Finally, I resorted to putting one hand on Shadow’s back as he guided us and then used my other hand to clear the way with my magic so we could see farther than a foot in front of us. While I did that, Krew was actively blowing as much smoke away from us as he could.
Just when I thought we were going to get trapped weaving through the trees and rocks forever, I saw some other forms within the smoke. It was the rest of the pack. Rafe was standing there among them on high alert as he circled around his pack. What I could only hope was all of them.
“They tried to run from the fire,” Krew said as he looked both directions. “Then met another fire.”
“How many fires did that prick light?” I asked as I fought off the urge to cough again. I didn’t want to cough because it felt like then I got even more of the smoke into my lungs.
“I think multiple, but with how dry it is, it wouldn’t have taken much,” Krew said, his voice strained.
We needed to get them out of here. Now. And then we could use our joined magic to take out as much of the fires as we could. “I’m putting a moving dome around them,” I offered. “I’ll make sure the fire and smoke can’t touch us, but it’ll take a lot of focus.”
Knowing how much magic it would take for that, Krew gave me a nod and I understood he would use his magic to combine with mine.
I let the magic out of my fingertips as it reached for all the wolves. Then I imagined a breeze taking all the smoke away from my protective barrier. It took so much magic and effort just to clear the air of the dome that Krew’s navy magic had to wrap around mine to accomplish it. But once it did, and we all started to feel the effect of it, the wolves seemed to jerk to life. It was an odd sensation standing in a dome free of smoke but being able to smell it and see it all around you. Even if the smoke wasn’t still actively burning my lungs, it was burning my nostrils and had already invaded my lungs.
“Let’s move,” I said to Krew and the wolves both.
It was slow work; I had to keep a constant stream of magic coming out of my fingertips and keep my focus on the dome at all times or whisps of smoke blew in. I also added my magic beneath us, imagining walking on frost bitten grass. I didn’t want the wolves’ paws to get burnt where we had to walk. While Krew and I at least had shoes on, they did not.
Once we entered what I assumed was the middle of the forest, it got worse. I had to move one foot at a time and felt sweat run from the back of my neck down my spine. I wasn’t sure if it was from the heat of the fire or the exertion of using that much magic. Either way, we were crawling through a burning forest.
At one point the bright orange and white flames nipped at the edges of my dome, but I sent another surge of energy into my magic and the fire just hissed at us.
Rafe and Shadow moved to walk on either side of me, just as they did every morning when we ran our trail. Every so often Rafe would press his nose into the backs of my legs. I wasn’t sure if it was his form of encouragement or if he wanted me to hurry. Either way, I appreciated his concern.
What felt like hours later, we made it into view of the meadow.
Refusing to let the dome fall, I waited until all of us were on the brown meadow grass before I released my barrier. The parliament members who had come to our aid stood at the edges of the meadow and were sending blasts of magic into the fire that had now made it to the northern most meadow border. On one half of the meadow stood Enchanted using their magic to put out the flames and push away the smoke, and on the other, the kitchen staff had used some of the garden hoses and were spraying everything down.
As the barrier fell and the parliament members saw that I had just brought an entire pack of wolves to safety, many took a step back, scared at the sight of the wolves.
Rafe and the others walked toward the castle, right up to the back hedge. Rafe and Shadow stood guard, while the rest laid down to wait in safety.
“Now what, love?” Krew asked me gently, brushing a kiss to my forehead.
“Now we breathe,” I said, taking in pulls of air that seemed to singe my lungs. The air was so acrid I felt like my lungs were burning from the inside out. “And then we attack the fires.”
Krew called over a few parliament members who were there, one being Hatcher. We formed a line of five of us and we started at the side closest to the castle itself and started walking north, a human wall as we pushed the fire and smoke away from the far edges of the meadow.
Much later, we finally made it to the lake, where Owen and Keir had saved the trees I had healed and were frantically working in multiple directions to keep the lake from burning to a crisp. The lake that was still fortunately clear.
For some reason with the odd happenings in this forest, I had wondered if I wouldn’t return to find it blackened again.
“Where,” a parliament member panted, “is the king?”
No one answered because we all knew where he was. Where he always was. Basking upon his throne. Creating messes for the rest of us to clean up.
On and on it went. Just when we got one portion of the forest under control, another would flare up and tear through an entire section of trees before we could get to it.
Some of the guards from the barracks on the other side of the forest, over by the stables, were helping from that side. Working together, we finally got the smoke all flowing in one direction, which helped things immensely.
“How are you feeling?” Krew called to me as I threw out my magic on some flames and then tugged on the strands of magic, effectively suffocating the flames on the spot.
Honesty was always best. “Pissed off.”
“I meant your magic,” Krew called. “We have most of the fires out. The guards can finish pushing it the rest of the way. Why don’t you take a break?”
The parliament members had long since switched, most pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion and only stopping when the trickle of blood started running down their noses. But when one Enchanted left, another would step in, working together to continue pushing the fire away. I wasn’t sure how many Enchanted had seen the smoke and came running from Savaryn, but there were dozens of Enchanted working to help us.
