I’d no desire to meet anything capable of taking out a hunter.
I strained my ears, searching for any signs. Nothing. My heart was halfway out of my throat as I lifted my head a fraction. The cliffs, their safety was damned close. I crawled forward, the dust choking me even with my mouth shut. A crash of smashing wood erupted behind me. A charred tree tumbled. Pumpkin neighed, and I froze.
The hunters were definitely not alone. A shiver raced through me as another wet shriek split the air. Violet woke within my chest, writhing, desperate for the fresh corpse.
My forehead crashed to the ground as an agonised grunt sailed through the trees and the damned itch sparked on my neck. For once, I made no effort to calm the thrashing of my gift. If I was going to breathe my last, then I’d finally embrace it and claim the hunters’ souls. I took a shuddering breath, picturing Matthias’s eyes as the ground trembled with the heavy tread of a predator.
Gentle hands slid down my shoulder, and I readied my tainted gift to seek the dead. Claim them.
‘I got you.’
My eyes flew open. A sob breaking through my dry lips as I grabbed Matthias. Palms slamming into his warmth, checking it was him. Truly him.
‘I’ve got you.’
My body convulsed as I yanked the thread back, collapsing into his arms. We crashed to the ground. I wanted to claim him, say his name, but words faltered on my dry lips. He was the sweetest whisper.
Soft hands framed my face and he pulled back, his wide eyes scanning me. A laugh burst from me as I took him in. I barely made out those features I adored through my tears. And my husband, my Matthias, wiped away each tear, begging me to tell him where I hurt. Was I all right? My fists crashed against his chest, testing him, ensuring this man before me, cradling me, was real.
‘We’re here,’ he said, his voice as gentle as his hands. He swept my tangled hair from my face, gazing at me as though he’d discovered the rarest Vyrium and not a bedraggled woman on the brink of death.
‘We?’
The second the word left my mouth, the huge shaggy head of Pablo nuzzled into me so hard, he cracked my nose. I threw my arms around him, around them both.
‘He led me here,’ Matthias said, laying kisses on my temple. ‘I know you say he’s not your wolf but, damn Sorrow. He’s as much a part of you as your heart.’
Matthias stiffened, grabbing my elbow and hauling me up.
‘C’mon. We didn’t get them all. We need to get to?—’
He crashed to his knees once more.
‘Where thefuckare your boots?’
His brows furrowed as another laugh exploded from me.
‘Back at the camp. I lost them.’
A low growl rolled through Pab. The next second Matthias cradled me in his arms, the steady beat of his heart against my sodden cheek.
‘Don’t you dare complain, Sorrow Villente.’
I laced my arms around his neck, another giggle spilling out.
‘Damned man! You can carry me till the end of time.’
I placed a weak kiss to the base of his neck; his grip tightened.
‘Always,’ he whispered. ‘Always.’
Then, keeping low, and clutching me close, he raced towards the rocky cliff face with a speed Vyrus would envy.
CHAPTER 34
A single blinding strike illuminated the sky. Evella heaved a deep breath, softening the fragments’ descent, sinking them beneath the planet’s crust. Vyrium pulsing through our world’s arteries.
— THE HISTORIES AND PROPHECIES OF THE STAR-CROSSED GODS: CHRONICLES OF EVELLA
