And the moment my eyes met that shape in the fog—
The shadow tangled in my magic pulled tighter as if it had been waiting for them to arrive.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The shape in the mist shifted.
For a second, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. The fog moved strangely in the woods at this time of day, and the shadows were already twisting everything into something that didn’t quite feel real.
Then the figure stepped forward.
A wolf.
Not just any wolf.
My breath caught before my mind even finished the thought.
Keegan.
He came out of the trees like a storm breaking loose. His dark coat caught what little light remained under the canopy, and the moment his paws hit the edge of the clearing, he didn’t slow down. He barreled straight into the swarm of shadows circling the hedge.
The first one tried to dive at him.
Keegan leapt.
His jaws snapped shut on it midair, and the shadow burst apart in a cloud of black mist that scattered across the ground.
Twobble screamed in delight. “Yes! Get ’em!”
Behind Keegan, the trees exploded with movement again.
More people poured into the woods. They must have seen the skies darken over here.
I watched as orcs came first, with their broad shoulders pushing through branches, and axes and clubs already raised. Two witches followed close behind them, hands glowing with spellwork that crackled like sparks in dry leaves. A cluster of shifters came next, moving low and fast, their eyes already locked on the circling shadows. Luna marched in with several witches, casting protective spells. I even recognized Matele from orientation.
And then came Caleb.
He skidded into the clearing with a breathless cuss and a staff clutched in one hand, still shifting as he made his way into the brush.
Nova didn’t even glance back.
“Thank goodness,” she shouted. “We needed more bodies!”
The shadows reacted immediately, as they turned from the hedge and dove toward the new arrivals.
One orc swung his axe in a brutal arc and caught a shadow clean through the middle. It split apart like smoke torn by wind.
A witch lifted both hands and sent a blast of bright white magic streaking through the clearing. Two shadows shrieked as it tore through them.
Keegan moved through the swarm like he’d been waiting for a fight all day.
Another shadow dove at him from above, and he twisted mid-leap and slammed into it shoulder-first, sending it spinning across the clearing before it dissolved.
For a moment, the battle shifted, and the shadows no longer circled only me.
But I could feel the Priestess become restless.
The shadows were everywhere now, darting between the hedge vines, swooping toward the witches, snapping at the shifters.
