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The effort it took for her to pull the cyclone from the sky showed on her face, brows pulled together, lips twisted into a grimace, eyes hard and determined. By the look of her, she was prepared for battle. Likely to defend this magic she needed. Scarlet armor protected her chest and back, and a cape flowed behind her, black and moving with a strange oily grace as though it had a mind of its own.
A high-pitched whinny hit my ears. I cut my gaze to the side, spotting the copper-colored horse barreling toward me, plumes of smoke coming from its nostrils. It must sense the impending danger to its mistress, but I hadn’t come this far to be trampled by a godsdamned pony. Hellraised or otherwise.
Swinging hard and fast, I sliced through the animal’s neck, felling it with one sweep of my weapon. The horse dissolved into that same sickly red mist it had come from at the church, and the evil woman screamed in rage. Her hold on the storm seemed to falter. Her strength dwindling, perhaps?
“Give me my child, häxa.”
She smirked then, taking a fortifying breath. “She was never yours. None of you. She belongs to me. She exists because of me. Her destiny has always rested in my hands.”
I spun the ax over and over as confidence infused me with each step toward her. “We’ll see about that. She has Novasgardian blood running through her veins. You didn’t account for her papa being a berserker.”
The woman bared her teeth in a hiss and renewed her efforts on the storm, a low, terrifying cackle leaving her as the cyclone finally touched down.
“It doesn’t matter. You’re too late.”
The second her tempest connected with the earth, the clouds swelled and stretched, pulling apart like taffy as evil green light spilled through the strands. The misty shadows solidified on either side, creating an arch. No... a gateway.
It was nearly instantaneous, the storm transforming into a shimmering portal right before my eyes.
With one cruel smile, the horsewoman lifted my daughter and threw her into the pulsing green light.
“It is done.”
ChapterForty-Seven
SUNDAY
“Astor... will you tell her about me? Tell Eden our story, and... make sure she knows how her da loved her so. Don’t... don’t let her... forget...”
“Caleb!” His name was torn from me as a hiccuping sob as his eyes rolled back in his head. “No, please, no.” Tears flowed freely down my cheeks. I knew he was gone, but I refused to let myself believe it. With his eyes closed, he could have been sleeping.
I needed him to only be sleeping.
He’d given his life to save me. Caleb was always saving me, even when it seemed like the opposite, even when I didn’t want him to. My heart gave a painful lurch as it broke there and then. Deep, racking sobs rolled through me as I lay across his chest. His silent chest.
I cried for the life we should have had together. For the loss of everything he would have been to Eden. Sitting up, I brushed his hair back from his forehead, knowing how much he hated that stray curl that just wouldn’t stay in place.
The reminder of my daughter gave me the strength to pull myself together. I couldn’t be selfish right now. She needed me. I should have been in agony after the traumatic birth. Hell, I should have been dead. But thanks to Caleb’s sacrifice, I was stronger than ever. Fully healed and buzzing with the need to avenge him.
His death could not be in vain.
Leaning down, I brushed my lips over his, letting one last tear fall. “I’ll get her back for us. I promise she’ll know how much you loved her.”
Part of me expected him to frown and chastise me, but it was only that bitch hope, fucking with me again. He was gone. But Eden wasn’t.
I refused to let myself look back as I got to my feet and stalked down the aisle. I didn’t bother wiping away my tears. They were reminders of what I had to do. Why I had to do it. I would find strength in my pain.
I was going to go destroy a fucking horsewoman and stop a goddamn Apocalypse, and no one, not even my scheming whore of a mother, was going to stop me.
The vow was followed by a frenetic buzz beneath my skin. It wasn’t painful, but almost curious. As if a part of me had woken up, stretched, and was now looking for direction. Similar to the feeling I got when my wolf finally broke free.
My wolf. I could shift again.
With a sharp kick to the doors, they flew open, slamming outward and breaking the ancient hinges. The sky roiled with eerie red clouds, lightning arcing across them and filling the air with the scent of ozone.
A whipping wind blew across my skin, turning me toward the beach. Just past the bluff, the clouds gathered into a gargantuan cyclone. That was my target. I knew it without question.
Without a second thought, I gave my wolf the reins. The shift was seamless, easier than it had ever been. If I’d been focused on anything other than absolute annihilation, I might have stopped to wonder what it would be like after so long. But there was no need. My wolf was ready, eager, and as filled with the need to go save our pup as I was.
