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I did, but it also meant I had to choose if I wanted to stay with Timothy or go forward with a murky life at best, trying to see into it, but a life that had no promises of Timothy either.
I swallowed roughly and broke eye contact with the Lycan, unable to bear the torment of the thoughts rolling through my mind. Or the imagery that I unwillingly conjured up. I didn’t need those making me sweat in any of the wrong places. I had a mission to focus on, training classes to get to, and I had to put everything else to the back of my mind for a little while.
A nudge to my right turned my attention to Mallory, making herself known. Carli was already off, running ahead to get to her forester – whatever it was – and I turned to watch her. Wings behind her back shimmered, fluttering. Were they growing bigger? Had they always been there? For whatever reason, I couldn’t even recall her without wings. I knew there had been a time, though, I was certain of that, but I just couldn’t conjure that image up in my mind.
“Has she always had wings?” I asked out loud, not even meaning to, but the words just slipped.
“I don’t know. I think so?” Mallory shrugged next to me. “Beats me. Who cares, though?”
I blinked. Why did I care so much? Maybe because it was just bugging me. I shrugged, deciding to shake the feeling off, and followed Mallory to our class of the day. We were cleaning out wounds and removing debris this morning as a refresher, so it was on the top of our minds. This afternoon, we’d get to work on diffusing spells. That was one I was actually looking forward to. Doing mundane things I was used to and knew well enough had to be the most boring of all. I would lose my mind if I didn’t get to do something exciting for once.
I didn’t say any of this out loud, though. Not even to Mallory or Carli. Carli loved whatever it was she was doing because she got to work with plants, after all. Mallory struggled, but I could tell she was still enjoying everything. She was learning and sharpening her skills. This was fun for her. I needed the real deal. I needed to get out into the real world and do the real thing.
Before we could even reach our building, however, a scream shattered the air and turned us around. The air grew cold, creeping up our flesh, and the clouds grew heavy as they banded together overhead. The water lapped at the edges, and the scent of sea salt stung my nostrils. This time, as the air slapped my hair into my face and people hollered around me, told me this was no hallucination like before.
If anything, I knew it was what had happened but the real deal. As if I’d seen a vision of what was to come. But that wasn’t possible, was it? Only powerful witches could have visions, and those found were held in safety behind walls where the vampires could protect them from harm. They got a life of luxury while the rest fought to keep everything as is so they could sit in pretty rooms with glasses of wine. I was not one of them. I couldn’t be. So, what the hell was this?
The air grew bitter and nipped my flesh. A streak of lightning flashed across the sky, and warm hands grabbed hold of me, pulling me away. My hand flew out, and I snatched Mallory’s wrist, dragging her with me. I was thrown through a door, and both Mallory and I tumbled into it. The door slammed shut before a lock was heard, sealing us in.
We shared a look of horror and scrambled to our feet, hurling ourselves at the door to pound on it, to try and get out, but it was no use. A crash of thunder swallowed our screams.
ChapterThirty
Ahand clamped down on my shoulder, yanking me around to face him. Green accents greeted me, stopping my screams in midair and giving way to a searing throat in their place. My eyes drew up to him, and his tight-lipped frown, eyebrows furrowed together as he glowered down at us. The wind outside howled, batting against the building, but we were safe from its torrent within the four walls.
The soldier from lunch stepped to the side and gave us a view of others. Olga popping right in my line of sight. She was really starting to prove to be the bane of my existence lately. The building rocked as something large crashed against it, sending us teetering, staggering a few feet. My heart leaped into my mouth, and I glanced at the window, desperate to get out and get to Carli; to make sure she was safe.
But as another flash of lightning streaked across the sky and we were plunged into darkness with whatever little light had been flickering about, I didn’t think I could escape.
“It’s my job to keep you safe,” the soldier told me, his voice turning me back to him.
I stepped back, putting distance between the two of us, and turned away. Catching Mallory side-eyeing me, I glared at her, scowling before making my way to a chair. If we were going to be stuck in here, I sure wouldn’t be standing around.
