Do it!Serenna urged, ramming into Fenn’s side, gripping him like a lifeline.
A hook snagged Serenna’s insides. The world darkened, tilted, and shifted wildly out of control.
Through the chaotic maelstrom of Fenn’s warp, Serenna wrestled to summon her power. A gasp escaped her as they materialized near the peak of the shield, suspended twenty paces off the ground. Fenn’s golden talons struck the shimmering ward, ripping it open in jagged lines.
Below, shouts rose and Essence surged, the magus scrambling to refortify the shield. Hairs lifting, Serenna sensedripples of magic clawing upward, fingers of power reaching to drag them down.
Shadows erupted from her, a writhing tomb that devoured the magical assault below. Essence crashed against her darkness in furious waves, but her rending consumed it greedily, tearing the power apart.
Fenn didn’t falter. Like a moth shedding its cocoon, he hurtled them upward through the gap cleaved in the shield.
The world spun as they ascended, Serenna’s stomach yanked up her throat with every jarring warp. The rapid shifts slammed her heart into her spine, her control over Essence slipping free.
Eyes squeezed shut, she forced a thought out.Won’t Taryn be able to follow?
Let her try.Fenn’s disgusted growl rumbled through her mind.We’ll see how well she manages, being only half wraith.
The rush of altitude stung Serenna’s cheeks, every fleeting reappearance in midair sending a jolt through her middle before Fenn flung them forward again. His fatigue bled through the bond, the intervals between jumps stretching longer as his strength waned.
When Fenn’s boots slammed into solid ground, Serenna’s hope flared—if they could warp faster than the magus could portal after them, they might actually escape. But before she could orient herself or check for pursuers, he slung them into another jump.
The world blurred as Fenn propelled them up the volcano’s treacherous slopes. Rocks crumbled beneath his claws as he scrabbled for purchase. Each jarring reappearance left Serenna yelping and tightening her grip around him, her mind too scattered to track how many times they nearly tumbled down.
Every leap felt like it could be their last until Fenn finally stumbled to a halt, chest heaving in rapid bursts, each breath fogging the icy air. Serenna let go of him, loose gravel shiftingbeneath her boots as she staggered, head spinning like a top. Frigid wind howled across the summit of the volcano, sweeping flurries of snow into the frosty night.
Having only been so high while soaring through the skies on Naru, Serenna stared at the breathtaking expanse—an endless sea of white. Scattered pinpricks of Essence flickered like distant stars, portals tearing open along the slopes. Cold dread sluiced through her veins—they had to keep moving.
Serenna swayed to the rim of the volcano’s crater, the vast chasm opening to the fortress far below. She glanced at Fenn, then back to the sheer drop. “We have to jump to the bottom, don’t we?”
Fenn’s expression was grim as he shed his chain mail gloves, tucking them behind his belt. “My father relayed that most of the lifts inside have been dismantled, but I haven’t heard from him since…” Trailing off, he peered over the edge, studying the gaping pit. He worriedly picked at his talons. “Lykor began the evacuation, at least. But I don’t know what waits for us below.”
Serenna hugged herself against the biting wind, voice trembling as she spoke. “We have to go,” she whispered, the words catching in her throat. If the wraith were still fleeing through Lykor’s portals, there might yet be time. But if they had been left behind… She swallowed hard, unwilling to entertain that thought.
Without warning, Fenn gripped her hips and hoisted her up. Serenna squeaked, arms snapping around his neck, legs locking around his waist.
His mouth claimed hers—fierce but fleeting, stealing her breath in a molten heartbeat.For luck,he growled into her mind.
Devoured by the flare of his desire, heat rushed through Serenna’s chest as Fenn broke the kiss. A feral grin hooked the corners of his mouth.To whatever end.
Then he jumped.
CHAPTER 20
LYKOR
Aportal ruptured the air. With a strangled curse, Lykor barely warped clear. He’d been overseeing the evacuation in the residential district, regenerating with the scattered scraps of starlight ricocheting off the cavern’s mirrors.
Essence hummed as Vesryn and Jassyn tumbled out in an undignified heap, the rift collapsing behind them so abruptly that it nearly sheared the prince’s boots in two.
Lykor stormed toward them, each step dropping like a hammer. Ignoring Jassyn’s floundering, he snatched the prince by his bandolier and hauled him upright.
“About time you showed up,” Lykor growled, irritation at the delay boiling his blood. “I need more portals—”
“Where’s Serenna?” Vesryn interrupted, panic rising in his voice.
He spun, wild eyes darting toward the volcano’s crater. Essence thundered in chaotic bursts, reverberating through the fortress like the heartbeat of a dying beast.
“The king attacked the Ranger Station, but I thought I sensed her…” Vesryn stiffened upon noticing the evacuation lines, eyes widening as he took in the scene. Draped in cloaks, rows ofwraith waited with their burdened packs, wraithlings clinging to their parents’ legs, faces etched with silent terror.
