Chapter Sixteen
“Iolani, wake up! We have to do this now!” The urgency in Jazriel’s voice sent terror through me, and I bolted upright.
“What’s going on?” I found Jazriel’s glowing eyes in the dark room.
“The solar flares came a day earlier than expected. They are strong, so we should do this now.” His hand squeezed mine. “You’re strong and can handle this.”
“Let’s go,” I whispered, kicking my legs free of the blanket and moving to dress in jeans and a shirt.
As I slipped on my hiking boots, I noticed the door between my room and August’s was ajar. I finished tying my boot laces and pushed the door open wider, searching for the gryphon. His bed hadn’t been slept in, and the room was empty.
Pale moonlight streamed through the glass door, landing on a piece of paper on the bed.
Picking it up, I unfolded the single sheet and read.
Iolani,
I’ve left, and this time I won’t be coming back.
It’s unfair for me to keep disappearing and reappearing in your life. I see the hope in your eyes that I will stay. You are beauty and sunshine, gentle and fragile. All the things I am not, and if I stay, I will only hurt you.
Thank you for the time we spent together. These days have been the best of my life and I will treasure them.
I had nothing to offer you, so was unworthy to be your mate, but please know, I will be faithful to you until my dying breath.
The pegasus is crazy, but he will protect you. But maybe you two should live in a city, away from wildlife. It would be safer for you.
August
I crumpled the paper and tossed it on the bed, then thought better of it and smoothed the paper. This was a letter I would probably reread hundreds of times.
Tears leaked down my cheeks. He had truly left this time, and he’d done it without giving me a chance to say goodbye.
“Because he knew you could convince him to stay.” Jazriel pulled me to my feet and hugged me.
I would have time to grieve this loss later, but it was time to focus on my job. Closing my eyes, I called on the magic that the first phoenix had used to create me—for the sole purpose of protecting those who relied on me and keeping Cucalas safe.
I’d never failed, and tonight would be no exception.
Wiping my eyes, I straightened my spine and drew my royalty around me.
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Opening the glass balcony door, we stepped outside and spread our wings. I needed to be away from prying eyes and distractions. With a nod, we took to the cool night sky.
I kneeledin damp forest floor in a small meadow. Towering trees circled us, and looking up, I could see a star-studded sky.
“How can I help you without getting in your way?” Jazriel asked.
I pulled off my shirt. “Put your hands on my shoulders. The skin-to-skin contact should make it easier for me to pull the energy I need.”
Without questioning me, Jazriel rested his palms on my shoulders. “I’m going to start drawing energy from the flares. Are you ready?”
Taking a deep breath, I released it, along with all my doubts and tension. “I’m ready.”
Clearing my thoughts, I buried my fingers in the dirt. I called my magic, letting it build in my chest, but not releasing it. My skin began to glow as my body struggled to hold on to the ball of energy.
With a shout, I released the magic. It spread out from me like ripples around a stone dropped in a pond. The veil wobbled dangerously, and my stomach clenched when I realized how close we were cutting it.
Once my magic connected with the veil between the world I ruled and the world I was currently in, I began pouring my magic into it. The veil soaked up the energy like a plant in a drought.
Digging deep, I continued to send magic surging into it. Fire spread across my skin as my temperature climbed and I blinked away the sweat burning my eyes.
I was giving my all, but it was a drop in the bucket of what I needed. It was time to accept my mate’s help.
Finding our bond, I opened myself fully to him. Untamed energy blasted into me, ricochetting around inside my body and burning what it touched. The sudden shock of pain caused me to lose focus, and the veil began to wobble.
No, no, no!
I refused to lose the progress I’d made. Ignoring the searing pain, I focused on letting Jazriel’s magic surge straight through me and into the veil. This worked, and the steady flow of powerful energy began weaving through the very fabric of the veil.
I was so thrilled I barely paid attention to the scent of smoke in my nose and the way my lungs struggled to inflate. Fire had never been a danger for me, but this level of pure solar energy was unlike any power I’d touched before.
A knife sliced across my arm, and I hissed in pain. A heartbeat later, it sliced my cheek, and then my bare stomach. Looking down, I stared in confusion at the trickle of blood dripping down my abdomen.
