The Great Phoenix sprang from the wormhole in a flare of molten gold, its wingspan cleaving the sky like a blade of fire. The air around them scorched with residual heat, wind shrieking across Rynna’s skin as they banked hard above the ruined landscape of the marshland. The blackened scar they’d failed to reach before now sprawled openly beneath them, its barrier shattered, its desecrated earth smoldering under the broken sky. No dead in sight.
Rynna’s stomach dropped as Hika hovered, wings beating in slow, thunderous rhythm. From this height, the full scale of the devastation was undeniable. The earth looked flayed. Cratered. Wounded. She felt the dread coil up from her gut and settle behind her heart. It was almost over.
Beside her, Fenn tested the blades strapped to his belt.
Rynna caught his eye, and her throat tightened.Please don’t do anything stupid, wolf. I can’t…don’t make me lose you again.
Fenn didn’t argue, but something in his expression shifted. “I’ll do my best, love.”
He leaned closer, brushing his forehead to hers, and she could almost hear him.Sometimes, a sacrifice must be made.
Her heart constricted, and Rynna shifted, starting to rise—
But Elara caught her with a gentle hand.
“Hold on.” She peeled away the rest of the makeshift wraps around Rynna’s injured arm, humming softly. “I’m almost done.”
And, strip by strip, the linens unfurled under the young woman’s fingers, each rotation smoothing the ruined skin beneath.
She is far more skilled than any healer we had in my day.Kaelith stood nearby, watching in silence, tracking each rotation.
Rynna opened and closed her fingers, testing the strength. The ache was gone.
Yeah, she is.Rynna looked to Elara, mouthing a quiet thank you.
Elara simply nodded, serene as ever, and stepped back into place, wedging herself between Taren and Bran without ceremony. Neither man moved. Their hands had found each other sometime between the wall, and here, fingers still laced.
Rynna glanced down, arching a brow, then smiling as Taren coughed and Bran looked away, ears tinting pink.
“Okay,” she whispered, turning back to Fenn, punching his shoulder lightly. “Time to go, I guess.”
The wind stirred her hair, and his eyes searched hers as he pulled her closer.
“However this ends.” His thumbs rubbed slow circles into her shoulders, as if memorizing the shape of her. “I’m glad to have shared this life with you.” He looked past her to the others. “With all of you.”
Sniffing, Rynna nodded, steeling herself. Then she took Fenn’s hand in one of hers, and Kaelith’s in the other.
On the opposite side, Elara clasped Taren and Bran’s hands.
Six together.
“I suppose it’s time to save the world.” Kaelith sighed. “Of all the times to grow a conscience.”
Bran grinned, eyes glinting. “Welcome to Fang Unit, snake.”
Chapter sixty
Thestaircasestretchedendlessly,each step deforming space as if reality itself had been warped. It didn’t spiral or descend straight but zigzagged at unnatural angles, casting shadows that bent and crawled across the walls in the uneven light.
“I don’t remember an underground level anywhere near the lab two weeks ago,” Rynna muttered, one hand gripping the rough stone wall for balance. A wave of queasiness rolled through her as the world pitched sideways.
“It was here.” Kaelith moved beside her, offering a steadying hand. “Skarn often complained about not being allowed to the lower levels.”
Ahead, Bran’s flames crackled, lighting the path just enough to reveal more of the winding staircase. “Whatever’s down here.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Taren, El, and I go first.”
Fenn’s steps faltered as he frowned. “Bran…”
“No, Guide Fenn,” Bran interrupted. He slowed, turning to face Fenn directly, the fire dancing in his eyes. “Hika is quite clear thatweneed to be the ones to face whatever it is. That she needs to face him.”
