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My soul sang prayers to the deities that he was alright.
Each sensory check provided new data. The shifters with Raven and Killian were right behind us. Izdor and his group were coming in from the left. We were about to converge together with Juriah and the others. Everyone was heading toward the same point—which meant we had to be on the right track.
Sadie yelped from the ground. “I found a shoe!”
Sheer mayhem urged me to flap my wings harder. Some of my speed could be accessed up here, but then my senses wouldn’t be reliable. Resisting the urge to move faster was difficult because I wanted so much to reunite Leo with his father.
And I wanted so much for Leo to be reunited with me.
Xavier was panting when his voice returned to my mind.Do you see anything?
I scanned the horizon.Not yet.
A tiny light blinked ahead. I rubbed my eyes and refocused, getting past the monotonous verdant treetops and blasting wind.
It blinked again. And again. Red and orange in rapid succession, followed by dreary blue.
I see him!
Yes, it had to be Leo. No other energy in the area appeared so similar to Xavier’s. Even his mother didn’t share quite the same features in her aura. Leo was so much like his father that it had to be him winking in and out of existence like that.
But what had happened? And why was his lifeforce fading like that?
Panic would spread if I told Xavier about Leo’s lifeforce. Though it was hard to keep it to myself, I knew it would pay off as soon as I got there. I could see I would get there first, with Xavier and Sadie in tow. Once I got Leo boosted with some of my power, I could fly him back without much worry.
My heart started racing. Some ancient voice told me I needed to shift. It urged me to do it now, even as I beat my wings against the wind and blinked hard against the cold stinging my retinas. It screamed and beat my body. It bounced around in my mind.
I couldn’t stand it any longer. I dove low and cut through the branches, not caring whether the trees sliced me to ribbons. I had to get to Leo. I had to make sure he was alrightbeforehis father saw him. Who knew what state he was going to be in?
I dodged a thick branch.There’s a hole up ahead. I think he’s fallen into it!
Xavier skimmed the path underneath me. I didn’t have to look to see him sprinting. Gigantic paws slammed the earth with a mightiness that resonated in the air. We were in sync now, an amazing feat for him to match my flying speed with his earthly shifter abilities.
The hole ahead gaped and I dropped even lower, extending my legs to run once my wings were done holding me.
Many emotions rammed me simultaneously—victory, anticipation, anxiety, and trepidation coalescing in ways that would have made me roar if I hadn’t had Xavier by my side. Our bodies mirrored each other despite being different, sharing the intensity of our emotions, reflecting our desire to get to Leo.
I skidded to a halt in front of the hole. Under a maze of roots and dirt was Leo, unconscious and hosting a sickly gash on his forehead. Time stood still as I lunged into the hole and fell to the bottom next to him. I scooped him up and studied the roots over my head, bits of dirt and rocks falling into my vision from my fall.
Xavier hovered over the hole. “Galanthia, can you get out?”
I hadn’t thought this far. I hadn’t considered the obstacles that might have prevented me from getting to the boy. And now that I was at the bottom, I was racing through my options. I could have climbed out with him on my back if he was awake, but he was out cold, and he was fading too quickly for me to use my wings.
Too many roots were in the way. I would have to think of something else.
“Galanthia!”
Our eyes met as panic consumed me.
“I can’t get out,” I whimpered. “I just…can’t get out.”
Chapter 15 - Xavier
Nothing was going to stop me from getting to my kid. I’d jump through the many circles of hell as described by Dante just to be sure of his safety. Birds could peck my back the whole way down and I wouldn’t regret it for a second. Because for Leo, I would give everything I had just to see him open his eyes again.
Pebbles clattered through the veiny roots, tangled together like pretzels. Between two gnarly pieces, I saw Galanthia. I saw Leo. I saw the wound on his head.
“Fuck,” I groaned as I dug my claws into the earth, loosening more of it. “I have to get down there.”
