lending me the strength I didn’t have. “You have to go. Fenrir can outrun them,” he said, and the biggest wolf curled his head around my shoulder, nuzzling into me to offer a silent confirmation.
“You can ride Lupa,” I said, gesturing to the other wolf. Brann was larger than me, but she was still big enough to carry his weight.
Lupa growled in response, telling me exactly what she thought of that suggestion.
“A wolf only has one rider,” Brann said sadly, and I felt his fingers brush against my cheek. They were wet with the blood he’d gotten from touching my hand, my scent all over him. “And I am not hers.”
“You could be,” I argued, even knowing it was useless. “She hasn’t chosen one yet.”
Even if I had no clue if the words were true, they felt it. Fenrir did not object.
“She cannot choose someone who is just a soul, Estrella,” Brann said, his bloodstained hand cupping my cheek.
I paused, the distinct burn of tears in my throat making it hard to find the words. Life was forcing me to choose, to separate from my brother knowing it was the best choice for my mate, or to stick together and risk it all trying to protect Brann.
Him or Caldris.
Because if I died here, my mate would follow soon after.
It wasn’t a choice at all.
“I don’t want to lose you again,” I said, but the weakness in my voice was the first sign of my lack of options. I would give anything, sacrifice anyone, to save Caldris.
Even Brann.
“ We must hurry ,” Fenrir said into my head, his body snapping taut. He went alert, preparing for the attack we both knew approached.
“I have protected you in all your lives,” Brann said, his voice soft enough to make me wish I could see it. See him one last time. “Allow me to do it one last time.”
A strangled sob erupted from my throat as he released my hand, the slow glide of his fingers pulling through mine making my heart ache. It left a stain, an imprint on my soul that I would never release—the day I chose my love and my purpose over protecting my brother.
It wasn’t only Caldris who waited for me in Tar Mesa. It wasn’t only him who needed me to return and help them fight a war.
“Go back to your body. Go find a happy corner and live out your life in peace like you wanted,” I said, the words soft as he took a few steps backward.
“No,” Brann contradicted me, shaking his head. “I’ll meet you in the Cradle. If you are determined to do this, then you won’t do it alone.”
“ He will not die here ,” Fenrir said, the reminder sharp and meant to soothe me. Brann stepped away, the sound of his footsteps fading as he moved in the other direction. The steps came slowly at first, as if he hesitated to leave me, but eventually they increased in pace.
He ran, leaving me in the darkness behind him. He was a part of Tartarus, and he would rise once again when the phoenix flew overhead when she returned the flames to the land.
Lupa stepped up behind me, placing her nose beneath me and using it to lift me onto Fenrir’s back as he lowered. I did my best to pull myself into position, laying my weight atop his and sinking a hand into the fur at the side of his neck. I gripped it tightly as he stood, rising to his full height.
The sound of wings fluttering nearby was my only confirmation of the Morrigan taking their raven form, soaring overhead to avoid the creatures coming for me.
Fenrir walked forward, offering me a silent warning that I should hold tight. His gait increased to a trot, and then an outright sprint. The sounds of Lupa and Ylfa running beside us brought me comfort as I stared into the darkness, doing everything in my power to keep my eyes open.
I wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and give into the weakness plaguing my limbs, but I couldn’t.
“If the phoenix will bring Brann back in the morning, wouldn’t she bring me back, too?” I asked, the sleepy sound of my voice jarring even me.
“ You are not a part of this place ,” Fenrir said, the words growled in my mind. Despite how quickly he ran, he did not sound even remotely out of breath.
I hugged Fenrir tighter, snuggling the side of my face into his fur as Brann’s screams of pain ripped through the night. I’d never be the same after hearing them, not knowing if I could have saved him. Turning my back on him was something I never could have imagined, never picturing a life without him in it.
The uncle to my children one day. The protector I’d never asked for that I couldn’t get rid of.
I didn’t know if I’d ever get to see him and my mate argue over my well-being, and while that might have seemed like an inconvenience to deal with a few hours before, now I wanted it more than anything.
I drowned out the sound of his screams as the wolves ran with a quiet hum in my head, even knowing that Fenrir could hear the pathetic noise. His body rumbled with a deep purr-like growl, as if he was answering a song that no one else could hear.
Brann’s screams stopped finally, and the silence was deafening for more than one reason.
There was only one place the monsters would go next, one more meal to hunt with the scent of my blood more clearly imprinted on their senses than ever.
They were coming for me, and I would be able to do nothing to help the Cwn Annwn fight them off.
Fenrir leapt over a boulder, jarring me on his back as I clung on for dear life. The creatures at his back blended into the darkness, but I could feel them closing in on us. I could practically feel their breath beating down my neck as Fenrir fought to move faster.
The Morrigan flew overhead, their caws sounding out warnings. Fenrir moved in tune with those noises, as if he understood the instructions in them. Ylfa and Lupa ran at our sides, fighting for just a little more time. They defended us against any of the creatures who braved Fenrir’s wrath to come at his flank, taking them down one by one.
They’d fought for hours, their exhaustion finally catching up with them. We’d lose precious time to sleeping during the day if we survived the night, all of us needing to take whatever opportunity we could to rest.
“Look out!” I called, the dimmest lights of the fires swirling behind us as dawn broke out.
