I had a sudden epiphany. ‘They’re in the cellar.’
My sick aunt had punished me more than once by putting me down there when she was babysitting. If she knew the king’s plan was to burn our pack lodge and house, then that’s where Lilith would put Elaine if she wanted to kill her. Did the king even know?
I thought of Nolan’s petty cruelty. Maybe Lilith wanted to be the king’s new wife and thought this would be a good way to make that happen. So sick.
‘Let’s go,’ I said to Honor, nudging him with my nose. ‘To the stairs.’
The air shifted then, and chills danced down my spine.
‘Nai!’ Rage bellowed, filled with alarm. ‘Get out of there!’
A pit opened in the bottom of my stomach.
Glass cracked, and the windows above Lon’s sink popped, shattering inward, followed by the wall of windows in the living room. Glass rained down on us as we raced down the hall toward the staircase.
My home groaned.
‘Nai, watch ou—’ Rage bellowed.
A strange rumble emphasized his fear, but I didn’t need him to finish the warning to know what he meant.
Panic coursed through me.
Declan had created a bomb—and we’d walked right into the center of it. A death trap—for all of us.
There was no time to think.
Mother Mage, let my magic work.
I shifted, wolf to human in an instant.
Magic thrummed in my veins—in my chest, in my every pore. But would it be enough?
‘Honor!’I grabbed my friend by the neck scruff and pulled him to my chest, throwing a layer of protective energy above us. I didn’t know how to put up magical shields, but if fire was red, then I wanted blue. All the blue I could muster. Blue like the ocean. Like the crystalline waters around Shifter Island. Beautiful, life-saving blue for me, Honor, and everyone in the cellar beneath us.
White light exploded behind my closed eyelids, and heat blasted toward us as I waited for the pain.
Only, it didn’t come.
So … I blinked.
Still clinging to Honor’s fur, I sucked in a sharp breath and raised my head. Blazing red fire magic skimmed over the top of the blue shield dome I’d created, the red and blue blurring together into a vibrant mauve like watercolors mixed together.
My family home was gone—exploded into dust and splinters of wood. All except for the piece of hardwood floor where Honor and I still sat, curled together.
‘Rage?’I reached for our bond, relieved when I felt his presence on the other end.
‘Are you okay? Is my mom free?’he asked.
Damn.
‘Almost … I hope.’
I looked a few feet to my right, where the door should have led to the cellar, and nearly lost my focus. Wheezing with relief, I stared at the magic—my magic—shielding not only me and Honor but Lona and Elaine as well as my friend Callie, who happened to be with the other two women in the cellar below us. All three of them were bound by the hands and ankles.
They were alive!
My magic protection bubble popped, disappearing at once, and Honor and I tumbled down the steps into the cellar, the haze of smoke less here than in the house.
