Wren’s eyes went wide. “What—” She stopped in her tracks. “What have you done?”
“You should have let us explain.”
A bitter laugh escaped her sister. “It has you fooled. It’s a hunter, Avery. It’s not a pet, or a friend, or whatever you’ve told yourself it is. They are ourenemy.”
Just for a moment, a seed of doubt placed itself within her. Wren seemed so certain that what she was doing was wrong. Years of the academy whispering that she had been made into a fool. Then, she thought of Felix putting his life on the line for her, of the goddess, and for fuck’s sake, herself. She knew herheart better than anyone. And she burned that seed to fucking ash. “Then what am I now?”
Wren swallowed, signaling something behind her. The dragon lowered its head next to her sister, growling at Avery. Heat radiated off its scales as if it were brewing fire in its throat.
“Enough,” Wren spat. She gripped her wrist, but Avery was faster.
Already raising her hands, she reached for the well of power within her. Magic gathered in her palms, a crackling electricity racing through her veins before she threw everything she had from pure instinct. Shadows burst out, whipping her sister back into the leg of her dragon. Its head snapped back, roaring up at the night sky in pain before shaking its head, its long neck swaying with the motion. The recoil slammed through her arms, leaving them shaking. She’d never channeled that much power before, hadn’t known she could.
Avery didn’t run immediately. She watched as Wren picked herself off the ground, making sure the blast hadn’t killed her. But it had royally fucked her up. Blood flowed from her temple, sand all in her uniform and hair, face twisting into fury.
As much as Avery liked her newfound power, she did not want to stick around for the butt of her sister’s rage. Too late. A deranged smirk spread across her sister’s face.Oh shit.Yep, she had pissed her off. Time to go.
Avery scrambled through the sand toward Felix, who was still thrashing shadows in every direction. Many enforcers were either dead and crumpled on the sand or missing. The few that were left were quaking in their boots. It wouldn’t be long before more enforcers came.
Felix spotted her from across the range, hesitating for just a second. It was long enough that the enforcer shot out a bullet, its path leaving a blazing trail across the monster’s form. But itdidn’t hit, only bounced off his form. Fury ignited in his eyes as his head snapped toward the enforcer who shot at him.
The monster cast out its shadows, wrapping around the rifle, crushing the barrel inward and forcing it up towards the enforcer’s face, while another shadow pulled the trigger.
The head exploded, chunks flying across the sand.
Avery gulped at the gruesome sight, at the bodies scattered on the floor. Was she really doing the right thing? Her stomach flipped. But it didn’t matter now; it was done.
“We have to go,”she yelled into his mind, hoping desperately that it would reach him. This was only going to end one way. Felix may be more powerful, but these were trained enforcers; their only chance was to run before more came.
The monster only roared as more shots rang out, and Felix put himself between them and her.“There is nowhere to run, little witch, we must fight.”
It was then that she realized. She wasn’t talking to the monster. Felix was conscious in there. It wasn’t some mindless beast. He was choosing to stand there and die for her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her sister raise her hands.
Fuck.
“Run!” she screamed at him.
Felix turned around, looking her dead in the eye. Like he was memorizing her face for one last time.No.Please run. You stupid fucking cat!
Flames lashed out of Wren’s palms, the rifle long discarded. They raced towards Felix, trailing in the sand before engulfing him in a wildfire, wrapping around his legs like vines. He let out a deafening bellow, trying his hardest to break the binds. The sound cracked her chest right open. It was futile. Avery watched as they flew over him like ropes, forcing him to the ground.
Something caught her from behind, not Felix’s shadow but the cold grip of an enforcer. Warded handcuffs bit into her wrists. She looked behind her to see Callum’s face, his expression unreadable as he forced her to the ground, her knees taking the impact. She wasn’t even surprised at that stage. Of course, it was him. The last few hours had her soaring and only to crash right back down. Numbness seeped through her, protecting her from losing her shit entirely. There was still a chance. There had to be.
A blast hit her chest, snapping her head to the floor as Felix roared out. The enforcers worked in tandem, creating a ward that she hadn’t seen before. He thrashed against the flames, his shadows slowly dissipating, getting picked up by the wind as if they were merely smoke.
The ward came from below, a complex pattern spewing flaming strings and tangling Felix in its web. The magic that had felt so alive only moments ago had died to a strangled whisper. Four enforcers surrounded him, holding up their hands to control the ward’s movement. How many shifters had they captured like this? How many had her mother imprisoned?
The monster had gone, leaving only Felix kneeling on the ground, his body trembling as he still fought the wards that restricted his every movement. Avery looked around desperately, searching for something that might help. Anything.
Goddess please,she begged.Do something!
But she was only met with silence.
The goddess was still a bitch then.
Felix’s chest moved with haggard breaths. When his eyes found Avery’s, he stilled, face softening.“I’m sorry I could not protect you.”
