Chapter 19
MAZIKEEN
Two dragons fly straight up above me, fire burning the tips of the academy and the witches along with them.
Smoke pours out of the academy and into the forest, and the light from the flames makes the night look like a red storm.
No one is leaving to tell the Umbral Authority about what is happening tonight.
All of the children and people who cannot fight are hidden in the caves on the far side of the island, and they will be safe for a few days until we get the academy under control.
I stand outside the doors watching as shifters run past me, flooding into the castle.
As Bloodstone Academy falls, Black and Vale are burning anyone that tries to escape.
I wait to see if anyone comes out of the front door and tries to get to the broken bridge.
It can be activated at the cliff by any witch, and it cannot be broken, only controlled by Bloodstone Academy.
Juniper will stop its availability for use soon. Any moment now.
I hate not being right next to my mate in the middle of a war, and my dragon is itching for us to go to her, to make sure she is okay. Kane won’t let anything happen to her, but that thought doesn’t make me feel any better.
Tigers, wolves and snakes pass me in a hurry, flooding into the academy. Screams echo, and war has begun at Bloodstone Academy. There are so many other creatures, even a polar bear, running past me as the air fills with the smell of smoke from my brothers.
Aster comes running out the door. He should be on one of the doors with Winifred. “Have you seen Wini?” He grabs my shoulders, nearly knocking my glasses off. “She went missing. Something’s wrong with the plan. Wini wouldn’t do that! She was meant to have come with me by now.”
I think we are the only ones crossing the forbidden romance bridge between our races. I can see it in his eyes; he loves her. “I’m sure she’s okay, but I haven’t seen her out here. You’re her bonded. Find her in here.” I touch my chest. It’s where I can always find Juni.
His eyes drop closed, and I watch over us both, making sure no one sneaks up while he is distracted.
I grab him as he suddenly keels over, clutching his stomach, and he shifts before I can ask him what’s wrong.
His big wolf runs straight back into the castle, knocking me on my ass.
Something must be wrong with Wini. Does that mean Juniper is in trouble?
I feel for her in my chest, but we aren’t mated yet, not like her and Black.
He is still burning the right side of the castle, and he wouldn’t be if she were hurt. He would feel it.
I cannot leave this position and let everyone down.
I rise to my feet and hold my ground. Five witches run out, blood dripping off their hands.
The five of them go straight for me, and I revel in it.
Fighting has always been easy to me, especially when these witches can’t use their spells.
Fire pours out of my hands as I walk closer.
I burn two of them before they can get close to me, and the horrid smell fills my senses.
One of the witches has his powers and shakes the ground, knocking us all over before beginning a death magic spell.
Fucker. I rush to stop him, burning and snapping the necks of the others who try to stop me.
Just before he can finish the spell, I grab his throat and lift him into the air.
Before he passes out, I lower him to the ground where he coughs and wheezes, unable to speak.
I leave this last one kneeling in the bodies of his friends half-burnt, and I make him look at them.
“Bow to the shifters, to me, and you survive.”
He glares at me as he painfully swallows before answering. “I would never bow to one of you. My own shifter turned her back on me in there! On me!” He chokes. “That bitch did this to me!” He lifts his arm, showing me a bite. “Bonded are not meant to do that! They are our beasts and—”
“Your answer tells me everything I need to know about your opinion of shifters and your fate. For the record, we were never owned by you. Just enslaved…and now we are free.” Fire pours out of my hand around his neck, and he screams for a second before he’s ash in the wind.
More witches flood out of the entrance, and I crack my knuckles before getting to work.
An hour easily passes, and the piles of dead witches around me are a mess until finally no one else comes out for a moment.
I pant, putting bloody hands on my knees.
A roar of pain cuts through the sky, and my eyes shoot up.
Black? His dragon dives towards the ground with Vale hot on his heels.
Has he been injured? Black crashes into the forest, knocking over trees before shifting back and running before he can bring himself to a stop.
Climbing over the bodies, I rush to him as Vale lands and shifts back.
“Are you hurt?” I grab Black’s clothed shoulders, something I wouldn’t ever risk before now, and shake him.
As long as I don’t touch his skin, his curse can’t hurt me.
He is trembling and pale as he lifts his head.
Vale runs to our side, just as confused as I am.
Black sucks in a breath. “Something’s wrong with our mate.
I think she’s dying. I can feel all of her pain, and I c-can’t breathe.
” I grab his arm, Vale takes his other, and we drag him with us into the castle to find our mate.
If Juniper dies, I will go into death alongside her and drag her back to the living. She is my mate, my witch, and there is no world worth living in without her in it.