He cut through the beast, the sand obliterating its frail body. Her world still spun, but she glimpsed his outstretched hand and reached for it on instinct. Heat and lightning surged down her arm when their skin met, igniting every nerve in its wake. She yelped and nearly drew her hand away, but his fingers clamped firmly around her wrist. Arianna forced herself to grab his in return, ignoring the biting pain that continued radiating through her entire limb. She looked at their hands, swearing she’d find them on fire.
Dirt and rock rose to meet her feet and Arianna’s mind finally righted itself. He pulled her through the trees, around more flying webs and skittering creatures. His hand slipped once, but he readjusted and tightened his grip. It took Arianna a long moment to realize the slickness was from blood. At first she’d thought he might have simply gotten hurt from the fight, but then she remembered the way he’d cut his hand. The fact that she’d hesitated to heal it. Arianna cursed herself now. Stupid.
“Where are—”
Rion whirled and her breath hitched when he wrapped his arms around her body. They fell, then rose, and she clutched his shoulders to keep herself oriented in the sudden darkness. Then, just as quickly, they stilled. His hand went to her mouth and a small bit of light cascaded over his face, illuminating those rage-filled eyes that were locked with hers. Her mouth was burning, but she stayed still long enough to see the finger pressed to his lips.
Rion released her and he pointed down. Arianna’s heart leapt into her throat.
The Demon had surrounded them both in his magic and positioned them high up in the trees where only smaller spiders skittered along the branches. A few wandered inside the window he’d created for them to peer down. It told her they wouldn’t stay hidden for long. Which meant they had seconds to figure out how to get the others out of this mess.
Below them, Raevina had her flames out in a sphere that protected her, Talon, and Ellie. Arianna could barely glimpse her sister and Talon within the flickering inferno.
Arianna’s gaze roamed over the mass of creatures rapidly charging Raevina. Her eyes scanned the dark forest behind until they landed on another set of creatures circling an unknown source. Arianna couldn’t see what lay inside the chaos, but shewas willing to bet Saoirse, Zylah, and Gavin were putting up one hell of a fight.
Zylah’s splitting cry of rage and frustration told her enough. Talon’s battle cry followed second and Arianna tried to lunge for her friend, but The Demon grabbed her arm. “We have to move fast,” he whispered. “Talon and Raevina first. If Talon is injured, I’ll get Ellie. We’ll grab Saoirse and the others next, then run. Don’t stop for anything.”
Arianna’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t protest. Couldn’t. They had seconds. Any longer and their small group would be overrun. If they became separated a second time, they might not have the strength to regroup again.
Zylah screamed, then Arianna moved, launching her body from their hiding place. The spiders reacted as soon as she began cutting through their webs. She ducked away from flying tendrils and shot her magic out to block the grayish bodies lunging for her. The Demon’s magic moved in tandem with hers, picking off their enemies with lethal precision.
The sticky substance still burned when it hit her flesh, tiny creatures still crawled along her body, but her focus had turned to a singular point. Ellie. She’d reach Ellie and get her sister out of this mess no matter what it took.
They landed hard enough that it rattled Arianna’s teeth, but she let her magic surge around the area, mixing with The Demon’s so seamlessly that it nearly brought a smile to her lips. Somehow, this felt familiar. The creature beneath her skin purred in agreement.
Dirt and rocks burst up around Raevina, tearing the large spiders away in a single fluid movement. Arianna froze everything in their path and Raevina’s flames fell to reveal Talon kneeling beside Ellie. The panicked look on his face was enough to spur Arianna into action.
“We’re moving,” she stated. “To Saoirse, then don’t stop.”
Talon threw Ellie over his shoulder, holding the female’s knees securely in place. There was no time to assess why her sister was breathing so hard, nor why sweat was pouring from Talon’s face. She prayed it was just from the heat of Raevina’s flames.
They ran, Raevina leading the way as fire and earth and ice all cut through the throng of spindly bodies and never-ending webs.
The world had shifted to absolute madness. They sprinted, struggling not to trip over the bodies littering the ground. Talon almost went down once, his knee buckling, but The Demon caught the male’s body with a well-placed mound of dirt.
Talon. Gods, what was wrong with him?
They broke through the line and found Saoirse standing over Zylah, protecting her as Gavin fought to free the half-breed from the webbing that had pinned her to the ground. Raevina didn’t waste time. She burned the strands and kept moving. Saoirse yanked Zylah to her feet and followed. The instructions were clear enough: Run and don’t look back.
Gavin fell into step just behind Talon. Relief and worry washed across his face as he looked Ellie over. Arianna wondered if he could sense down their bond what might be wrong with her.
Arianna’s fear spiked all over again when Talon coughed, reminding her of another moment when she’d heard a similar sound. When was it? Had she been behind enemy lines? She could almost see—searing pain shot straight through her temple causing her to stumble. Arianna pressed a hand to the side of her head, fighting to keep herself upright.
Rion was suddenly to her right, grunting in pain as one of the mid-sized creatures sank its fangs right into his forearm.It had been aiming for her throat. He cursed and obliterated the spider before taking her arm and spurring her onward.
That same pulsing current tore the pain away from her head. Her arm was burning, that invisible fire igniting her from the inside out.
Panic flooded her core. They wouldn’t get out. They couldn’t run forever. Talon was slowing—
“Burn it down,” The Demon roared, breaking through her spiraling thoughts.
“With pleasure.” Then Raevina erupted. No longer were her flames controlled; they zigzagged through the forest in all directions, coating the ground in flames so hot Arianna was certain they’d burn for eternity.
The wind tore through the trees, throwing the creatures away from them while simultaneously fanning the flames to life. They roared now, cracking on the dry debris that littered the forest floor. Smoke rose up, clouding their vision, but Gavin and Zylah kept it from choking their lungs.
Still they ran, jumping, dodging. Spiders stopped falling from the trees. No longer did their webs fly, hoping to trap their prey. The clicking ceased, replaced instead by the sound of fire as it consumed everything in their wake.
Arianna tilted her head back, just for a second, to glimpse the carnage. A wall of fire. Of smoke.
