I shot a look to the trees once more, my blood turning to ice as I watched Solace slowly step through the ancient oaks, Itanya clutched firmly in her arms. The girl kicked and squealed, fighting like hell to dislodge Solace’s hold.
My sister was as bright as the full moon above, her radiance nearly blinding.
But it was only the outside that was pure. Everything else inside was rotten and filthy, dead as she should be.
“Run, Gamma! Run!” Itanya squealed. Her words were enough to distract Solace for a moment, giving me time to turn and sprint the rest of the way to the caves.
My heart grew heavier with each step, pain lancing through my side as a spear caught the edge of my body.
Magic flew overhead and behind me as I sprinted the last few yards to the caves. The mouth grew closer with each step, Torin and Talamh’s forms illuminated in the bright moonlight and by the magic they clutched in their fists. Torin’s face was a tumultuous combination of anger and sadness that I felt in the marrow of my bones.
“Seal us in, Bondsmith,” Talamh growled as I skidded into the cave’s entrance, tripping on loose stones.
I neither felt nor cared about the sharp sting of impact as I threw my body to the rocky ground, procuring a dagger from the inside of my thigh. In one savage swipe, I opened my forearm from elbow to wrist, blood spraying the floor, walls, and bodies of those nearest me.
In frenzied movements spurned by the sounds of battle outside and fearful cries of littles inside, I dipped my fingers in my blood and began to draw as many runes as I could in the time remaining.
“Move,” a female voice barked to Torin and Talamh when she realized I needed to inscribe the ground beneath their boots.
Their magical defense stopped momentarily, enough for Solace to fly across the chasm and toward the cave’s entrance.
“Bondsmith,” Talamh growled in panicked warning. “Are you nearly?—”
“Finished,” I breathed, shaking in exhaustion as I collapsed to my knees, blood still freely flowing down my arm.
Seconds later, a gust of air blew through the cave’s entrance as a loudthumpoutside indicated Solace’s arrival.
Itanya was still clutched in my sister’s arms, though there were significant angry red scratch marks on her exposed skin and more than one imprint of teeth. A wave of pride washed over me at Itanya’s savagery.
“I heard there’s a little cult in the Far North missing a blood bag,” Solace hissed as she wrestled with a squirming Itanya. The boys frowned, their postures stiffening with clenched hands as they imperceptibly shifted their weight as if poised to strike at any moment.
“Stand down,” I muttered, pushing myself up to a kneel. “The wards will hold.”
Solace’s laugh was high and pitchy, sending tremors of fear down not just my spine.
“Lead your people through the caves, Torin,” I said, my voice tired and weak from our trek from Imena and the emotional turbulence of the last hour. “There is nothing you can do here.”
Torin whirled to face me, honey eyes flashing dangerously as he opened his mouth, gesturing violently toward Solace. Whatever caustic remark he was about to say, Ellowyn’s firm hand on his chest stayed his actions, the fight physically deflating him as she whispered in his ear.
Talamh turned with a grunt, sending Solace one last scathing look before he retreated into the darkness of the caves.
“Please, Torin,” I croaked, rising shakily to my feet, using the wall to support my weight.
Torin looked at Itanya once more, his eyes welling with heartache before he shot a glare at Solace, the promise of unspeakable pain clear as day.
“Your days are numbered, Goddess,” Torin declared, his voice a prophetic rumble. “If we don’t end you, then surely the girl in your arms will”—he gazed at Itanya once more—“stay strong, little one.”
Itanya gazed fiercely back at Torin, fire and brimstone flaring in her chocolate irises. She nodded at her uncle once before he turned and practically ran down the tunnel, Ellowyn’s hand clutched tightly in his.
So many unspoken words hung between Solace and me as we stood on opposite sides of my wards, glaring proverbial daggers at each other. If a look of hate could smite, we would both be joining the ether tonight.
Tentative footsteps and crunching rock preceded another’s arrival. The reasoning for the attack tonight became clearer as Razia came shuffling into view, sweat beading on his brow as he brushed twigs, dirt, and dust from his ostentatious tunic.
My lips curled as recognition flared and old hatred burned bright. “Taking my daughter wasn’t enough, Razia? You had to take my granddaughter, too?”
His thin lips curled into a semblance of a smile, but all I saw was a snake. One that, in time, would strike at Solace’s hand if she handled him too roughly.
Good.
