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I yelped, hoping they understood what I wanted to know.
“The fire separated us,” Almae said. She pointed west. “Killian and Lavinia went that way.” Then she pointed east. “And Roman and Raika went that way.”
Dom, get them out of here, I said.I’ll go after the others.
Dom shifted into his human form. “Let’s get out of here.”
I didn’t wait to see if the others had followed the orders. I ran east. The dragon returned once more, this time blasting his fire past the square and igniting one of the side streets leading north. He was going to destroy the entire town this way.
The heat from the fire brushed against my fur as I took an alley between two buildings and emerged on a side road.
I looked side to side.
There, right at the edge of the fire, was Raika.
And in front of her, a tall man I had never seen before.
I ran to them.
Raika said something and took a step back.
The stranger laughed. He jutted his arm forward, a shadow sword in his hand.
A sword that went through Raika’s chest.
No!
I pushed harder, faster, but my rage was uncontrollable. The Shadow Wolf took over. I stood tall and advanced toward the stranger.
Kill, destroy, rip apart.
The stranger saw me coming and ran toward the fire.
Raika gasped and looked down, her eyes wide, as if she couldn’t believe it. Shadows rapidly swirled around her, then they were gone.
I skidded to a stop in front of her. Just as fast as it came, the Shadow Wolf left me and I was back in my human form.
Raika’s round eyes met mine. Then, they fluttered closed and she fell back.
I wound my arm around her and broke her fall. I knelt on the ground, with Raika’s limp body tucked against my chest.
“Raika.” My voice broke. I hovered my hand over her chest, over the hole right beside her heart, and the copious amounts of blood seeping out. “No.” I pressed two fingers to her neck, but I knew I wouldn’t find a heartbeat. Something like a cry tore through my throat. I lowered my head to hers. “Please, don’t leave me.”
This wasn't real; it couldn’t be. Raika was sleeping. She was hurt. And soon Jay would fix her. Then she would laugh, teasing me about how worried I was. She would look at me with her brilliant, contagious smile, and I wouldn’t even be mad at her.
“No,” someone said.
I glanced up, my vision blurred because of the tears, but I recognized them. My friends walked toward me.
“Do something!” I shouted. Lavinia knelt beside me, her hand on my shoulder. “Can’t you heal her?”
Lavinia shook her head. “I can’t bring her back. No one can. I’m sorry.”
I had been tortured before, for months, but I would gladly welcome that pain back if it meant the pain I felt now would be gone.
This couldn’t be happening.
But as much as I wanted to believe otherwise, the truth was right before me, tucked in my arms, heavy and limp and growing cold.
