I slumped against the wall, all my energy spent, and that’s when the tears I’d been holding back finally fell.
CHAPTER 20
Wolfe
The dragon wasps flew into the sky, disappearing as they crossed the magical barrier of Fairwitch Isle, their red haze lifting into the air and following them as royal guards stood on the rooftops of our buildings, holding blazing torches and waving them in the air.
Nevan knelt by an elderly man who hadn’t been able to get to safety and had inhaled too much of the red smoke. He lay on the ground, clutching his stomach while Nevan tipped a smoking blue potion into his mouth.
Others similar to the elderly man lay scattered on the street, moaning in pain as a few healers that worked with Nevan attended to them.
I wanted to clap my hands over my ears and block out the loud pounding that brought back memories I’d worked very hard to shove away.
Royal guards milled around in the streets, knocking on doors,letting people know it was safe to emerge, and slowly, citizens began to peek their heads out from behind closed doors.
My jaw locked, and I yanked down the scarf I’d wrapped around my nose and mouth. My breathing grew heavy and the pounding in my ears got louder at the sight of how many of our people had been injured. Too many people.
My hands curled into fists, and I was already itching to get back to my cabin and chop some fucking wood until I was so tired I couldn’t think. At least I knew Cillian was safe in the castle—that had been confirmed by one of the royal guard when the attack first happened. That knowledge allowed me to focus on helping ward off the dragon wasps with the fire Niamh had suggested. Thank the godwitches she’d been here, been able to tell me what we could do, otherwise this attack might have been much more deadly. Without our library, we’d been very limited in our ability to access information. Now that Niamh had found that, hopefully things would begin to change and we could use it to our advantage.
I’d have to thank Niamh when I saw her.
I stilled when I realized I’d lost her. Niamh. I whirled around, looking up and down the streets for that familiar curtain of red hair, but I didn’t see her anywhere.
Fuck. Where was she? What had happened to her? A cold sweat broke out over my body, all the calm I’d felt fighting off the wasps now dissipating. I couldn’t even remember what I’d said to her or what she’d said to me as the dragon wasps descended upon us. I’d been so focused on Cillian, on keeping that red smoke from infiltrating the castle, that I hadn’t been in my right mind.
I ran to Harriet, who’d yanked down her scarf and was shouting orders to the guards, and grabbed her by the shoulders.
“Wolfe! What has gotten into you?” Her curly brown hair had gotten loose from its bun, tendrils escaping and plastered to her chestnut skin. “Hey, you can talk to me.”
“Niamh,” I said, voice rough. “Have you seen her anywhere?”
Harriet’s hazel eyes widened. “No. I assumed she was in the castle with Cillian.”
I swore. That’s where she should’ve been, but I’d let her convince me to walk around town, to dally about, and now she was missing. The pounding in my ears roared, exactly the same as when Lor had died all those years ago. When it had been my fault.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Is everything okay?” Nevan asked, approaching, running a hand over his short brown hair.
“I haven’t seen him like this before,” Harriet said, eyeing me like I was a wild animal who might attack at any moment. “He’s very agitated.”
“Wolfe, what’s wrong?” Nevan asked. “Is it Cillian?”
“Cillian is safe,” Harriet said.
I could barely hear them over the thundering in my ears, and I looked toward the castle, my gaze homing in. Niamh had to be there. Safe in her tower with that pink know-it-all bookwyrm. I’d run in there and burst through the door, and she’d laugh at me and tell me how ridiculous I was for being so worried.
“I have to find her.” I shoved past Nevan and started running for the castle. He shouted after me, but I ignored him, bolting toward the steps that led up to the front doors. The gargoyles didn’t even have time to jump into action as I wrenched the doors open and raced toward the stairs, taking three at time.
“Hey! That was my job!” one of them yelled.
“No, it’s mine,” the other one said.
“Everyone knows I’m the main door opener.”
“Oh really? Then why do I always get the door open first?”
“You don’t!”
