“Wren! Go incorporealright nowand get out of there. I won’t leave until you are here with me!” Thorn’s voice was laced with fear.
My magic exploded as panic slammed into me, and I went through the rock and back into the cave where Thorn was, stubbornly unmoving.
I went corporeal, pushing him through the cave.“Swim!”
Rocks were crumbling around us, falling almost soundlessly around us until the tunnel began to collapse.
Kian’s purple magic zapped around us like a lightning storm, lighting up the cave with bright purple, drowning out the other colors.
It was like falling out of the mirror as I hit the frozen ground hard, completely dry and gasping for air—without Thorn.
“Where is he?” I gasped, and Damien and Alister hauled me up by each arm.
Pulling out of their hold, I shoved the crystal into Alister’s chest and rushed a few feet into the water, scanning the surface to see nothing.
“He's fine,” Kian murmured, stepping next to me. “He fell into the water over there.” He pointed out a spot a little bit from us when the surface broke, and Thorn’s panicked eyes met mine and relaxed as he swam toward us.
“Carnations, Kit,” he hissed, climbing back on land and rushing into me, wrapping his arms around me tightly.
Damien let go of the ice, letting the two sections crash into each other with a terrible cracking sound.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to teleport you into the lake.” Kian’s face was red, mostly from the cold.
Thorn squeezed me tightly before letting go and facing Kian. “I'm just glad you got me and Wren out of there.”
“What happened?” Alister asked, inspecting the crystal with intent fascination.
“The chamber collapsed after I pulled the crystal free from the top of it. I didn't see any more of them, but I couldn’t see very well in the first place and only felt the ceiling until I came across that one,” I shoved my palms into my closed eyes and sighed.
“You weren't kidding about the life force,” Alister muttered. “It’s not even activated, yet I can feel it tugging. This crystal is unlike any kind of magic I’ve ever experienced.”
Thorn let out a breath. “It’s the last resource in this war, and may be the only thing that can destroy the relic.”
My throat tightened as Kian’s warm arms circled around me. We had to make sure that crystal could destroy it. If not, all of the effort we were putting toward winning this war would be for nothing.
TWENTY-NINE
Wren
“I’mnotsurewhyyou insisted on having the meeting down here.” Sabine wrinkled her nose as she glanced around the dungeon beneath the library.
Norman rolled his eyes, and Trixie shot him a look before he said something rude, and he sighed. “Everything I have to show you is down here, and Rowan's office isn't big enough for everyone.”
Sabine shrugged. “Very well.”
Rebeka shifted on her feet next to Alister as she rubbed her hands together.
Dad stood next to me and Faith while my other mates stood around me.
Blair and Tabitha were also here.
Sabine and Rowan were the only members of the Supernatural Council present since the rest of them were busy with the war. Sabine had a silent moment with my dad when they first saw each other, and I knew they were mourning my mom.
Trixie held a leather bracelet up with a smile as Tabitha and Blair passed them around. “These are bracelets enchanted with wards. They’ll counteract the effects of the human-experimented tourmalyke crystal—which is inside of the specimens.”
Tabitha handed me one, and Rowan grabbed his before turning and fastening mine around my wrist and doing the same for himself.
“So we can fight these new specimens with magic now?” Rebeka arched a pointed brow as she took one from Blair.
