He stepped on something, his ankle rolling, throwing him off balance. His shoulder hit the dirt wall before he could fall, and he kneeled, finding tracks on the ground. With a hand against the wall, he continued, his legs carrying him as fast as the debilitating iron ore would allow. The tunnel made a gradual right turn, and light emanated from a room at the end.
“Des—” He started to call to her. He knew she was there, could feel her waiting for him a few yards away, but he could also sense someone…something…else. Fae magic.
He peeled Max off his back and set him on the ground. “If Helga is in there, I want you to stay back. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.” Max lowered his gaze and picked at the fur on his belly.
“You’re going to follow me regardless, aren’t you?”
The raccoon bared his teeth—his way of smiling. “Anywhere you go.”
Pete nodded and crept toward the room, pausing outside the entrance and holding up a hand. Stilling, quieting his breathing, he listened. Two sets of labored breaths. No movement.
“I’m sorry, Pete,” Destiny whispered.
At the sound of her voice, he could be cautious no more. He strode into the room, his heart wrenching at the sight of his fated mate, bloodied and bruised, and the goddess, barely breathing, the shine in her aura gone.
Destiny gasped and jerked her head up, her vertebra cracking as she turned toward him. She squinted, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. “Pete?” she rasped. “Is that really you?”
“In the fluff.” He ran to her, dropping to his knees and laying his hands over the chain binding her wrists.
It didn’t yield.
He frowned, focusing on the lock and willing it open, but nothing happened. “What the…?”
He grabbed the shackle on her ankle and took a deep breath. “My fae magic always works when I need it, so why…won’t…you…budge?”
Destiny grasped his hands. “They’re iron. Grab something from the shelf, and we can pick it.”
As he rose to his feet, an ear-piercing squawk penetrated the room. He spun toward the doorway, and a flash of feathers and fangs zoomed toward him. Helga opened her bill and clamped onto his nose, rotating her legs like she was riding a bunnycycle, the razor-sharp claws at the ends of her webbed feet tearing into his neck.
She flapped her wings with vampire speed and strength, throwing him off balance. He careened backward, crashing into the shelf, sending all the contents flying across the room.
“It’s mine!Honk, honk,” Helga said, her mouth full of his face. “It’s all mine.”
He grabbed her by the neck and flung her away, but she didn’t tumble across the floor like he’d hoped. Instead, her eyes glowed red, and she caught the air with her wings. She flew toward Destiny, wrapping them around her and pressing her fangs against her neck.
“Take one more step and I’ll rip out her artery.” She tightened her wings around his angel’s shoulders. “Bound magic means no healing, means death in seconds.” She hissed, and a bit of drool hung from the side of her bill.
“Let her go.” He raised his hands, cutting a warning gaze to Max, who quietly crept into the shadows to hide. “She has nothing to do with this.”
Helga honk-laughed. “You really are a clueless little rabbit. You can stay in this realm with what’s left of your goddess. I’m going to drain your angel dry.”
The goose flapped a wing, opening a portal to the fae realm. Pete kicked a long, thin nail toward Destiny and lunged for her. She grabbed it, but Helga yanked her through the hole, slamming it shut behind them. His outstretched arms met air, and he rolled across the ground, knocking his head against the concrete wall.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Pete groanedand stumbled to his feet. “Max, can you pick the locks?”
“On it, sir.” The raccoon fiddled with the shackle around Eostre’s ankle.
“Leave me before the iron drains your magic.” The goddess rested a hand on Max’s back. “Save Easter. Save my legacy.”
“There is no Easter without the goddess of spring, and I’ll be damned if that godless goose is going to take your place.” Pete grabbed a roll of copper wire and shoved the end into the lock on her wrists. “She’s got the woman I love, and no one gets away with hurting my fated mate.”
He swirled the wire, and the chains clattered to the floor. Clutching Eostre by the waist, he draped her arm across his shoulders, bracing her weight against him. “Climb up, Max.”
The raccoon scrambled up his side and clutched the front of his shirt as Pete rose to his feet. With his dearest friends wrapped in his arms, he stomped three times, opening a rabbit hole in the ground.