Fingers curled over my wrist, claws extending to bite my flesh. He jerked me around, forcing me to face him. My eyes shot up to the wolf, whose face was now covered in fur and his eyes bright yellow. My shoulders tensed, but instead of trying to attack me, he lifted his free paw and pressed it to his lips, hushing me as he nodded toward the door. My ears pricked, picking up the faintest of footsteps for just a split second before a thundering crash took the sound away. Lighting flashed, distorting the shadows around us, but no one dared move or even take in a breath of air.
My eyes flickered to Olga, but hers were on the door, sparkling with fear. Shifting my gaze to Mallory, I caught her eyes, and she bit her lip, kneading it with her teeth. I pressed my finger to my lips, ushering her to stay as quiet as possible. She nodded, her chest heaving as she grappled for air that obviously didn’t want to come. Tears sparkled in her eyes, ready to make her break down.
My heart sank. She was too good for any of this and needed to go home. She’d be a good little town healer, not a war medic. She didn’t need to see any of this. It was my fault she was stuck here. If anything happened to her, I’d never forgive myself, and I’d never let Timothy try to talk himself into forgiving me. It’d be the end of us for sure.
My fingers twitched, and I curled them into my nails, digging my nails into the fleshy parts. Skin opened at the cuts, but I ignored the momentary pain. Silence fell on us, the storm suddenly gone. No one moved through. Slowly, the door creaked, pushed open, and a figure stepped inside. My heart lurched at the sight of the Skeletal, accompanied once more by a minion. The spidery creature trailed in, pushing the crowd back. My soldier shoved me behind him, doing his job of protection. Annoyed flickered through me. Because I was a big girl with big girl britches. I didn’t need to be protected, but he was doing exactly that here. My shoulders squared, and I shoved at him, but he was a brick wall despite the heat emanating from him.
Wolves were such stubborn creatures. Guess it made sense he was made to be a protector. He would do whatever it took to ensure my safety. It would've been a sweet gesture if I were any other girl, like Mallory or even Olga. But instead, I was Azula McEntire, and I was severely ticked off. I had to fight.
It hit me hard before I could make another move.
The pain crippled me, locked my knees together, and shoved me down. I hit the ground with a loudthunkand felt tremors wracking through me. My tongue locked itself to the roof of my mouth, and the imagery in front of me warped, shimmering before it changed. Around me, the forest lay thick. Trees sprouted up. There was a small group of people I could just barely make out. I had a feeling they weren’t good, though, and I needed to get away quickly. Still, something kept me rooted to my spot.
Thunder crashed and lightning streaked across the sky. The group turned to give me a view as the light flickered their faces into view. I screamed, the sound ripping from my throat before I could stop it. They launched themselves at me, the one in front with his hands outstretched, ready to wrap fingers around my throat and take my breath. To take the life he helped create.
I sputtered, my eyes flying open. I heaved in air, coughing roughly. A mouthful of water spewed out, and I sat up, my hair streaming with water as it slapped me across the face. I shook my head, my body trembling. Silence greeted me, the passing of the storm leaving us in utter darkness besides the flickering flames of the candles dotting the room. I blinked and reached up, pushing wet strands of white hair away from my face, but as I looked to the door, I found it was just us. There was no Skeletal, minion, or warlock with blank white eyes as if he were possessed. My stomach clenched at the memory of my father.
It twisted, bile threatening to erupt. Then it rose, and I scrambled to my feet, scurrying to a bin before hurling up the little food I’d scarfed down earlier.
“What the hell was that?” Olga demanded and then snorted. “You aren’t pregnant, are you, McEntire?" she teased. "Because that would just do it to get you kicked out."
My head snapped up, and my nostrils flared. I flicked my wrist, tugging the rug beneath her feet out from underneath her. She squealed as she flew back, hitting the ground with a thud. Wiping at my mouth, I turned and stormed to the door, ignoring any protest Mallory threw at me, trying to convince me it wasn’t good to be outside even if the rain had stopped.
Yanking open the door, salty air hit me. My body quivered, but I pushed forward. Chilly air nipped at my flesh. I lifted my hands, raising my arms on each side. A few steps forward and I stopped, tilting my head back to soak in the rays of the sun that was out. Not a single swollen cloud in sight, showing that the storm had passed. It stroked my cheeks, warming my bones as I slowly turned in a circle.
