The snake. The rock. It’s happening now.
I know.
So, get over there!
I sigh, holding Kyra’s presence away from me. It was a skill I didn’t have before I joined with Dan.
Something about our mates changes the power inside us.
Grace!Kyra’s psychic presence shouts at me.
Yes!I holler back.
Get over there now. We’re mobilizing.
I’m on my way.
I let the connection lapse, and Dan comes back into the room, fully dressed and looking at me with concern.
“What’s going on? Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah,” I answer. “I’m fine.”
I stand in front of him, frozen in place.
I can’t just charge into battle with this many secrets in my heart. He doesn’t know about the coven, and he doesn’t know about—
Grace!Kyra screams again.
“I’m coming,” I say to both Dan and Kyra. “Walking out the door right now.”
I shove my fear and doubt aside as I hurry to get dressed, feeling my destiny being wrestled completely out of my hands and having no choice but to trust that everything will unfold exactly as it’s supposed to.
Chapter 25 - Dan
Leaving the house with Grace, a kind of fear like nothing I’ve ever known rises in me. It feels like it infects my blood, racing to every last corner of my body until I can barely think.
That’s okay. I was never a big thinker. This is my time to shine—finally, some action!
The thought doesn’t comfort me at all, and a stone of dread settles into my gut. I finally got what I wanted, and now I don’t want it anymore.
As I cross the front lawn with Grace, heading for the car, I let her get a few steps ahead of me, watching the morning light trace gold lights into her long blond hair. She turns and smiles at me, and it warms my heart even in circumstances as dire as this.
We jump in the car and take the dirt road towards the junction between all four packs, and I hand Grace my phone.
“Can you text with the others?” I ask. “There’s a massive operation going on to move innocent people out of the blast zone to Riverside and Clover, as well as mobilizing all warriors towards the stone.”
“We shouldn’t be doing that,” Grace replies, her voice high. “The snake needs warriors as well as innocents.”
“Is that really still true?” I ask. “How can we know that, since it’s gone so far beyond the original ritual?”
Grace looks out the windscreen, her face tense as she thinks. My phone buzzes, and she flicks it open, texting furiously.
“That was Luke,” she explains. “Working on the evacuation route. He wants to join us.”
“No!” I say, almost shouting. “He needs to stay and protect the people, and they’ll need a leader if… if…”
“If we don’t make it back,” she finishes softly. “I know.”
