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The next, he was gone and Zor dragged me through the dirt, away from the silver-coated wolf—five times bigger than a normal one—ripping mouthfuls of flesh out of Solok’s shoulder with long, deadly fangs.
I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing, my gaze flicking from the silver beast, to Tavion’s discarded sword lying in the dirt, realization hitting me all at once.
This was the secret Tavion hid from the world.
Tavion Montgomery was a wolf shifter.
He was beautiful. Terrifying and awful, but beautiful, ripping Solok apart in primal rage, one enormous paw pinning him in place while he savaged the fucker like carrion.
I’d never seen anything as glorious.
Zor dropped me beside Raz and I crawled closer, lay my hands on him, searching for a heartbeat. “Please, please, please.” His pallid skin was coated with blood and sweat; his body boneless.
“Run, Anaria.” Zor hissed, dragging me by the collar toward the woods, but I wouldn’t let go of Raziel. “Get to the Keep, find the Shadow King’s private guard.”
“Fuck the Shadow King. And fuck Solok. If I’m turning into a monster, I’m taking that bastard with me.” I kept my hand on Raz’s chest, sobbing when his heart thumped weakly against my palm.
He’s alive. Thank the gods he’s alive.
Tavion’s snarls turned wilder, a branch crashed from above, barely missed us as a wave of Solok’s sulfurous darkness tore through the forest, shattering ancient trees like kindling wood.
“Solok’s as old as the kings, Anaria. We’re not going to be able to beat him.” Zor pulled me to my feet and shoved me toward Blackcastle. “Go. We’ll buy you time to get into the Keep. The Shadow King will stop at nothing to protect you. You’ll be safe behind those walls.”
He swallowed, brushed his bloodied knuckles down my cheek, emotion blazing in his face. “Please. You have to go, if he takes you back…” I blinked at Zor’s gentle, pleading tone, everything unspoken in his dark eyes, but there was no time.
I knew what would happen once Solok got me to Tempeste.
The world as we knew it would end.
“I’m not leaving you.” I laid my hand over Zor’s, pressed his warm palm against my face, savoring the contact between us, never breaking eye contact, marveling at the fact thatZorander Vayle was touching me.
“Anaria, you must. It’s madness to stay.” Zor’s thumb brushed my cheek once more, then he shoved me toward the Keep. “Go. Now. And don’t look back.” I shook my head, emotion lodging in my throat.
Razielstood by my side when no one else would, tried to save Ember when everyone else gave up on her.
Zorander fought the monsterswho wanted to use me to their own ends, then trained me to fight them myself.
And Tavion…even Tavion, in his own twisted way, had married me, to save me from Lord Gravelocke and whatever fate waited for me in the Shadowlands.
Now itwas my turn to save them.
I peeled off my jacket, tossed it aside before sliding the bands off and threw them onto the ground with a dull metallic clink, magic lighting up the trees like the night sky had fallen to earth.
Like a mighty storm, the magic stirred inside me, stars as vast as the heavens began to swirl, a symphony of power waiting to be unleashed.
“You’re the ones who have to leave, Zor.Please listen to me.” I begged softly, crouching when another wave of Solok’s shredding shadows passed over us. “At least get behind the barracks. I’m not risking either of you, and Tavion…”
Tavion was beyond reason, snarling and snapping and while I didn’t know if wood and stone was enough to protect them, we were out of choices.
“You heard what he said.” I jerked my head at Tavion, as the creature grasped Solok in his jaws and tossed him up in the air like a rag doll. “If this magic can kill…Julian, it will kill Solok, too.”
I sucked in an unsteady breath. “Iwillkill him.” Then I bent down and brushed the hair out of Raz’s face so I could see him, one last time.
“This magic corrupts everything I touch. Once is bad enough, twice…you know what the prophecy said. I refuse to bind any of you to me like that. So please.” I gripped Zor’s shirt with both hands, willing him to listen.
“Take Raz somewhere safe so I can do this. It’s our only chance.”
There was another crash, but this time, it wasn’t Solok. The enormous wolf lay crumpled against a tree, his silver fur streaked red, his side heaving, blood streaming from his open mouth.