“Something is here. It bears the mark of your magic, but beneath that, it is pure malevolence,” Jazriel whispered.
“Azurea,” I said through clenched teeth, still trying to keep focused so the flow of magic wouldn’t be disrupted. “I thought she might come, but I didn’t think she would have found enough energy to launch a physical attack.”
Azurea’s invisible nails sliced into my thigh, and a moment later raked across my breasts. I could fight her, but that would mean losing focus on the veil and possibly undoing the work that had been done.
“I can’t direct my power at her while funneling energy from the sun or I could destroy this entire state. What do you want me to do?” Jazriel asked, his voice strained.
“Focus on the energy and ignore her.” Clenching my jaw to keep from crying out, I let the soulless phoenix continue to tear at my flesh.
I could heal myself later. It was more important that I fixed the veil.
Realizing her attack wasn’t going to stop me from stabilizing the veil, Azurea switched tactics.
Jazriel jerked behind me, cursing from the pain of her ghost claws. The magic pouring through our bond flickered, then Jazriel’s fingers gripped my shoulders tighter.
Growling at the effort, Jazriel sent a flood of energy washing through me and straight into the veil. Minute by minute, the veil grew stronger.
Wind began whipping around us, and growing in strength until the tree at the edge of the meadow began to bend and shake. Sticks and pebbles pelted our bodies, but still we fed energy into the veil.
Azurea’s screams of fury tore at my ears. We were winning, and she wasn’t going to stop us. She redoubled her efforts, this time releasing all her rage on my mate.
I wasn’t sure how things worked for me since I wasn’t a typical phoenix, but she was probably hoping that by killing my mate, she could kill me too. Permanently.
Closing my eyes, I reached for every bit of power I possessed and sent a blast of solar energy into the veil, while simultaneously sending my fire to encircle every inch of Jazriel’s body and wings. Blue flames burst into the sky, showering glowing blue embers around us. It spread across the meadow, turning the grass to ash, and racing up the tree trunks.
Azurea released an inhuman screech as she slammed into the shield. Over and over, she tried to get him, growing angrier with each attempt.
Then the wind ceased, and the meadow was unnaturally silent.
Jazriel dropped to his knees behind me, but kept his hands on my shoulders. I touched him with the magic guarding him and realized he was on the verge of collapse, but was too stubborn to tell me.
The woven tapestry strengthening the veil was nearing completion, but I needed more time. I was trying to figure out how to cut off the flow from Jazriel before he burned out, while protecting him and also finding the power to finish.
An eery laugh whispered in the wind, and I braced myself for her next attack. I wasn’t prepared for the crack of gunfire and the bullet that pierced my shoulder.
“Ah!” I cried out, biting down on my tongue at the shock of white-hot agony.
“You aren’t going to win!” I screamed to the phoenix who’d tossed my mercies back into my face.
I felt the bullet pierce my chest before I heard the gunshot. Jazriel’s wings wrapped around me, and his head dropped against my shoulder.
His heart beat was erratic, and win or lose, it was time to end this.
I touched Jazriel’s skin and whispered in his mind, Sleep, love.
He was too weak to fight the telepathic command, and his muscles went limp. The solar power ceased as though a switch had been flipped, but I was ready.
Latching onto the living magic in my chest, I began to drain it into the veil, not giving it a chance to waver. If I was lucky, the veil would stabilize before I drained my very soul.
My vision blurred, and a wave of dizziness caused nausea to churn in my stomach. I bit down on my tongue, using the pain to keep me alert. Gunfire cracked, and a bullet whistled by my head.
Blood pounded in my ears as my rage grew. Wasn’t it enough that I had to deal with a crazy soulless phoenix and a veil that could implode and take out a world or two? Why did I have to deal with a sniper, too?
Where had he come from, anyway? Had one of the men holding Jazriel escaped and followed us here?
My heart stuttered as I continued to push my magic into the veil, and the blue fire around me flickered to its unsteady beat. A visual representation of my internal fire going out.
I just hoped I’d have enough magic to revive. Otherwise, it would fall to Amaryllis to destroy Azurea once and for all.
My fire flickered, and the flames dimmed. Taking a deep breath, I prepared to risk it all.
Only to have a man drop to the ground beside me.
“August?”