“I’ve got her.Let’s go!”
As he ran with the elves back to the protective perimeter, his wolf roared in dismay.He knew exactly who she was the moment he’d been near her and picked up her scent—his truemate.How the hell had she wound up between Frost’s lair and Northernmost and who was she?
When he’d crossed the barrier into the safety of Northernmost, he went straight to Santa.
“Help her,” Sebastian said, half demand and half plea.
Santa put his hand on her forehead and closed his eyes for a moment, and then he said, “Her magic is dangerously depleted.Get her to the Well immediately!”
Running to the Well, Sebastian set her on the ground.He maneuvered her to the edge of the Well and pushed her hands into it, the golden glow of the magic surrounding her skin and seeming to sink inside her.
The Well pulsed with a loud hum as it replenished her magic.As her magic was restored, he felt the connection to her bloom and was reassured she was not only going to be okay, but that she was for sure his truemate.
He brushed her dark hair from her face and pulled off her ice-covered stocking cap.“Sweetheart, how the hell did you get out there?”
She’d been so pale when he put her hands in the Well, and now she was healing before his eyes.The black eye disappeared, small cuts and bruises on her face and neck healed, and he wondered if she’d been fighting with Frost’s followers.
The magic in the Well brightened suddenly, and his mate gasped sharply, and then her eyes opened.They were blazing red, like they were lit with fire from within her.Flames shot from her hands and Sebastian shielded his eyes with a curse, his skin stinging like a sunburn.
“Shit!Where’s my sister!”
Sebastian put his hands on her cheeks, and she blinked a few times, her brow furrowing.
“I’m Sebastian, one of the Guardians at the Well of Magic.I found you unconscious in the snow and the Well has just replenished your magic.What happened to you and your sister?”
“My name is Emberlin,” she said, her voice weak but determined.“My sister Talia and I opened a portal to come to Northernmost to replenish our magic, but something went wrong, and we ended up outside Frost’s lair.We were attacked by his followers and they took her!”She stood shakily, her eyes no longer bright red but enchanting all the same—one gold and one blue.“I need to go get her!”
“You can’t go out there alone,” Sebastian said firmly.“Frost is dangerous and so are his followers.”
Her eyes blazed with defiance.“I’m a phoenix witch.I can get her back.”
Sebastian put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed lightly.“Emberlin, do you understand why I was able to find you in the dark?”
She pushed away from him.“Yes!Of course, I know why!I can feel our connection.But I can’t think about that right now.I have to get my sister back!”Her voice cracked with emotion, and Sebastian’s heart cracked right along with it.
“I’ll help you,” Sebastian said.He looked at Santa.“We need a plan.”
Santa nodded.“We’ll mount a rescue.Your power as a phoenix witch is formidable, but even someone who’s a force of nature like you needs help.”
Royce used his walkie to call any available security team members to the Well.
Emberlin paced at the edge of the Well and sniffled.“I messed up.I waited too long to replenish my magic, and that’s why our portal here was so unstable.”
“We’ll get your sister back,” Sebastian said.
She gave him a grateful smile, her eyes glistening with tears.“Thank you, Sebastian.”
As the team members gathered, a sudden burst of light outside the magical perimeter made everyone freeze.A portal appeared, crackling and pulsing with dark magic.A figure emerged from the portal carrying someone and dropped the person to the ground.
“Talia!”Emberlin shouted.
Sebastian grabbed his mate before she could run out of the magical perimeter.He knew the male in the portal—Azure—Frost’s second in command and a warlock-turned-evil follower.
“Jack says hello,” Azure sneered, then gave a salute and a middle finger and disappeared into the portal that closed after him with a cracking sound.
Emberlin struggled in Sebastian’s hold, and he said, “No, Emberlin!It could be a trap.”
“I have to get her!”
