I coughed, smoke burning through my nose and throat. I tried lifting Loch, but there was no way I had that kind of strength.
“I don’t know if I can,” I cried, the smoke so thick now that my eyes watered and I could barely see him.
“That’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”
Even in the face of death, Loch was trying to keep me calm.
I met his gaze through the thick swath of smoke. “I don’t think we will.”
“Listen, you need to fly away.” Loch grabbed my shoulders. “You have to get yourself to safety.”
I pressed my hands against his chest, clothes damp with sweat as the fire closed in on us. “I won’t leave you here. Never. You said where I go, you’ll follow, remember?”
He swallowed. “This might be the one time I can’t follow you.”
Tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t—I wouldn’t—leave him. Fiery branches fell down around us, and Loch swung me out of the way right as a crackling branch hit the spot where I’d just stood seconds earlier.
Loch pressed his forehead to mine. “Go. Do what you were always meant to do: soar.”
The tears spilled down my cheeks now. “Loch?—”
“Your gran is still out there. Answers are still out there. You could be the key to finding out who this shadow king is, what he wants. You could save us all from his plans. You’ve got to do this. You’ve got to fight. It’s not just about me and you. It’s so much bigger than us.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my mouth to his.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” I said, voice breaking.
“Now go.” He shoved me away from him.
A huge branch dropped in between us, ablaze with orange and red flames. I stepped aside, but I wasn’t fast enough and the branch hit my arm, striking me down and blistering my skin. Burning pain searedacross my arm. I tried to take a deep breath and stand, but smoke filled my throat, my lungs, my head. Spots dotted my vision. I couldn’t see anything but a curtain of gray.
I stretched out a shaky hand, hoping I might touch Loch, but my hand swept through air. I tried to summon the strength to stand but could barely breathe.
My head lolled, and I rolled onto my back, staring up at the inferno my lightning had created. My eyes were heavy, so heavy, and I blinked, trying to keep them open.
Suddenly, I was being lifted into the air, floating in someone’s arms. No. Not someone. A shadow. It couldn’t have infiltrated all that fire, that light, but as I looked around, I didn’t see any light, just a heavy cloak of gray smoke. The shadow flew me higher, and I reached down toward the smoke.
“Please, get Loch, get him too,” I rasped, but the shadow paid me no mind.
It flew me out of the smoky fog right as rain started to fall. Heavy and thick. It poured down over us. The shadow flew me away from the fire, then abruptly dove down into the forest until we landed on the ground.
It dropped me in a heap, and I stayed there on my hands and knees, breathing hard, lungs still burning, the smell of ash filling my nose.
“Well, girl, you’ve certainly made a mess of things,” a voice said.
A voice I’d recognize anywhere.
My head snapped up, and there stood Gran, looming over me, a scowl on her face.
Chapter Forty-Eight
POPPY
Iscrambled to my feet, my gaze bouncing between the shadow and Gran. Gran. She was here, and Loch—I lurched forward, grabbing her hands.
“Send it back.” My voice was hoarse. “Send the shadow back. Loch—he’s?—”
