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Aya swore. “That means Tyr can’t get to her, either.”
My pulse elevated. “Fuck, you’re right.”
“Why not? He’s here in the supposed bubble,” Diego said. “Why can’t we do anything?”
“If any of us try to teleport here, then the magic will kick us out,” Darius said. “It’s hard to explain right now, but just believe me when I tell you, if Tyr feels that aura he mentioned, and tries, we’re without gods to help us.”
Diego’s face twisted, his dragon rage boiling up. I understood. Astrid was alone with our enemies in a clear trap, and we had no quick way to get to her. “Then we run there.”
My head jerked in surprise. “What?”
Diego pointed toward the woods. “We run. It’s the only option we have. Using vehicles means sticking to the roads and alerting them to our arrival. The forest is a straight path down.”
“You can’t go,” I said. “You’re not trained.”
He grabbed a gun off the coffee table. “Watch me. Bedsides, I don’t think I’m going to have trouble shifting this time. I just don’t think I can fly us there.”
Darius grabbed a grenade launcher and handed it to Diego, along with a belt containing ammunition. “Just in case your shifting fails. These release a noxious gas that will stun anyone with a sensitive nose. Don’t get too close yourself.”
“I’ll round up Bjarke and the other Berserkers,” Aya said. “I’ll get us as close as I can, and we’ll try to get there as soon as we can.”
The last thing we heard from her was Aya scolding Fen about patience—and then the line went dead.
Angel barked frantically outside. When Astrid’s familiar knew something was wrong, that was our cue to quit stalling.
Darius and I snagged a few weapons from the coffee table, and the three of us bolted outside.
“Amigos, what is going on?” Xavier asked as we rushed past him.
“Astrid and the town are in trouble,” Darius called back. “Stay here.”
Angel charged into the forest, leading us through the easiest path possible in the hilly terrain. This dog ran these woods all day long, and her familiar intelligence allowed her to guide us effortlessly.
As we drew closer to the protective barrier Darius had helped Aya push out further, my instinct kicked in. War cloaked me like a second skin; I recognized the sensation of an ambush. I made a motion to alert Diego and Darius in warning, when Diego raised his gun and fired, his impeccable dragon sight showing itself.
The bullets whizzed through the barrier, and his target cried out. The ambush reacted, opening fire on the barrier that soon would no longer protect us.
Darius’ magic flared to life, and a shield coalesced around my skin, locking down my senses. The sensation sent a shiver down my spine. I’d never been shielded like this until Darius began teaching Astrid. The feeling of protection it brought was so foreign to me as a warrior. I’d never felt more invincible as a god.Is this how Baldur felt?
I barreled through the barrier and didn’t hesitate to attack any enemy foolish enough to show themselves. Angel went for the throat of one unlucky individual who popped up in my blind spot. The scent of blood filled the air, and with it came the smell of decay. I didn’t have time to process.
The earth beneath us quaked and roots shot out of the ground, wrapping our enemies into a bone-crushing hold. We didn’t stop to see which fae came to assist. We didn’t tell them to keep home safe. We trusted they would and kept going.
“Good call, Diego, about using the woods,” Darius said. There was no sarcasm in his voice.
“Really, because it feels like I made a mistake.”
“Trust me. Ingrid specialized in laying traps. That ambush was weak, meaning she expected us to use the road, but she had a small backup just in case.”
“What the hell were those things?” Diego asked. “They didn’t move like any human I know, but they looked it.”
There was something off about them? I must have been too focused to have paid attention.
“Don’t know,” Darius puffed out. “We can figure it out after we deal with the pressing issue.”
The forest flew by. Darius used his magic to hasten our steps. And before we knew it, our feet pounded on asphalt instead of soft earth. Astrid’s voice rang out in the still air, and then gunfire erupted.Shit!
I pushed harder. I needed to get to her. I needed to protect her.I can’t fail her again.
