* * *
Nick feltas if he had been falling for hours. Finally, he hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud. He wasn’t wet or smashed against the rocks, which meant the veil hadn’t been locked, and he was now in the elf realm. Lightning arced across the dark sky. As if someone had flipped a switch, rain suddenly fell in sheets. The lightning flashed again, and Nick saw the large castle sitting less than a mile away. As he started moving, thunder rolled through the air above him so loudly Nick thought his eardrums might burst. But it wasn’t the thunder that quickened his pace. It was a soundinsidethe thunder—a howl so full of pain he felt it in his soul. “Kara.” He used his wolf’s speed and ran.
He’d only made it twenty yards when a hand grabbed his arm. “My way is faster,” Adam said. Nick noticed Thalion on the other side of the male fae, his hand resting on Adam’s shoulder.
“Take us to the hall outside of the door I’ve shown you,” Thalion said to Adam.
The fae flashed, and suddenly they were standing in a stone corridor. He turned until his eyes landed on a large door. Nick felt her. His mate. She was on the other side of that door. The sorrow that flowed from her through their bond made it clear he’d been too late.
Nick grabbed the knob and turned, but the door wouldn’t budge. His wolf howled. Nick gripped either side of the frame and kicked with all of his might. The door flew inward and clattered to the ground.
The room was dark. Smoke from the newly extinguished candles wafted through the air. The lightning struck again, illuminating his mate’s form. She sat on the bed he’d seen in the drawing. She threw her head back and screamed again. The sound shattered a part of him.
“Adam,” Nick yelled and flung out his hand. A coat appeared in it, and Nick hurried to his mate. “Kara, sweetheart,” he said as gently as he could with his wolf pushing so hard against him. He briefly noticed the mutilated body of the elf king lying on the bed next to her. Then he focused back on Kara. She’d stopped screaming, and she was staring at him vacantly. Nick glanced over her clinically, making sure there were no wounds. It was difficult to tell because she was covered in blood. He draped the coat over her shoulders and pulled it closed in front of her. He pushed her hair away from her face and gently cupped her cheek.
“Nick,” she said, her voice rough.
“I’m sorry I was too late.” He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers.
“Nick, I did it,” Kara said, her voice growing stronger. “I killed him.”
Nick pulled back, his hands framing her precious face. He searched through the bond, trying to figure out what she felt, but her emotions were a maelstrom.
“I didn’t think I could do it, but I did.” She reached up and touched his face as if she couldn’t believe he was actually real. “It’s horrible and wonderful at the same time. Why?” Her body shook. “How can I feel both disgusted and triumphant? He deserved what I did.”
Nick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She immediately rested her head against his chest and gripped his shirt in her small fist. “Because death is always those things,” he whispered. “Sometimes one feeling outweighs the other. But in my experience, the taking of a life is never simple.”
“Let’s go home.” She breathed. The storm outside settled. Though the rain still fell, the thunder and lightning ceased. Nick realized as her breathing slowed that Kara had fallen asleep.
He turned to see more people had arrived, though not the entire group that had stood on the edge of the cliff to the elf veil, for which he was grateful. Peri stepped into the room with Elle beside her. She lifted her hand and then asked, “May I?”
Nick appreciated the fae asked instead of just touching his mate. He wasn’t sure what his wolf would have done if Peri had simply taken the liberty. “Yes.”
Peri laid her hand on Kara’s head, and Nick watched as the blood that had coated her hair and her face disappeared as if it had never been. “The rest of her is clean as well. She deserves to leave this place with as few reminders as possible.”
Nissa stepped forward and held out her arm. “If you’re ready?”
Nick moved so that the fae’s hand rested on his shoulder. Then they flashed. They arrived in the living room of the Canadian pack mansion. Without a word, Nick carried his mate to his room, which would now betheirroom because he was never letting her leave his side again.
“I’ve got you, Kara,” he said against her forehead as he pushed the door open and then closed it behind them, shutting the world out. “I’ve got you, and I’ll never let you go.”
* * *
Peri lookedacross the blood-covered room.Damn. It looked as if an entire army had been massacred instead of only one man. Everyone was silent. Only the rain falling outside could be heard. She walked over to where Ludcarab’s body lay. Despite the gruesome scene, Peri felt nothing for the fallen elf king. The man had done abhorrent things in his long life. But the acts he’d committed in this room were the worst, and they’d sealed his fate. Peri was glad Kara had been the one to bring his evil reign to an end.
“Peri.” Anna’s voice came from just behind her.
“Anna, maybe you should wait outside,” Gustavo said gently, no doubt wanting to protect his mate from the grisly display.
“Wait, Gustavo,” Anna said. “Peri, do you feel it?
“I feel it.” Peri’s voice was low.
“What?” Gustavo asked.
“Kara’s magic. It wasn’t just her healer magic she used. I feel the witch magic, and it feels like Volcan’s.”
Peri tuned out everything around her and focused on the remnant of power still floating in the air. Anna was right. Dark power coated the place, and it wasn’t Ludcarab’s. “I cannot blame her for using it,” Peri said.
