Through the Blizzard
Sienna
The storm is getting worse, the freezing wind biting through my clothes. Jayce is holding my hand tightly. I glance up at him as he scans our surroundings.
“You’re bleeding,” I say, suddenly realising he’s got blood beneath his collar.
“It’s nothing,” he says curtly.
I shake my head. “You must have gotten it when we crashed. Let me heal it.”
“Reserve your energy; we’re going to need it,” he murmurs.
I nod; I get what he means. We’re alone; we had searched the wreckage and tried to search for any life nearby, but failed, although the witches on board could have cast concealment spells.
Our Schattensichts are still not working.
“Do you think they’re together?” I ask quietly after several minutes of silence.
Jayce’s jaw tightens. “I hope so.”
“Do you think everyone made it?” I ask quietly.
“I’m sure they did… If anything happened to Dad, I would have become Alpha, and Leo’s too fucking stubborn to die. The witches can protect themselves…”
“And Ace and Jax?” I ask quietly.
Jayce doesn’t speak, clenching his jaw. “Let’s hope Raihana managed to protect them.” He glances at me, his expression softening slightly. “I’m sorry.”
I raise my eyebrow, confused. “For what?”
“For this.” His eyes scan the blizzard ahead. “You should be home right now. Not out here.”
I smile and move closer to him. “You’re home,” I say softly as I reach up, cupping his face and forcing him to look at me. “We’re going to be ok.”
He pulls me close, and I inhale deeply, welcoming what little warmth I can from him. They have to all be ok: Ahren, Heaven, Aunty, Uncle Liam, Uncle Leo… Everyone. Please be ok.
“Still…” he murmurs.
“I mean it,” I whisper, tilting my head up and looking at him. “As long as I’m with you, I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
But even without him saying anything, I can sense the fear and worry from within him.
For me.
For our pup.
“Well then, let’s get through this, so home can be a safer place,” he says quietly, making me giggle.
I nod. “I like the sound of that.”
With a little more resilience and determination, we keep moving. Jayce is leading, but I also know he’s going in the right direction. I can sense the dome’s energy, although I still can’t see it.
We’re just going to have to keep moving. I glance over my shoulder, wondering about the rest.
I’m not sure how much time has passed; all I know is it has to have been over an hour, if not two. I can feel my wolf’s unease, feel the energy shifting in the air, and Jayce is on alert.
He suddenly stops.
“What is it?” I ask.
Jayce looks ahead sharply before his grip on my hand tightens.
“The dome is in sight,” Jayce murmurs as he climbs over a high mound of snow and holds a hand out to me. Taking it, he pulls me up, and I turn, following his gaze.
My stomach drops.
Even through the storm, it’s visible now. What we can see of the dome is pulsating. Dark energy ripples violently across its surface, almost like cracks spreading through glass before disappearing again. Every pulse sends pressure through the air strong enough that it affects the storm around it.
“Something really messed with it,” Jayce says quietly.
I nod. “Yeah, but what? It was impenetrable…”
He doesn’t respond, not having an answer, and we begin moving again; the weather is getting more vicious the closer we get to it. Although it is still quite far away, we can only see the tip, and it’s already chaotic.
“I can fly us closer,” I say quietly.
“You’re not carrying me,” Jayce says instantly.
I smile. “Why not?” I ask, smiling despite myself.
He frowns at me, and I giggle. “Come on,” I whisper. “I mean, I could use magic, but I need to reserve that, right?” I blink innocently, only to have to wipe snow off me.
“Carrying me takes strength, too,” he says in a clipped tone. “I’ll shift. You can fly.”
“Fine,” I say with a smile before my wings explode from my back.
“Sexy.” I look at him, my heart skipping a beat as he stands there, a smirk on his face as he looks me over. “Come here.”
I step closer to him, and he grips my waist, pulling me close, and touches his forehead to mine. I take a deep, calming breath; his touch, his presence – they’re soothing.
“We’re going to be ok,” he says softly yet firmly, his voice still reaching me despite the howling of the wind.
I nod as I tilt my head up, and we kiss deeply before we slowly step apart and he shifts into his magnificent wolf. I brush my fingers through his hair as I break into a run and take flight. Jayce runs several feet beneath me, and we stay level as we head towards the dome.
The closer we get, the stronger the pull in my chest becomes, too, like something inside the dome is calling to me.
Remember, do not act on your own, Jayce’s voice comes into my head.
Alright, so bossy, I reply through the mind-link.
Right now? Absolutely.
Warmth fills me despite the situation, and I smile.
Yes, Alpha. I’ll be a good girl. Movement suddenly catches my attention, my heart skipping a beat. Jayce, there’s something ahead.
Careful, he warns as we both slow down.
I am. I’m going to fly higher to see.
