I didn’t know how to fight this thing.
Everyone here was going to die because of me.
Kendrick grabbed my face with both hands, staring at me with steely blue eyes. “Don’t fucking panic and don’t fucking die.”
His mouth descended against mine, desire ripping through me and refilling every drop of magic I’d used in training. Desperation burned through him and into me. I didn’t know what the fuck to think, but I was glad I wasn’t about to die without a friendly touch to guide me over the edge.
I broke away and stared up at Kendrick, panting, my body primed for far more than a simple kiss.
He growled, dipping down for one more brush of his lips against mine. “Don’t. Die.”
I took off at a run toward the gates, where the monster was hurling itself against the warding. Without a clue what to do, I screamed out in my mind for Hecate to help me. I thrust every ounce of power I could, hoping it would bolster the wards instead of break them faster.
Kendrick’s warm form pressed up against me, one arm wrapping around my waist, his other hand over mine.I don’t know how to help, and I don’t know if you can take power from me, but you’d better fucking try.
With a sob, I tried to do just that, reaching for him while light and darkness roiled in front of me, a creature of fury that wanted me dead.
You can do this,Kendrick whispered in my head. Every inch of him shook like a leaf, and as I rooted around inside him for his power, his panic was even stronger than mine.
Tears poured down my cheeks as I pushed every bit of myself into the wards. Kendrick’s warmth was ripped away, replaced by others more familiar. Caden, Seth, Yelena, and Haru.
The nest was a hive of activity behind me, the energy frantic. Velda dropped jewels at my feet, the ones Yelena’d had me fill before. She disappeared almost as quickly as she had come, the others clinging to me, pressing the jewels to my skin so I could siphon magic from them.
I couldn’t see past my tears. Desperation to protect everyone was the only thing going for me. The wardscouldn’tfail.
Breathe.
The word filled me down to the marrow of my bones, sparkling caresses like starlight reaching from the beyond.
I did my best to comply. Everywhere the gems touched felt like the nozzle of a vacuum pressed to my skin, but in reverse, my body drinking down the magic to keep me standing.
Peace. Look at it.
I tried to blink away my tears, not daring to remove one of my hands to wipe them. The creature was made of moving light and shadow, warping and glinting so much that I wasn’t sure what I was even supposed to look for. Fragments of a form flickered in the center, bits of it visible every so often as the creature writhed. What on earth?
Fangs sank into me, pain, pleasure, and desire crashing over me. Skin pressed against my lips, and my teeth burned. Moving purely on instinct, I bit down until copper bathed my tongue and the inferno that was Yelena went off inside my being like a firework. Her magic poured into me, and with a vicious snap, the wards roared back to life, knocking us all off our feet and sending the monster spiraling.
I stared up at the pearlescent sky, breathing hard, my whole body throbbing.
“Motherfucker.” I whimpered.
The monster surged against the wards again, but blessedly, this time they stayed solid.
For a few moments, none of us moved. The nest was still a flurry of activity, but it slowly drew to a close, the frantic sounds quieting.
Velda appeared in the corner of my vision in her fluffy bear form.What the fuck happened? Is everyone okay?
I curled my fingers around her ankle, barely managing that, let alone getting my jaw to work.The wards broke but we fixed it.
She stared down at me.Since when do you know telepathy?
Since Kendrick forced me to learn.
Huh. All right, then. Should I call off the evacuation orders?
For now.
Velda nodded and ran off.
