The sensation of shifting only lasts a second before I stumble and drop to my knees again.
My father is on his backfoot, but he quickly reaches me. He must be calling his power back to himself because the shadows around me rapidly disappear.
My fear lifts, but I stare up at him, blinking in shock. “What happened?”
His pale eyes are narrowed as he crouches in front of me. Again, without touching me. “You reached your demon. Only for a moment, but she revealed herself.”
I lift my hands to study them, certain now that I didn’t imagine the black claws or the way my eyes glowed so much brighter than they do in my wolf form.
“I was wrong,” Jareth murmurs, his forehead creased lightly. “So many times, I’ve been proven wrong of late. It seems that your wolf is your conduit to your true self. Your wolf will lead you to the monster within when you need her.”
Relief at not having to sever any bonds in my battle with Esta hits me with enough force that I almost stumble.
“I have a plan for Esta, but what about Crone?” I ask. “It’s not enough to survive her. I have to destroy her.”
Jareth’s features soften. “You are truly unique, daughter. You have harnessed your fear as a strength that drives you.” He rises to his feet and stands back for me to do the same.
Then he considers me carefully, his hands folded in front of himself. “Even at my full power, it took me years to find Crone’s fear, piecing it together like a puzzle over time. But even if I tell you about it, her fear won’t be easy to use against her.”
“Why not?”
“Because she fears her fate.”
I blink at him. “Her fate?”
He nods. “Crone is ancient and believes in the old ways: the power of destiny. The inability to change one’s fate.” A glimmer of a smile touches Jareth’s lips. “It’s a difficult fear to use without knowing the specifics of the fate she believes will be her undoing.”
“Do you?” I ask. “Know the specifics?”
He shakes his head. “I can only assume that every move she has made has been to avert whatever fate she believes is coming for her.”
“Then it’s nearly impossible to use her fear against her,” I murmur. But I quickly purse my lips in thought. “Unless we lead her to believe that we know about it.”
“You mean deceive her?”
I nod. “Why not?” I square my shoulders. “Her fate is coming for her.”
I’m coming for her.And I won’t give up until my family is safe.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE
It’s past midnight when we emerge from the cavern into the fresh night air. Stepping from the cave, I pause as the moonlight flickers across the sky. I wish it was because I was admiring the beauty of the starry night, but it’s the relentless shimmer of energy that passes through the moonbeams that makes me stop.
It’s clear we don’t have long before the fracturing of energy between the worlds becomes irreversible.
My family has gathered outside the cavern: Mom, my sisters, my wolves, and Koda. Dastian and Adriel stand in the background, but not far behind my sisters. It’s the first time I’ve seen them since I went into the cavern to be healed. Dastian appears far more relaxed than Adriel, whose wings are slightly ruffled.
Athella stands with the others, but at first, I don’t see Roman, until I sense his presence closer to me and find him beside the cavern wall to my right, a supporting force at my back.
It seems that Athella has told them what needs to happen because Mom rushes toward me and wraps me up in her arms, nearly squeezing the life out of me. Her voice breaks when she asks, “How can I let you go?”
I close my eyes as tears burn behind my eyes. I tell myself I can’t let her see them. Can’t make this harder than it already is. All I can do is hug her back and kiss her cheek.
“This is a sucky plan,” Taniya declares into the silence. “Really fucking sucky.”
Dastian lets out a deep laugh as he slips his arms around her. “My mate has quite the way with words.”
For what might be the first time in her life, my strong, mouthy, fiery sister is rendered silent. She blinks rapidly at Dastian, as if her mind can’t quite process what he said. I imagine the look on her face right now is the same as the stunned expression on mine when Roman first called me his mate. It was as if I’d been smacked in the face by a brick wall. Only the pain was nice. A squeeze of perfection tightening around my heart.
