Her sisters pushed with her, funneling strength through the bond.Ursula’s fire, Willow’s light, Brielle’s wild midnight flare.It rushed out of Saffron and into her men.For a breathless moment, she thought she’d black out right there in the taxi.
Then—relief.The bond steadied.She felt Nolan’s chest expand, Isaac’s roar of triumph.They were moving again.Alive.She sagged against Ursula’s shoulder, sweat slicking her brow.
“You gave them enough,” Ursula murmured.“Rest now.”
“I can’t,” Saffron whispered.“Not until I see them.Not until they are safe.”
The taxi screeched to a stop at the barricades.The night sky glowed orange, flames clawing three stories high.Smoke billowed thick, lit from within like a living monster.Even from here, Saffron could tell—it wasn’t natural fire.It moved too cleanly, bending and twisting like it had strings tied to it.
“That is not a natural fire, that’s magic,” Ursula said flatly.“It has to be the Council works.”
They scrambled out, meeting Liam and Jacob and keeping low as firefighters surged past.Saffron led them down a side street until they were shielded from the crowd by the shadow of an adjacent building.Together they formed a circle, unseen by human eyes thanks to Willow’s shimmering veil, with Jacob and Liam keeping them safe.
“Now,” Saffron ordered, voice hoarse but strong.“We take control of that fire, and I get my men back.”
They spread their arms.Ursula’s palms blazed with fire, Willow’s fingers glowed white, Brielle’s hair lifted in an invisible wind as violet sparks crackled from her fingertips.Saffron anchored them all, her magic weaving threads into one cord.
They pushed.The fire hissed, recoiling as though struck.Somewhere near the inferno, a man’s voice rose—mocking, furious.
“Bitches!”he roared.“Witches meddling where you don’t belong!Those wolf abominations are already dead!”
Saffron’s rage exploded.“You think so?”she shouted back, her voice carrying over the roar.“Then watch us prove you wrong.”
The witches drove harder, their combined will wrenching the flames away from the building, dragging them back like a tide pulled by the moon.The Council man cursed, shouting words of power that cracked like whips, but the circle held.
With one final push, the fire bent.It slowed, softened, smoldering down as if smothered by unseen hands.To the firefighters it would look like their water had finally begun to work.But the witches knew better.
Brielle lifted her hand and hurled a streak of violet fire into the sky.It cracked like lightning, bursting overhead.A scream tore from the shadows beyond the crowd—the Council man, hit by his own reflected magic.He staggered, unseen by any of them, but the witches felt his pain.
Brielle smirked, wiping sweat from her brow.“Guess he didn’t like the taste of his own medicine.”
Ursula barked a laugh.“That’s my girl.”
They dropped the veil and ran forward, the heat still oppressive but no longer lethal.Firefighters shouted orders, rushing inside.Saffron ignored them.Her eyes were fixed on the doorway, her bond still screaming with urgency.
Then—they were there.Isaac first, hauling Nolan with one arm slung over his shoulder.Both were blackened with soot, their gear scorched, their faces streaked with blood and ash.Alive.
Saffron’s knees nearly gave out.She stumbled forward.“You’re hurt,” she gasped.“I felt it—”
Nolan tried to grin through the grime, but his voice cracked.“You weren’t supposed to feel that.Hate that you felt it, kitten.”
“You’re bleeding and leaning on your brother,” she shot back, her sarcasm sharp even through her tears.“Don’t tell me you’re fine when you’re literally being carried.”
Isaac tightened his hold on Nolan, his voice rough but steady.“We’re okay, baby.Battered, but okay.”
Nolan tried again to lighten the mood, eyes flicking up to hers.“On a scale of one to me sleeping on the couch, how pissed are you?”
She glared at them both, her entire body shaking with—fury?It had to befury,right?I couldn’t be anything else.Certainly not fear.“Try somewhere between couch and gutter, wolf boy.”
Isaac huffed a laugh despite himself.“We felt you, Saff.All of you.You kept us alive.You saved our lives.”
“Of course we did,” she rasped, her lips trembling into a faint smile.“We’re fucking awesome.”
Her vision began to swim as an ominous black began to seep into the edge.“Now someone catch me,” she muttered, swaying.“Because I’m about to flame out—”
“What—” Nolan started, but then she sagged forward, the world tilting.The last thing she saw was the panic in her wolves’ eyes as they caught her before she hit the ground.
****
