The closer we drove, the more I understood that Hanna had been the only light holding this place together. It wasn’t dying. It wasrotting.
The flowers that should have been lush and blooming were wilted, shriveled and dripping with a blackened sap that smelled faintly of acid and bitterness. The trees were sick, branches twisted like they were reaching for help they knew would never come.
Magick hung in the air—not bright, wild and alive like hers. This wassick. Off.Spoiled.
“Corruption,” Krusk whispered. “Dark alchemy, like the warlocks from Hellplane. That’s probably why the coven is having such a hard time breaking it. That’s… bad, Sav.”
My pulse roared.
“She grew up here,” I said—voice a broken rasp.
Krusk and Enka’s silence was answer enough. They knew what that meant. My female had been manipulated by these corrupt bastards who called themselves her parents.
The bond spasmed hard in my chest. If I hadn’t been sure before, I was now.
She’s inside.
Krusk killed the engine, but we didn’t move yet. I couldn’t even breathe.
Her magick flickered, faint and crushed under layers of spellwork. But it was here—nearby and suffering.I swung the door open before Krusk had a chance to speak, or we could evencobble a plan together.
“Sav!” Krusk barked. “Hold—”
I didn’t bother to let him finish that sentence. I was already moving fast across the dead grass, boots sinking into soft rot that slurped like a hungry mouth. The air around me shimmered with heat, even though I was certain it was just my rage. My muscles tensed as if preparing to tear down the entire estate brick by brick, but halfway to the front steps, something hit me.
It wasn’t magick. It was emotion. Raw, explosive and uncontrollable.
Protect. Save. Mine.
The mating instinct crashed through my chest like a second heartbeat—one that swallowed my breath and replaced it with fire. My vision tunneled, and the world narrowed to one point.
Her.
It didn’t feel like the madness I’d expected. Instead, it felt likepurpose—like thetruth. But the intensity of it scalded me, terrifying me.Not because it would destroy me, but because it would destroy anyone between me and her.
Krusk caught up, breathing hard. His hand landed on my shoulder.
“Sav. Look at me,” he whispered, harshly.
I didn’t. Icouldn’t. My eyes stayed locked on the front doors.
“Savla,” Krusk snapped. “You are not him. You hear me? You arenothim.”
A breath ripped through me, shaky and ragged. My voice barely worked.
“If he hurt her,” I whispered, “I won’t stop.”
“You’llsave her,” Krusk corrected. “That’s the difference. Wait for Enka. He’s right behind us with the coven and then the rest of the clan is right behind them.
Like a sign from the heavens, Enka drove in next, the females in the back of the SUV barely visible as they held hands, chantingquietly. We could barely hear them.
My youngest brother jumped out of the vehicle, rushing up toward us. Enka planted himself on my other side.
Krusk was still looking at me. “We go in together. Not like beasts. Like brothers,” he insisted.
I swallowed hard. The bond pulsed, faint but urging.
She’s scared.
