67. Chapter 67
Chapter 67
Gray
F lashes of fire flickered in the distance, lighting up the sky again and again in bright orange bursts of immense power. With every flash, Gray’s heart stuttered, wondering if it had been aimed at Lea. If she had dodged it. Or if… No. He couldn’t even think the words. She had to be okay. Surely he would feel it if she were hurt. That his body would echo her pain.
The clatter of swords made Gray pause, and he dodged left to avoid a group of soldiers locked in battle, their fighting spreading to where he fought the fenrir. The giant wolves fanned out, just as determined to keep the soldiers away from Lea as they were to keep Gray from getting to her.
He used the chaos to his advantage. Again and again, Gray sliced through their necks, desperate to get to Lea, blood spattering across his face and clothes until he was certain he looked as if he had bathed in it. But still, they continued their attack, just as desperate to stop him. His shadows fought alongside him, pushing the wolves back until a gap appeared between them.
He raced toward it, a smaller, tan wolf snapping at his heels. He grabbed it by the scruff of its neck with his shadows and ripped it away, venturing on as more soldiers appeared, taking his place and continuing the fight.
"That way!" Janelle called, catching his attention. He scanned the battleground, his soldiers locked in intense fights with the fenrir all around him, until he saw a flash of purple hair sticking out in the chaos. "Around that way!" she said again, gesturing to her right.
Gray wasted no time. He surged forward, dodging the fighting and slipping into the trees, somehow avoiding detection. Another bright flash of fire lit up the sky, and in the flicker of light, a lake appeared in the distance. He raced toward it, certain that if he could just make it to the fiery battle he was witnessing glimpses of, he would find Lea.
His heart raced as he got closer, his skin prickling with electricity, confirming that his mate was near. He could feel her fury—her power. She was alive.
The trees thinned as he neared the lake, and through them, Gray saw a wall of fire towering at least thirty feet high. Gray shot his shadows forward, pushing them through the massive flames, reaching out with all he had as he searched for his wife. His everything.
"Lea!" he roared, his heart hammering so hard his ribcage hurt, but he didn’t stop. He pushed more magic into his shadows, commanding them to part the flames. Through a gap in the fiery wall, Lea appeared, Alaric's sword pressed against hers as he pushed it down toward her neck, and standing over them was Eudora, her mouth moving in an incessant chant as Lea crumbled beneath the weight of Alaric’s force.
“No!” he screamed, panic surging up his throat as he tried to close the distance, but he was too far to reach her. "Lea!" he screamed again, his voice amplifying as it spread over the lake. Eudora’s head snapped toward him, her eyes flaring with fury as they met his. As if they were nothing, she shoved his shadows parting the flames away, snapping the wall of fire closed once more.