“Aurora!” I call out, stopping abruptly when I spot her down the aisle, her eyes glowing with vibrant amethyst as she stares blankly ahead of her, her palms facing the corner.
“Don’t, Elias!” she warns without looking at me, her gaze fixed on something in the corner. “Stay back! It’s the demon dog!”
My heart skips a petrified beat, eyes growing wide with terror as I watch Aurora wield her magic powers to disarm the demon in the corner. It comes whooshing forward toward her, but she’s able to send out piercing pulses of lilac bolts from her palms, hitting the demon’s ribcage just as it lunges toward her. It whimpers and growls as it’s knocked against the wall, but when Aurora tries to shoot out thunderbolts of magic from her hands again, she fails.
As the light in her eyes becomes weaker, I notice the sweat dripping from her forehead. The all-consuming fire raging all around her must be dampening her powers, the heat extinguishing her gifts.
My head snaps in the direction of the demon just as it floats upright, the ghastly black creature sauntering toward Aurora just as she’s run out of power in her palms.
“Aurora! Watch out!” I warn, my sixth sense kicking in to indicate that there’s no way she could power up again in time. My wolf comes to the fore, spreading fur across my body and sending me leaping forward in wolf form. It’s like Aurora reads the situation intuitively, and in a flash, she hops onto my back and grabs tufts of my fur as I carry her through the blazing fire, crashing through the window just as a burst of flames chases us.
Once we’re outside at the back of the clinic, Aurora hastily climbs off, forcing me to return to my human form just in time to catch her in my arms. She’s sobbing, her entire frame quaking in my embrace.
She’s panting, struggling to lug in deep breaths that sound as panicked as the sensations rolling over her body. Her sweat is cold against my sweater, and I pull back to realize that she’s having a panic attack.
“Breathe, Aurora…” I encourage, sucking in a deep breath as a demonstration when she meets my eyes. Hers are a foreign shade of caramel, glossed over with tears as she struggles to regain control.
“I’m not strong enough…” she whimpers. “I’m not strong enough…”
Through her wailing cries and inconceivable lack of confidence, I continue mimicking the pace she needs to find. With my hands smoothing her arms to get her to calm down, she’s finally able to pucker her lips and suck in air that calms her body.
“That’s it…deep breaths, Aurora…you’re fine…you’re safe…”
She shakes her head fervently, then her panic returns, and I feel her shuddering beneath my palms. “No! I could have taken it down! I’m just not strong enough!”
Seeing that she’s becoming overwhelmed again, I forcefully grip her shoulders, forcing her to look up into my stern eyes.
“No, Aurora,” I protest firmly. “You’re not responsible for taking that thing down by yourself, do you hear me?”
Her eyes become solemn pits of despair as she gulps. “Th—there must be something I can d-do,” she tries, her voice trembling.
I nod determinedly, then turn as I slide my arm across her shoulders. “There’s only one thing you can do,” I say as I watch my men trying and failing to put out the hungry fire that envelops the clinic building. Though there’s snow all around, the growing flames threaten to catch the trees just behind the building. If it spreads further, the forest will be burned down, leaving our town dreary and exposed. Not to mention if it reaches the town square…
“You can put the fire out, Aurora,” I encourage with a nod as I step in front of her, kneeling so I’m at eye level with her. “That’s the only thing you can do now, to save the town from burning out.”
She shakes her head slowly, brows furrowing with deep thought. “I c-can’t… I’ve only ever created fire. Caused destruction…”
I shake my head in return. “If you have the power to create it, you have the power to undo those things too,” I rally. “I have faith in you. I believe in you, Aurora. You can do this.”
My vote of faith seems to twinkle in her eyes as fiery determination of amethyst sparks that glitter like the stars in the night sky. She takes a deep breath and nods slowly, calculatedly, her eyes flitting to the building behind me. Smirking proudly, I step aside for my mate to work her magic, and it coils in her palms as she readies herself to fight the fire.
She steps forward boldly, spreading out her fingers and sending lighter jets of lilac mist through the air. Like a cloud of condensation, the mist covers the burning building, shelteringthe fire and dampening it as if her palms are sending out droplets of water.
The entire building is covered by the mystical mist, the fire being controlled before it’s extinguished, leaving behind the shell of the clinic building with gaping holes where the windows used to be.
Aurora collapses to her knees, and I rush forward to capture her in my arms just as her eyelids become heavier, her arms limp as she sighs.
“I did it,” she smirks feebly, a light giggle escaping her as her leaded eyelids drag down.
“You did it, Aurora,” I commend with an appreciative kiss on her forehead, pride swelling my chest as I pull her close to let her feel the safety of my arms. “I am so proud of you, my love.”
Pulling back, I notice that Aurora’s eyelids are closed now, her lips parted as she wheezes from exhaustion. I lift her into my arms, then carry her toward the cabin as I send out a call to my soldiers to beware of the demon dog.
Just then, a mind link returns with news of a fallen soldier on the border—a border patrol member who’d been found dismembered and scattered in a measured line as if to send a message.
Sighing when I’m on the porch, I lower my head and take a moment of silence for the fallen soldier. Though I’m relieved that my mate is safe, the details Dillon gives me about the guard’s death are spine-chilling.
The demon is playing in our territory, and it’s probably after Aurora for her powers. We’ll have to do something.
