“Veskor–”
“YOU WILL!”
I pushed and it lifted. I refused to set it back down, or rest. I ignored the pain. I ignored the pressure. I pushed harder with my legs.
“VESKOR!”
“YOU WILL!”
My muscles screamed, my body bled, but the rock didn’t fall back down. I shook. The rock shook. More. I needed more room.
“Please, just–”
“YOU WILL!”
It moved a few more inches.
“YOU. WILL.”
I tried to find one more burst of strength but my legs gave out and I crumpled, still holding onto the boulder. Miraculously the rock lifted higher, and Enya rolled out from under it. Dust and pebbles flew as the rock slammed back down into the passage, with my tired, worn out body falling on top of it.
We all coughed in the aftermath, and I realized we weren’t alone anymore.
Canavar.
Nasi.
They’d lifted for me when I couldn’t anymore.
“Hurry! Come!” I could only gasp for air as Canavar wrapped me up in his arms like a drakling and ran out of the cave. Nasi grabbed Enya, who cried out in pain but hooked her arms around the golden draken’s neck.
We ran.
BOOM. BOOM.
The lava tube was collapsing behind us.
I stared at the light at the end of the tunnel. How could we possibly make it? The earth roared at our backs, the light growing larger and larger, until finally we emerged, tripping and falling into the grass as the tunnel collapsed behind us with a mildwhumpf.
I rolled onto my stomach and glanced up, Benedict and Kieran staring at me.
“Did it,” I vaguely pushed out, and threw up.
Enya let out a weak laugh. “You did. Now we just have to get further away from here.”
“You will,” I whispered to her and passed out.
Chapter Thirty-One
TRIGGER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A DEPICTION OF CHILDBIRTH THAT MAY BE DISTRESSING TO SOME READERS, INCLUDING A DETAILED BIRTH SCENE, PHYSICAL PAIN, MEDICAL/BODILY DESCRIPTIONS, AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.
WREN
Iwoke up under a large tree, down the hill a ways from the collapsed lava tube. The birds were obnoxiously loud–cawing from nearby trees above me as if their insides were desperately trying to rip their body to come outside, not mine.
The humidity was thick and cloying, sweat dripping down my temples and my wings, even as Ronan tried in vain to keep it at bay with a scented cloth.
Everyone had centered around me, all my mates and everyone else who’d been involved in the ritual. That wasn’t helping my mood at all, either. My contractions were soclose they were almost unrelenting. Canavar and Nasi reappeared with Enya, Perri, and Veskor.
