Sinthy shook her head vehemently. I couldn’t tell if it was an answer or not. It almost looked like she was trying to throw something out of her head.
“The magic feels wrong. That’s what I mean.”
I had my phone, my fingers flying over the screen as I texted my guys. “Sinthy, can you pinpoint the location? Do you know where they’re trying to get in?”
“I do. Yeah.”
“Let’s go.”
I grabbed her by the hand and sprinted for the door. Before we’d even made it twenty feet from the house, Luis and Felipe came loping toward us in wolf form, running at full speed to catch up. Sebastian was running from the opposite end of the pack lands, also sprinting to reach us. Not wanting to stop and explain, I continued running with Sinthy, letting her lead. She was so fast, and it shocked me. She started leaving me behind, and I had to shift in order to keep up. She was full of surprises.
The closer we got, the more I sensed it, almost like someone was pounding on my chest. Whoever was trying to get in was beating on the wards, almost like a door. That shouldn’t have been possible. Anyone touching it should have been damn-near electrocuted.
Sinthy led us deep into the woods, toward the very edges of my lands and the wards, until we came to an opening in the trees. I froze and shifted back. The wards were shimmering, almost rippling from where someone was touching them. A dark hooded figure stood at the wards, running their hands over the barrier. The wards didn’t touch them.
Then a crack, like a thunderbolt, exploded around us. I slammed my palms to my ears. It sounded like a grenade going off. Luis crumpled to his knees—his hands clutched at his ears. In the distance, the hooded figure took a step back and froze when they caught sight of us. We growled, deep and threatening, at the intruder.
“God,” Sinthy whispered, fear and awe laced in her voice. “This can’t be.”
“What can’t be?” I snarled.
“The wards. They’re broken. Gone.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “What?”
Ignoring me, Sinthy was still shaking her head and talking to herself. “They shouldn’t be able even to crack them, much less break them down.”
She turned menacing eyes toward the intruder. Moving almost too fast to see, Sinthy raised a hand and uttered words I didn’t understand under her breath. The intruder jerked as if hit and raised both of their own hands back at her. I watched in confusion as a strange pulsing energy flowed between them. At times it looked like water, at others a colorful wind. The intruder and Sinthy both grunted with exertion, each flicking with that strange energy.
Was this what it looked like when witches fought? Because that’s what this intruder must have been. Nothing else could have taken Sinthy’s wards down. But the fact that they’d done it at all showed how dangerous this person was.
“Please… don’t hurt me.” The figure grunted, gasping in exhaustion and struggle. The voice of a man, but slight and wavering—young.
“Who are you?” Sinthy growled, her voice as deep and angry as any shifter’s. Her hair floated about her face, raised by the energy emanating from her. I’d never seen her so enraged. She was fucking terrifying.
The intruder was now on their knees. Whatever power they had wasn’t enough to survive a full onslaught from Sinthy. One of his hands lowered, the other barely staying up to hold off her full power. Bark peeled off trees, moss ripped away, and stones flew backward. If he dropped his guard, Sinthy’s power would strip him to the bone.
“Please,” the man pleaded in a broken, terrified tone.
Following my instincts, I put a hand on Sinthy’s shoulder. “Enough.”
“What?” She turned her fiery rage-filled eyes on me.
I looked back at her, calm and steady. “You’ve beaten him. That’s enough.”
Hesitantly, Sinthy lowered her hand and dropped the multitude of spells she’d been sending toward the man. The new arrival sagged to the forest floor. Sinthy shrugged my hand away from her shoulder and stomped toward the man. With a flick of her wrist, his hood flew backward, revealing the face of a young man. Barely more than a teenager. Twenty-one at the oldest. He looked at Sinthy with fear and shock. I hurried to catch up with Sinthy.
“Explain!” she screamed. Her face inches from the boy’s. “Explain it.”
With wide, fearful eyes, the boy wordlessly shook his head like he didn’t understand.
Still consumed with rage, Sinthy kicked a clod of dirt at the boy, and mud spattered across his face.
“Why does your magic feel like my mother’s? How did you do it? Fucking tell me.” On the last word, the air began to pulse with energy. Her anger was palpable.
In the distance, I noticed another disturbance. My ears pricked up, and I scented the air. More people.
“Luis! Radio the perimeter guards. We have more intruders incoming. I need bodies here. Now.”