Is our cover safe?
Yes, I reassure him softly as I fly a little higher to get a better look. I can see the wall of the dome and frown. It’s people.
Ours or…?
Jayce leaves his sentence open as I peer through the blizzard, taking in the black armour, the insignia on their chests, and my stomach twists.
The Indomitable. It’s them, without a doubt…
I frown as I try to sense the magic seeping beneath their feet and into the ground. I frown. Wait, is that magic coming from the dome, or entering it?
How many? Jayce asks.
A few dozen. I can’t tell what they’re doing, but it looks like they have a purpose; it’s not just a scouting round.
Let’s try to head to the outpost; we’re not far from it. We might find something there, Jayce says.
How he knows we’re close to the base in this storm is beyond me, but I trust his skills as I begin following him.
Got it, I reply as I push away the unease.
We travel swiftly and silently, keeping our auras reigned in despite the concealment magic. We’re close to the dome, and I can feel it messing with my magic, but I keep focused, keeping it strong.
We finally reach the outpost we were stationed at, and I still, staring at the destroyed barracks and the empty ruins of the Dauntless base.
Prince Mikhail would never abandon this place willingly, so what happened?
Jayce shifts back, and I land on the ground, looking around. “We stay hidden, but let’s see if we can find anything,” he says quietly.
I nod before strengthening the concealment spell around us again. Magic flickers through my veins weakly, exhaustion pulling at me harder now. It’s eating up my magic faster.
Jayce notices instantly as he moves closer and places a hand on my lower back. “Are you alright?”
I nod. “I’m fine.”
His eyes narrow slightly.
I sigh softly. “I have plenty of magic sealed,” I reassure him honestly.
He studies me for a second before his gaze briefly lowers towards my stomach. The protectiveness that surges through the bond almost makes my chest hurt.
“You need rest.” He glances at his Schattensicht. “We’ve been travelling for over three hours.”
“We’re in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the Indomitable; we can’t rest now.”
His jaw tightens, and he looks at me with that firm expression which means he isn’t budging on this one. “You are not risking yourself out here. You need rest,” he says firmly.
I look down. “Then it’s best we keep moving, because it’s the magic that’s draining me.
I see his expression drop, the worry and concern seeping into his eyes.
I step closer to him and place a hand on his chest. “You know,” I whisper softly, trying to calm him, “For someone who spent such a long time pretending not to love me, you’re very intense about it now.”
He looks at me, conflicted, before he smirks faintly.
As much as he wants me to take a break, if I lower my shield, we’ll instantly be discovered. If the Indomitable have witches here, the only reason we haven’t been caught is because of the power of the dome that messes with everything else.
“And for that I am sorry. I should’ve told you sooner,” he says quietly.
“Told me what?”
“That I loved you.” My heart thumps at his words as he brushes his thumb across my cheek.
“Good, so let’s get this done. I am ok. If it gets too much, I will tell you; this baby is my priority, too.”
He nods and smiles, causing warmth to flood through me despite the freezing cold around us.
I lean up instinctively, kissing him softly, and for a moment, everything else disappears.
The storm.
The fear.
The dome.
Everything.
His hand slides down my waist as he deepens the kiss, but before I can melt into it entirely, something in the air changes, and we pull apart.
Before either of us can say anything, an immense pressure slams down on us as wave after wave of power slams through the sky. My heart thunders as I realise it’s a barrier. One that covers the entire dome and the area surrounding it for miles.
My heart thumps, wondering who has such immense power...
A cold feeling crawls down my spine, and I reach out for Jayce, but another immense wave slams through the air, and Jayce wraps his arms around me as we’re thrown to the ground. I hear the dome hum violently, my ears ringing as I flinch from the excruciating sound.
And then I feel it.
A power as sinister as the first time I felt it.
My heart pounds as I turn, sensing him.
“Come out, Deimos King, I feel you.” The voice carries clearly through the storm. Jayce moves me behind him as he emerges through the storm near the dome, his dark coat moving violently in the wind, whilst power rolls off him heavily enough to make the air feel suffocating.
The figure stops.
Even from this distance, I feel his gaze on us, like he already knows exactly where we are despite the concealment spell.
His eyes glint dangerously from behind the mask he wears.
And my stomach drops completely.
Vincenzo.
Every instinct inside me screams that this man is dangerous.
Jayce’s hand tightens around mine painfully, and I can sense his fear seep through a tiny crack in the bond; not because he’s scared of him, but because he fears for my life, for my safety.
Not because he fears Vincenzo.
Because of me.
We need to leave. Right now, I whisper through the mind-link.
There’s nowhere to go, Jayce replies calmly despite his inner turmoil, his now-blue eyes fixed on Vincenzo.
And he’s right.
We’re trapped.