Visibly hurt from the energy that had hit her, she swiped out with her flaming tail feathers and smashed Ixana in the face, sending her spinning and cartwheeling into a wall off the side of the platform.
Before she could right herself, Dannie was soaring high, her flaming bird strong and regal, so incredibly beautiful as it went for the sunburst stone.
Ixana shot more energy, but it was too late to stop Dannie from swallowing the stone whole.
Shadow’s painful howl was lost in the beat of silence, like the world held its breath, and then a light so bright that it blinded me instantly filled the room. I blinked and tried to shield my eyes, but there was no hope of getting around the power of that stone. Especially combined with a magical Nexus phoenix.
Shadow’s hands were on me, holding me close as he crouched protectively across my body, neither of us sure about what was happening in the room. Eventually, the power fell, the light faded, and I was wrapped around my beast, holding on for dear fucking life.
He ran his hands over me, checking that everything was in its right spot, and I took that extra beat of comfort by hugging him, my nails digging into his back.
“Sunshine?” he rumbled.
“Dannie?” I choked out in answer, hoping he would have more information.
There was a heavy pause. “Gone.”
Apparently, we could only speak in single-word answers, but I heard the grim tone in that one word. She was gone as far as he could tell, with no idea if she was dead or alive.
When he finally let me stand on my own, the first thing I noticed was that the lava barrier had dried up, allowing the creatures to cross to freedom. First thing first, though. Shadow found Ixana huddled on the floor, her hands over her face.
When she finally lifted them away, I choked on my gasp. Her eyes were gone, completely burned to nothing more than black embers, as she shook her head frantically.
“I can’t see,” she choked out. “Why can’t I see? My stone. Where is my stone?”
The loss of power would be hitting her now, too much for her brain to handle after so many years tied to the stone.
Shadow reached for her. “You’re done, Ixana,” he said softly. “Where is the bloodstone?”
She was rattled enough not to fight, turning one of her coat buttons, clearly an illusion, into the ruby red stone. It fell into Shadow’s palm, and I waited with bated breath, wondering if it was another trick.
The beast’s head dropped back, a howl spilling from his lips as the power settled in his bones.
“Shadow,” I said hesitantly.
His head snapped toward me. “Mine,” he rumbled.
Was he talking about the stone or me? His friends converged on the scene before I could ask him to clarify. Reece went straight for Ixana, securing her with bindings that looked like they’d come right from the desert themselves, as a barbed cactus-type plant twisted around her.
“Shadow’s mother should not have been able to do that,” Len said, staring up at the spot where his stone had been. “That stone is too powerful.”
There was no sign of Dannie at all. No feel of her power. No sense of what had happened to her.
“Let’s get the creatures back and then we can search for her,” I suggested, knowing Shadow would not rest until he found his mom. Or learned of her fate.
I felt the same way. She’d saved us when I’d had not a clue what to do. We owed Dannie a lot. I would not let her down.
Shadow, seemingly adapted to the new influx of power from his stone, stepped forward, just as Reece asked him if he was okay.
“Yes,” the beast rumbled. “It’ll be easier when the bonding ceremony is complete, but for now, we’re meshing our energy without too much issue.”
“Can you help me return the creatures?” I asked. “Before the Nexus falls completely without Dannie’s energy.”
“How did she leave it in the first place?” Angel asked.
Shadow’s flaming irises met mine. “Sunshine called her. She’s connected to Mera.”
“She knew we were in trouble,” I said sadly. “But before we can deal with that, we have to save the world.”
