“I’m sorry, Rachel,” I said. “I shouldn’t have locked you in the house. I should have tried to talk to you more about it.”
She blinked, her shoulders relaxing as she gave me another speculative look. Her features softened.
“Thanks,” she said, still guarded, but less so.
I reached out and took Rachel’s arm. She looked up at me, her face a mask as she waited to see what I would say, how I would react.
“Be careful,” I muttered, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. “I’m going to be with you the entire time. I won’t let the wraith hurt you.”
She stared up at me, her eyes wide and filled with a mix of emotion that seemed impossible to fully parse.
“I know,” she said, and gave a small smile.
Chapter 23 - Rachel
Sweat prickled on my forehead and my neck the second we walked into the cave. It wasn’t a wet heat like a sauna, but a bone-dry heat during the hottest day of the year in the middle of the desert. The heat pressed at my lungs and weighed down my shoulders. Already, I could feel my clothes growing slightly damp.
My heart pounded as I forced myself to take deep breaths. Though I was hellbent on helping Emma, that didn’t mean I wasn’t terrified. My hands trembled as my mind raced, wondering what the hell would happen if I failed. Still, I forced myself to keep going, plunging deeper into the heat.
Nausea that had nothing to do with nerves wrapped around my stomach and squeezed tight, making me grimace as I stumbled. I squeezed my eyes shut.
A gentle hand wrapped around my elbow. His thumb rubbed against my skin.
“Are you all right?” Sam asked.
“Just a bit nauseous,” I murmured as I straightened. I didn’t want him to think I was weak. When I met his gaze, all I saw was concern.
“Do you need to take a breather?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
“There isn’t enough time,” I said.
Sam opened his mouth as if about to argue. He saw my expression and gave a short, curt nod. He squeezed my arm, then released it. He stayed next to me, barely a foot away, like he was tethered to me by a rope.
The cluster of shifters, some in wolf form, others human, continued marching silently through the tunnel, with Elias in the front, not breaking stride. My brother’s face might have been a mask, but I knew him well enough to know he was bristling with barely contained rage that he was itching to let out at the first chance.
Nothing happened for a long time, long enough that I began to wonder if we were in the right place. That changed when we reached a large cavern. A rumbling sound came from deeper in the cavern. A moment later, swirling sand stung my eyes, and the wraith burst forth. Its eyes swept across our group, barely acknowledging me. Its mouth curled into a sardonic smirk.
“The wolves have come to rescue their witch,” the wraith said in its gravelly voice, the words coming out as a sneer. “How predictable.”
Elias stepped forward. “This is your one warning, wraith,” Elias growled. “Hand Emma over, and we’ll walk out of here.”
“And then what? You come back to fight me another day, when you have the advantage?” it sneered. “I am smarter than that, wolf.”
“We have the advantage now,” Elias said. “You just don’t realize it. Surrender now, hand over Emma, and we won’t kill you.”
It let out a laugh that grated in my ears. “Kill me? With what magic? You have no way of fighting me, Alpha. Face it. I’ve won. Leave now without the witch, and I’ll let you live a bit longer.”
“Last chance, wraith,” Elias said.
“I think not,”the wraith said. “I’m fascinated to see what trick you have up your sleeve, wolf.”
I stepped forward, knowing my cue without having to be prodded. It looked at me, its head tilted in curiosity. Then it burst into laughter again.
“This little morsel? She can’t even conjure her wolf to begin with. What good is she going to be able to do?”
Before it could utter another word, I raised my hand and let out a jet of flame, aiming it directly at its head. The heat blazed even hotter in the sweltering cavern as the space lit up with the warm, flickering firelight.
The wraith’s glowing eyes widened in surprise and what might have been fear as the jet of light burst toward him. I thought it would hit him directly in the face. Instead, the wraith shot out of the way just in time, and the flame slammed into the far wall, scorching the stone with a dark mark that looked like a star.
