Chapter Sixty-Five
Castor Aegaeon
“You ready?” Daxton asked me.
“Let’s make this journey a quick one, shall we?”
My brother nodded as we joined Skylar and Shaw, who were waiting at the bottom of the hill at the border of the wilt. Zola was no longer within the vicinity, and I could only imagine that Skylar was interrogating her beta for more information.
“For now,” Shaw said as we approached. “We’ll have to wait and see what becomes of it.”
“I’m—” Skylar’s expression dropped, almost as if she could feel Shaw’s emotions as her own. “I’m sorry, Shaw.”
“It’s not a rejection, Sky,” Shaw answered. “And with everything that’s happening, I would be concerned if she didn’t react this way. It took almost four months for you to accept your feelings and even imagine that a mate bond with Daxton was possible.”
“True,” Skylar said, looking at my brother, a spark igniting in her amber eyes in a special way reserved only for him. Turning her gaze, she asked, “So you’re all right, Shaw?”
Crossing his arms, Shaw looked over the camp. “I have something to fight for beyond today. Something that I know will be worth the wait.”
Hmm, perhaps Shaw was a perfect match for Zola after all. He would need that blessed patience to understand her.
“All right, I don’t see a pathway. Is there a magic incantation we need to say to make it appear?” I said in a mocking tone, waving my fingers at the wilt.
“Seriously, Castor?” Skylar clicked her tongue, making me chuckle.
I always enjoyed ruffling her feathers.
Our champion strode forward, reaching to unsheathe the alpha’s dagger from her back.
The blade was humming with magic, similar to her armor and Daxton’s sword.
It seemed plain, yet power lay embedded within the ancient steel.
Magic was utilized to forge this weapon and give it a purpose beyond our comprehension.
Skylar raised the blade to her palm and sliced her hand.
Daxton tensed, being the overbearing male he was despite his mate’s independence, as Skylar kneeled on the wilted earth and placed her bleeding palm on the ground.
Once her blood trickled onto the dying earth, the blood of the shifter champion, a pathway appeared.
Not just a clearing, a gods-damned pathway with thriving, living, no longer decaying land.
Gasps erupted behind us as a trail of green grass and living trees appeared, leading directly to the volcano’s base on the far side of the wilted territory.
No longer was the soil black on this magical trail.
It was alive with bursts of white flowers embedded in the moss and leaves of long-forgotten trees blooming in the sunlight.
It was as if the forest was never dead, just sleeping.
Waiting for someone to simply come and awaken it from a forced slumber, or perhaps more accurately, a nightmare.
“Come on,” Skylar said, stepping onto the path as more flowers and fresh patches of grass sprang to life in her presence. She turned and cocked her hip to the side, impatiently waiting for us to join her. “Are you surprised? I told you a pathway would appear.”
I muttered to myself, “Not this type of path.”
Her blood healed the land. I had expected some trees to part, granting us an opening, but I did not expect the fucking forest to awaken back to life.
Daxton was the first to join Skylar, with Shaw close behind. I skeptically took my time, seeing if any trickery was lying about in disguise.
“Do you want me to shift to keep a better lookout, Skylar?” Shaw asked.
“That may draw too much attention for now,” she answered. “Besides, you’d take up most of the space on the trail.”
“Let’s not waste any more time. Move out,” Daxton’s voice commanded, following Skylar’s lead with Shaw in tow.
I felt a calming presence flood my center, and I forced myself not to turn and find the source of my tranquility.
If I did, I wouldn’t be able to follow the others.
Knowing Nyssa was here and had braved returning to the wilt after what she endured for centuries inspired me to confront my lingering fears.
So, I sprinted off after the others without looking back.
The plan was simple. We were to follow this pathway until we were too tired or far enough in the wilted area for Daxton to use his magic to teleport us the remaining distance.
No words were spoken as the four of us pounded our feet against the greenery, surrounded by the looming decay outside our route.
As the hours passed and our trek farther into the wilt progressed, my magic swirled inside me with unease.
The flashes of visions threatened to overtake me and pull me under.
I never fared well inside the wilt. Dark magic pressed against my senses as if someone held my head between their hands and slowly began compressing my skull.
Over time, I mastered my ability to control the minor flashes of looming death and the continuous unease that came with it. When Skylar and I charged in to save Daxton, the pull of my visions was constant. It still drained my concentration to keep them at bay.
The smell of decay in this land was putrid despite the thriving greenery beneath our feet.
I dared to run closer to the edge of the pathway to test the confines of the barrier separating us from the dark magic.
As I suspected, the pull intensified, and I jumped back to the center behind the others.
Thankfully, my head cleared, and I could focus on keeping my visions at bay.
“You all right?” Shaw asked me as he slowed his strides to match my own.
“Is it that obvious?” I whispered so Daxton and Skylar would not hear me from up ahead.
“I’m observant,” Shaw stated plainly, his breathing steady despite our thunderous pace.
“It’s the wilt,” I said as we continued to run. “My gifts allow me to foresee imminent death, and in this place, it tends to happen more often than not.”
Shaw nodded in understanding, his mind calculating as he narrowed his eyes and scanned our surroundings as we continued.
“It won’t be easy,” I said, “with her.” Shaw didn’t break his stride. “The wilt—”
“I’m aware,” Shaw answered. “I may be young, but I have seen and lived through my fair share of horrors in this life. I understand what many will thankfully never experience.”
I stared at the male at my side, surprised by his reply.
“Death does not scare me. I’ve fought through that seed of darkness that attempted to engulf my soul. I was molded into a survivor and became a fighter. My mate—” He paused as we bounded over a fallen tree. “My mate has lived through this and more.”
“She has,” I said as our feet landed on the grass, returning to our run.
“Zola has taken on the dark magic of the wilt and morphed it into a weapon to use for good despite its cruel nature.”
“You see Zola’s marks and abilities as a strength.”
Shaw nodded. “I don’t know her as you do, but my soul, my animal… Zola seems to be the answer to all my questions.”
“You’re an old soul,” I said with a humorless laugh.
“Not the first time I’ve heard that. Come on, we’d better keep up with Sky and Dax.”
Glancing ahead, I could see Skylar gliding across skewed boulders with Daxton only steps behind her, their focus fixated on what looked to be a clearing five miles or so down the trail.
Sweat coated our brows as our breathing became labored from the exertion, but the look of determination never left our champion’s face.
“Stop here,” Daxton announced, turning toward me and Shaw.
My breath heaved as I reached for my canteen.
I relished in the clean, rejuvenating water that coated my cracked throat.
My legs were taxed from the hours racing through the wilt, but I was still ready for more.
I offered the canteen to the shifter male at my side, who accepted the offer and finished the remaining contents as he leaned against the trunk of a barren tree just off the green pathway.
My attention drifted to Skylar, who stood with her back toward us, her eyes locked on the looming volcano in the distance. The setting sun kissed her face as it dared to dip below the horizon.
“From here?” Skylar asked Daxton. “Is this far enough?”
“Yes,” Daxton answered.
Thank the Gods above.