“Dad!” I cried out. It was the first time I’d called him that, and Imeant it. I was terrified that Lucien was going to get hurt.
Lucien emitted a ferocious growl, and rolled to pin Vesper underneath him. The two began a wicked battle of fang and claw, yowls emitting, feathers and fur flying.
I froze. How could I leave my father here to fight Vesper alone?
“Dad?” I whimpered again.
“Leave, child!They cannot find you!” Lucien tore into Vesper’s neck, and blood sprayed everywhere. Vesper smacked Lucien off of him with a taloned paw, and the two shifters circled each other, looking for an opening.
Somehow, I found strength enough in me to flee. I left Lucien to his battle with Vesper as I ran into the woods. My broken ribs ached, laboring my breathing. I still clutched my side as I maneuvered around trees and climbed over logs and rocks. The need to survive and escape the cult kept me pressing onward as the sounds of battle faded into the background.
Eventually, the forest grew silent. I heard birds chirping, and the rushing of water. I kept going until I came to a waterfall, one that poured into a frozen pond. I knelt at the edge of it and drank from the water, taking deep gulps to restore my strength.
I was safe, for now. There was no one out here. I could finally rest.
My back hit a rock. The aches and pains of the battle overtook me, and my lips trembled as I forced myself not to cry.
Help would come. My friends, my mate, my guard… somebody would find me. I wouldn’t die out here. I had paid for my terrible decision, but we could still rectify this. The cult wouldn’t find me. The eclipse would pass, and everything would be all right, like Ethan had said…
My heart became hopeful as I heard footsteps approaching. Those hopes were dashed when I saw Lady Korva emerge from the woods, wearing a blood-red velvet cloak and a look that would kill me if possible.
“It’s been too long,” she uttered. “For months, I swore I would avenge my son’s death. The day has finally come.”
I used the boulder to pull myself to my feet. “You’ll have to kill me, because I won't be taken prisoner.”
“Trust me, girl, I’ll get the chance,” Korva seethed. She sent a battle orb spinning out at me. I ducked. It hit the rock face behind me, sending gravel flying.
I was aware this wasn’t a fair fight. She’d been my least favorite teacher. If I was at my peak, I’d make this bitch eat snow.
Unfortunately, I was more vulnerable than I’d ever been, and Korva was no amateur. I hoped I had enough power left in my necklace to fight her off, because I couldn’t run from her.
Korva’s battle orbs raced toward me, and I had to hide behind a boulder to avoid them. My arms shook as I conjured Unseelie magic, shooting it out at Korva from behind the rock.
They were like wisps of wind, ones that dissipated before they had a chance to hit her. I could feel the wolven necklace weakening. I gasped as I conjured one last Unseelie fireball, and tossed it at her. It was effective, but Korva dodged the fireball. It knocked over a tree behind her, and the Unseelie flames licked at the bark.
With that last orb, the wolven necklace broke. The shards of the crystal cut into my skin as it shattered, and I collapsed, giving a harsh cry. My entire body quivered against the snow.
That was it. No more magic to use. I was as defenseless as I’d ever been.
Lady Korva approached me with a sneer. “Don’t try to school me on Unseelie magic,girl,” Korva spat. “I studied it before you were even born.”
She bundled a hand in my hair and yanked at it, pulling me to my feet. I yelped as I felt a few strands break free.
“You took my son from me!” Korva threw me down into the snow viciously. “If Gabriella didn’t need you, you’d already be dead!”
Korva sneered. “But she won’t need you after tonight. Then you’ll be mine to toy with. Your nasty little friends will find you in pieces when I’m finished.”
“No,” I whimpered, but that’s all I could do to fight back. She slapped me across the face, and I fell over again. She tangled a hand in my hair once more, and dragged me behind her. I reached up to tear at her wrists, but her grip was like iron.
Korva swept her hand in a graceful circle, and a portal bloomed before us. “Once the ceremony is complete and your blood has been taken to raise the dark lord, we’ll have some fun. I will enjoy my nephew’s torment once he finds your mangled body. Perhaps it will abate some of the pain I felt, when I saw what his spriggan had done to my beautiful son.”
She placed two fingertips to my temple, and my body slumped. A trance overtook me as Korva hauled me through the portal, away from any hope of salvation and directly to my fate.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ethan
“What is this insanity?” I scanned the room we stood in, trying to analyze the area despite the panic building within me. I stepped around the mess of the golem Gabby had made, attempting to make sense of it all.
