Dante! It has to be. Cronus said it takes many failed attempts before he can create a shifter. He’s probably been feeding his failures through the portal, but why? What the hell’s he up to now? Regardless, it makes sense there was a lull while he was held captive. “I might know who’s behind it. I need to find Kara.”
She pokes a carcass with her spear. “Copy that. We’ll be here, kicking ass as usual.”
“I’ll throw up a wall to keep them from the city.” Stepping forward, I flex my fingers, heat gathering under my skin as a line of fire shoots up from the ground, surrounding the portal. “It won’t hold forever, but it should help.”
She grins. “Careful, demon. Keep helping like that and some of us might start to like you.”
CHAPTER 36
Frankie
Sweat runs down the side of my face, dripping off my chin. My shoulders ache, and the knot at the base of my neck won’t go away no matter how hard I press on it. Turns out channeling magic is a lot harder than swinging a sword.
Brynn’s pacing a few steps away, giving me a moment to recover. I take a long drink from the canteen, hoping to avoid her for a few more minutes. My mind’s not on the next round. It keeps drifting back to last night.
The dark smudges under Jess’ eyes were deeper, like bruises that wouldn’t fade. And Graven…normally he keeps as much distance as the potion allows, but he stayed glued to her side. It must be wearing off because I could tell he was taking her pain. But she didn’t even think about herself, not that she ever does when it comes to me.
“Hey, talk to me. What’s going on?” she asks, tugging the blanket tighter around her shoulders.
I drag a hand over my face. “I just…I don’t get it. Brynn keeps telling me I have to make the light and dark work together, but every time I pull from one, the other unravels. I can’t figure it out.”
She rests her head on my shoulder, quiet for so long I wonder if she fell asleep. But then she chuckles. “Do you remember when we were little and we’d braid our hair together? My red streaks against your dark ones? We’d run around acting like we were…what was it? Mermaid warriors or something dumb.”
A laugh slips out of me. “I’d forgotten about that.”
“Maybe that’s all you need to do. Braid the two strands together and see what happens.”
I smooth her hair and kiss the top of her head. Could it really be that simple?
“Again.” Brynn’s voice pulls me back as she crouches beside me.
I hold one hand above a wilted flower slumping over its clay pot, the other above a splintered piece of dead wood.
“Remember to breathe,” she says. “And keep it balanced. Don’t let one swallow the other.”
Really? I wish I would’ve thought of that.
I inhale deeply and reach inward. The light rises first this time—quick, sharp, almost electric—while it races through my veins. The dark stirs slower and heavier, deep in my gut.
I picture them as two strands—one bright white, the other black as night. I try to braid them together, keeping the pull even, refusing to let either one surge ahead.
The flower trembles when light brightens my palm. A green shimmer creeps along its stem. Shadows seep from my other hand, blackening the edges of the deadwood, like fire is eating it from the inside out.
I keep my focus tight on the braid forming in my mind, pretending they’re simply two strands of hair belonging to two care-free kids. One piece wrapping over the other until something locks in place.
Brynn’s voice cuts through my concentration. “Frankie…your wings.”
Something flickers at the edge of my vision. Smoky shadows form behind my shoulders, lightning streaking through them. Holy freaking crap, they’re real. I try my hardest to keep it all steady, but the braid unravels.
Pain shoots through me, every nerve in my body lights up. I refuse to let go.I will hold this for just a moment longer. The magic slams into my chest, hurling me backward, knocking the air from my lungs as my spine hits the ground.Or not.
I blink up at the sky, not moving. The wings are gone, leaving a strange buzz under my skin. I’m trying to gather my bearings when the door to the training hall bangs open. Zarreth strides across the ring, Kara right behind him. Great! I was hoping he didn’t see that. I push up on one elbow. “I’m fine…”
“Fine?” He crouches beside me, his eyes traveling over my body, probably searching for injuries. “You call getting knocked halfway across the ringfine?”
I wince when I sit up, quickly looking around. No one’s bleeding from their eyes. No one collapsed, no blood, nothing. I can’t believe it! A laugh bubbles up. Maybe, I’m finally getting this.
“Yeah, I’m more than fine. Look!” I gesture toward Brynn. “Her eyes aren’t even bleeding! I had it, Zarreth! I completely let go and no one got hurt.”
