I nodded. “Let’s finish him then,” I said, calling out for everyone to retreat as far away as possible from the beast. The firewall dimmed, exposing the dying forest around us once again.
Elementals began backing away from the downed creature as its fight slowly died. I risked a glance at the ground whereI’d witnessed Kodiak fall. Void had him by the underarms, dragging his limp body away from the griffin.
Once the space around the griffin was clear, Aella and I shoved the remaining bits of our power into our elements. Within seconds, the creature stilled just before it exploded, sending blackened feathers and fur flying through the air. The entrails of the massive beast didn’t go far, thanks to the shields.
Aella released my hand and immediately collapsed to her knees. My own legs felt like sticks of gelatin.
I sank down beside Aella, exhaustion and a deep-seated hunger taking root. The need to pull from the aura of a soul gnawed from the inside of my stomach out. I needed totake. Wanted more than anything to feed until someone’s life force was mine to thrive on. The hunger was insatiable. Not like the first time I nearly killed Orion. It was all I could do not to give in to it.
Take, Daughter. It’s all yours.
I jumped at the sound of my father’s voice in my mind. I could’ve sworn he’d murmured in my ear. “Did you hear that?” I asked Aella breathlessly as I clutched my chest. The racing of my heart only tripled from the deprivation. I’d been feeling a sporadic hunger since Chrome had turned Infernal, but nothing quite like this. Now, to hear my father’s voice, panic began to take hold.
“Hear what?” Aella grumbled, her head drooping to her chest.
I shook my head. Of course, she hadn’t heard it. “Nothing.”
“Gray.” Slate threw himself to his knees. “Here. Take this.” He held out his palm, handing me a pinch of mushweed.
I cupped the herb in my unsteady hand, ready to toss it back when, through blurring vision, I witnessed Aella’s body quaking, on the verge of collapse. “Aella,” I called out. She didn’t look up to acknowledge me, so I crawled to her to close the distance between us. “Take it.”
I could find more, or replenish my magic reserves the old-fashioned way, but Aella clearly needed it more than I did.
A haunting voice crept into my head with whispers of dangerousdemands that my body desperately needed. “Take, Daughter. Make me proud for once.”
I flinched, hunting for the owner again. My heart pounded in my chest at its commanding tenor, triggering the panic I’d felt as a child. Shivers scurried down my back, prickling so the hairs stood on end at my father’s intonation.
I squeezed my eyes shut, my palms bracing my temples.No, you’re just tired and deprived. He’s not there.
With a deep breath, I shook it off.
Suddenly, the near-silent connection between Chrome and me thrummed in my chest, and the hunger, as well as the staunch yearning initiated from the other end, captivated me.
Chrome was nearby; I could feel him, but the bond was too weakened to identify his precise location.
My body seemed to gain control of itself, taking me out of the driver’s seat. I rose to my feet, feeling the ripping fervor to deplete, as if my essence were being scraped away bit by bit.
I scanned the carnage around me, unbothered for the moment, then took a step forward, headed for the dark wood where I sensed Chrome’s energy.
“Gray!” a male voice called out from behind me.
I stopped, slowly turning to face the person who dared to prohibit me from finding what I needed.
The man…what was his name, again? He rushed forward, grabbing my wrist and shoving a grassy herb into my palm. “Take this. Now.”
The longer I waited, the more distant I became from my autonomy. I stared at the substance in my hand, wondering why he needed me to take this when I needed something much more powerful and to find my other half.
A feminine sigh snatched my attention. Her aura was much stronger than it had been a few moments prior. Desperate to feed it to my barren well, I latched on. The woman gasped, her eyes bulging from her skull in shock as I began to pull from her energy.
“Gray, no!” the male shouted, grabbing my shoulders and giving me a harsh shake. I pushed him off, focusing on the beautiful woman beside me.
“Fuck,” the man uttered to himself, just before a fist slammed into my temple.
My brain rattled in my head as my vision seemed to triple, while an acute jolt shot from my shoulder down my arm from where I hit the ground. The man climbed on top of me, working to restrain me by the wrists. His knees squeezed my sides, applying pressure on my vital organs as I struggled to fight him off. I bucked my hips upward, trying but failing to pivot my hips to throw him to the side.
With one hand, he had my wrists pinned to the earth above my head. The other hand held the subpar herb.
I twisted my head from side to side to keep it from entering my mouth. But it was no use—he had the advantage, almost like he knew my moves before I did. Swiftly, he shoved the herb between my lips and onto my tongue before cupping my mouth.
