Emrys tries, repeatedly. But the wall Aerin keeps between their minds is impenetrable. Fear constricts in his chest.
“Something is wrong,” Emrys repeats.
He needs to go. They need togo.
Theo rips open the curtains on the far side of the apartment. The ones that face northeast, towards the Royal Village. Where the golden facades of the Royal Village normally shine, all they can see are flames and a massive plume of smoke rising in a dark sky.
Fear grips Emrys so tightly he thinks he might choke on it. Suddenly, Theo is there shaking his shoulders.
“Tell me she is alive, Emrys. You would know, if she were dead. Tell me she is alive.”
Emrys pauses, swallows, tries to think past the fear. To push past it to find those little strings that connected him to his pack. They are there, shining. Two strings. Relief fills him.
At best, they aren’t dead.
“She’s alive, but I can’t reach her. I can’t reach either of them,” Emrys says.
Reyna is in front of him, the Human so short she hardly reaches his chest.
“Khortland?” she asks, her voice thick.
Emrys shakes his head. There is no magical bond between Khortland and Aerin without their Paramyr-bond completed. He has no way of knowing.
Theo is already shoving his feet into shoes by the door.
“We have to go to her. She’s alive right now but who knows how long she’ll be that way.” Emrys is shifted into his Wolf formbefore Theo finishes his sentence. Theo turns to see a Wolf and a Fae looking at him.
“No.” He points at Reyna. “You stay here. I’m not taking a fragile Human out there when we have no idea what’s happened.”
“Like hell are you leaving me behind,” Reyna snarls, shoving past him into the hallway. Theo sighs but doesn’t fight her. The elevator takes minutes off Emrys’s life. When they finally hit the street, they run.
The closer they get to the Royal Village, the more chaotic things become. Creatures running away. Guards running towards. Journalists with cameras. Shouting. It isn’t until they make it through the now unmanned gates that Emrys really understands why. A section of the East side of the Royal Village is rubble, what is still standing is engulfed in flames.
And somewhere in that mess is his pack.
Emrys is one step from taking off into the fray when his neck is grabbed by Theo. The Mer hauls him up, his front legs lifting off the ground bringing Wolf and Mer eye to eye.
“They need someone to take charge out here. I will get these flames out. But you,” Theo shakes the skin he holds, his green eyes shining with determination, “You go in there and you find her. Do you understand me? You. Find. Her.”
72
THEODEN
Theo thought he knew fear. As he takes in the scene before him, as he watches Emrys run towards the flames, he realizes anything he felt before pales in comparison to the fear that grips him now.
But fear is not a useful emotion. Instead, he starts barking orders.
“Listen up!” he bellows, his magic amplifying the sound. The chaos of creatures swirling around him seems to halt. Everyone on the scene needs organization, a leader. And since Theo is the only Royal in sight, he supposes he’ll have to do.
“If you are able-bodied with any type of magic, we need to get these flames out! Fire-Fae, direct the flames towards the cliffside. Mer will be there directing water.” Theo contacted his personal Mer legion for help on the way here. They were quickly on standby, waiting for his orders.
“If you are injured,” Theo scans their surroundings for a suitable place, “proceed to the Royal Guard Tower. At the base, healers will assist you.” He looks at Reyna, the only healer around. She nods, jogging to the area where creatures are already congregating.
“Journalists,” Theo gestures to the creatures holding cameras, and they come closer. “I need word to be sent out. We need strength to sort through the rubble and find survivors. We also need to get word to more Healers, to get down here to help as soon as they can. Once the flames are out, we will start pulling creatures from the rubble.”
Those around him murmur their agreement, already starting their tasks. Theo can see members of his legion sending massive streams of ocean water onto the flames they can reach. Theo extinguishes anything close enough to the Guard Tower to be considered a threat to Reyna.
As he looks out over the wreckage, he wonders if Emrys was wrong. He wonders how anyone can be alive in there at all.