Fenrir jumped to the left, loosening my grip as he bucked me to the side to avoid the gnarled hand that reached for me. The creature missed only barely, his claws raking down Fenrir’s spine as the wolf howled in pain. That same hand struck me in the side, knocking me farther sideways until my only remaining grip slipped through Fenrir’s fur.
“ Neamhai! ” his panicked voice called as I tumbled off his side, rolling onto the red earth where it had only just begun to illuminate. The creature behind me snarled, skidding to a stop as Fenrir collapsed beneath his own weight.
I rolled over in the dirt, wincing in pain as I shoved my hands into the earth and forced myself to my knees. The creature spun for me, but it was the mass of red streaming down Fenrir’s back that I couldn’t take my eyes off of.
I stood slowly, staggering to the side as I reached over my head and pulled my swords from their sheath. The creature stood on its back legs, rolling its neck as it ran straight toward me. It was an almost-human motion, a reliever of tension right before devouring its meal.
I forced my legs shoulder width apart, leading with my blades as I waited for the impact I knew was coming.
Ylfa charged the creature, slamming into its side and knocking it off course as Lupa jumped on its back. She wrapped her teeth around the creature’s neck, sinking her teeth deep as blood poured down its chest. I kept my distance as long as I could, watching them grapple with the creature as two more closed in.
The phoenix was nowhere to be found, the sky clear of all things that flew except for the Morrigan where they circled overhead, swooping down to claw at the creature and offer brief moments of distraction.
I turned my attention to the coming wave of creatures, swallowing as I readied myself for what was sure to be my death. I glanced toward where Fenrir bled on the ground, attempting to get to his feet and falling beneath his weight each time.
Putting one foot in front of the other, I positioned myself between him and the coming creatures. He whimpered as he looked back at me, the pleading in his eyes nearly melting my resolve. “ Run , you foolish girl. ”
But there was no force to the command, because he knew as well as I did that I wouldn’t make it ten steps before they descended upon me.
The creatures came, running forward in a wave of terrifying skin and teeth, of fur and claws that would tear me in two. I met the beady red eyes of the one closest to me, determined to take him down with me as I raised my swords to position.
I drew in a deep breath, letting the air fill my lungs as the phoenix cried in the distance.
Too far.
She would never reach me before they devoured me.
Even if she had, this was not something I could overcome. It was not something the Cwn Annwn and I could fight at once.
This was the end.
The creatures came forward until I could make out every line of fur on their skin, only slowing when a group of basilisks slithered over the ground. They moved as one unit, all six of them coming to rest in front of me. The creatures charging me tried to stop, their feet and paws skidding over the ground.
The basilisks rose up onto their tails, their bodies leaving the ground as they shifted into something else. What had once been a single tail split into two legs, the scales fading off in favor of scaled armor and boots. The figures of six women came into being, from their feet up to their heads. The hair on their heads writhed, moving as if it was alive as it came into view and the scales of the basilisks fell to the earth.
“ Do not look, Neamhai ,” Fenrir said, using that name once again. “ Just to be safe. ”
Celestial one.
One by one, the creatures froze in place, expressions of terror trapped on their faces. Starting from the area surrounding their eyes, skin cracked and fur hardened.
The creatures turned to stone, blending in with the red earth below their feet. Plants lingered in the distance, offering a bright pop of green to an otherwise monochromatic landscape.
The creatures became statues, unmoving and part of the earth. The sheer number of them when they were stone took my breath away, but I couldn’t stop to think about what the implication of that meant as the phoenix finally flew overhead.
His call echoed through me, making me gasp as the wound in my stomach gushed with blood anew. The skin warmed but didn’t heal, but Fenrir pushed to his feet with a whimper. His gaze was cast toward the ground, his stare not meeting the basilisks as his back healed.
I kept my gaze firmly rooted to the ground, wincing when one of the women stepped around me. Her boots filled my vision, the scales on her pants intricate and fascinating. She touched a finger beneath my chin, grasping me there and applying pressure to raise my head.
I closed my eyes as she moved my head to face her, squeezing them closed in desperation. What had been the point in saving me if she wanted to turn me to stone?
“Open your eyes, Little Serpent,” she said, the voice low and melodic. Something in that voice called to me, making me want to obey her. I wrinkled my nose, keeping my eyes closed out of spite. “You have nothing to fear from usss.”
I believed her. Believed the honesty in her voice.
“ Estrella…” Fenrir warned, the irritated sound of him in my head doing nothing to dissuade me.
The woman pressed two firm hands into my wound, her touch cold compared to the flaming heat of the wound. I screamed out as I tried to shove her back, but she held firm. My eyes flew open and found the eyes of a snake within the face of a beautiful woman. A Gorgon, I realized, my gaze darting over the snakes slithering around her head. They reached toward me, lingering close to my face as if scenting me. She accepted a scrap of cloth from one of the others, wrapping it tightly around my waist into a bandage to help contain my bleeding.
“Welcome home, Estrella Barlowe,” the woman said, and I felt Fenrir’s sigh of relief at my back. Lupa and Ylfa nuzzled my side, keeping their gaze averted as I stared into the eyes of the Gorgon woman.
But I didn’t turn to stone.
I turned to Fenrir, my mind dancing with questions. He’d suspected I would turn to stone like the others, so why hadn’t I?
“You can never be too cautious, Neamhai.”