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She made a frustrated noise, her clawing becoming more frantic before I wrenched her sideways again, slamming her into the dirt. Before I could do anything else, Delila appeared next to us, silencing the vampire with a dark spell I didn’t recognize.
Delila sneered and glanced up at Celeste. “We must hurry!”
Celeste nodded, looking like she was about to join us when her silver eyes went almost comically wide. Her entire body went rigid, and she suddenly turned, racing off in a different direction.
“Celeste!” Delila shouted.
“I have to get to Abi!” she shouted back.
I sprinted after her, recognizing the look on her face. She must have seen her friend in some vision. Abigail had been left with a group of Thalassa witches. More than that, Celeste’s best friend had been given explicit orders to stay with them for her own safety.
We don’t have time for distractions!I growled under my breath as I caught up to Celeste, about to try and redirect her when I spotted Abigail between two tents, her back pressed against a massive grizzly.
Kal snarled as he swatted a vampire away, leaving its face a wrecked mess. I barked to Celeste, but her eyes were already on the duo.
“Shit!” she yelped and hurried forward. I rarely heard my fated mate curse, but as I followed her gaze, I realized what she’d seen.
Naomi, the witch who’d attacked her and Abigail in the Snowmass Pack encampment, had kept her loyalty to the Solar Sovereign. She was racing through the tents, pausing just long enough to light each one on fire before hurrying to the next. No one was sleeping through this battle, but she was creating a hazard and might even be able to push my forces forward into the Solar Sovereign’s if the fire were ignored for too long.
Abigail threw a knife at the witch, missing her by a few inches, but it was enough to get the woman’s attention. She whirled around, her dark hair a messy web around her face. She looked half-mad as she stood next to the smoldering tent, cupping her hands to call another flame. Abigail grabbed another knife from her belt, rushing forward, but I knew she wouldn’t be faster than a witch’s spell.
Bolting past Celeste and Abi, I jumped toward Naomi. Startled, she released her spell too soon, and it crested forward, the bolt of heat exploding against my chest. As I fell backward, my nose filling with the smell of my burning pelt, I groaned, rolling sideways to try and keep myself away from the flames. It hurt, but it wouldn’t kill me.
The ground shook as Kal thundered by, taking advantage of Naomi’s distraction to grab the witch. She screamed in terror as the grizzly raked his claws down her frame, and I could hear the crack and sizzle of magic as she started and stopped several spells, clearly struggling to hold her power for any length of time in her panic. Abruptly, the screaming stopped, and as I got to my feet, I saw the mangled remains of the witch tossed into one of the burning tents, Kal already lumbering away as another vampire broke through the front lines.
Panting, Celeste reached my side about the same time Abigail did. Celeste reached out to touch my smoldering chest, and I forced my wolf back, shifting into my human form.
“Save your strength,” I said, ignoring how hoarse I sounded. “I will heal fine.” I got to my feet. “We need to get to Delila.Now.”
“I’ll help you get there,” Abigail said, grabbing Celeste by the elbow to urge her onward. “Let’s go.”
By the time we reached Delila, Piers, Keziah, and Lyka had also returned. My brother had remained in hiding since we’d arrived in the jungle, and despite the land’s call to him, he’d remained with Val so she’d ensure no one would notice him until the time was right. Now, it seemed, was that exact moment. A vampire was on top of Delila, and two lynx shifters were harassing Keziah. With my waning speed, I wasn’t sure I’d get to her in time, but Lyka had no such issue.
With a terrifying snarl, my brother slammed his large frame into the vampire, sending him sprawling several feet away. Piers finished the job, and my brother started with a shout. Piers drove a stake into the opposing vampire’s chest before wrenching it free again.
“Ugh,” he muttered, grimacing. “I do so hate doing that. No way around it, though.” He glanced over to Delila and offered her a hand up. “Are we ready?” he asked the group at large.
As Celeste and I hurried over, Keziah and Lyka were able to dispatch the lynxes now that they no longer had the element of surprise. They stayed in their wolf forms and were the last to join us. I handed a piece of the temple stone to Delila so she’d complete the transportation spell. I didn’t even have time to think about how much I disliked the cold burst of air, or the way I felt like I couldn’t breathe in the seconds it took to get from one place to the next. I didn’t have time to wonderwherewe were, in this strange, in-between place. One moment, we were in the jungle, and the next, within the stone chamber of the temple.
I exhaled as I looked around, blinking as my eyes rapidly adjusted to the dim lighting. Before Celeste could so much as take a step forward, there was a crackle. I braced myself, allowing my wolf to take over again as a second portal opened only feet away.
They were watching us!
I should’ve known the Solar Sovereign would find some way to get around this, but I didn’t have time to wonder how. Several lion shifters spilled out of the rip in the fabric of space and time, followed by a pair of witches—and a siren. She hissed as she clawed and slithered forward, her slippery tail leaving a trail of moisture on the stone. Her eerie silver eyes looked half-feral, as if she were already in pain, but one of the witches yelled at her, and the siren hissed again, her expression morphing into terrifying rage.
I howled, using my bulk to block Celeste from the streak of flame one of the witches threw at her while Lyka and Keziah charged forward to meet the trio of lions.
Delila cursed as she closed the portal, keeping close to Celeste. I couldn’t look behind me, but I could feel the prickles of magic as the two of them called up a protective ward.
“Of course they have a siren!” Piers spat, now on my other side. “Whatever you do, don’t let her—”
He couldn’t finish his thought before the siren opened her mouth and sang out the first note. For a moment, time slowed down. My heart skipped a beat as her voice rang deep in my chest.
No!I gave myself a violent shake and charged forward, my claws clicking on the stone as I lunged at the nearest witch. She shouted and threw a burst of hot wind at me. I slammed back into the ground, my ears ringing, head cracking against the floor.
The siren continued her wordless song, her voice rising while my vision swam. I didn’t think I’d hit my head that hard, but as I got back to my feet, I felt like I was moving in slow motion.Is this the eclipse?I felt like someone had slurped all my energy out of my body with a straw, leaving me a hollow husk. My own bulk felt too heavy for me.Or is this the siren?
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Piers looking stunned, like he’d never seen anything as beautiful as the creature in thecenter of the room, her tangled hair still dripping. She stank of river weed and muck, but none of that seemed to matter. Even my trembling limbs seemed less pressing than this siren.
