“We have to get further away!” she insisted.
“I can’t hold this for much longer,” Ava whimpered. Her whole body quivered in my grasp as I felt the shield drain her magical energy.
We ran into the trees. The earth shook beneath us as Ava’s shield grew stronger. A deafeningsnapsounded, and the earth split in two at the strength of Ava’s Spirit magic. Trees groaned and toppled over once they hit Ava’s expanding shield, and I heard Naya scream.
Good. I hope she’d been pinned under one of them.
A shattering sound filled the air, and Ava went slack in my arms as she passed out. Her shield broke and faded away, leaving us completely vulnerable. Esther’s wings beat from overhead, and the others followed.
“We have to keep going! Mad Dog’s cutting off my power,” Kallie yelled.
“Submit to the lord’s will, for he is always watching!” Esther screamed in the distance. She was coming for us quickly. We had mere moments before she caught up.
Then the air shifted around us. I felt familiar sparks as I heard a portal bloom in front of us.
“Thank the goddesses your ward finally fell,” a voice came from the other side of the portal. “We’ve been trying to track you all for weeks!”
“Quickly, everyone drink the potion, so they can’t follow us,” Marcus insisted. He shoved vials into our hands. The vials were wet, as if he’d spilled a lot of the potion while he’d been trying to bottle it up. We downed the anti-tracking potion without question, and I tipped a bottle past Ava’s lips. She coughed as she drank, but didn’t wake up.
“Come with me,” the strange voice said.
I didn’t know who this guy was, but something told me we could trust him. Anywhere was better than here, at least.
Esther let out a primal scream as she dove for us. We jumped through the portal, and it slammed shut. Feathers drifted over me, but I realized they must’ve been cut off from Esther’s wings as the portal shut, because she hadn’t made it through.
I dropped to my knees and set Ava in the grass beside me. I pulled her into my lap and pushed her hair out of her face. “Pidge, are you okay? Wake up.”
She took a rattling gasp, and breathed, “Charlie.”
“Are you hurt? That was a pretty big spell,” I worried.
“I’m fine,” she said warily. “Just a little shaken up.”
I held her for several long moments, then sagged onto my back, trying to catch my breath. Alette fluttered away, and Sprigs hopped onto my shoulder.
We made it!Oberi cried.
“Barely.” I breathed a sigh of relief. We’d been training with our demigod powers for months, but we’d never had to go up against other demigods before. They’d caught us off guard, and we weren’t prepared to fight them.
I wouldneverlet that happen again.
I got to my feet. I didn’t know where we were, but I turned to the individual who’d portaled us to safety. I reached out a handto shake his. “Thank you for coming to our rescue. We wouldn’t have gotten out of there if it weren’t for you.”
He didn’t shake my hand, though. Instead, he dragged me into a tight hug. He was taller than me, and I recognized his scent.
Holy shit. It couldn’t be?—
“Master! I’mso gladI finally found you!” my guard squeaked.
This couldn’t be real. I felt the world tilt on its axis as I asked in complete disbelief, “Eddie?”
Chapter Two
AVA-MARIE
Iwas still spinning from my place on the ground. I didn’t know where we were, though we were clearly in another part of some distant forest, different to the one we’d left. The trees danced overhead in circles as a familiar, loved voice broke into my dizzying thoughts.
I heard my husband say a name that I recognized. I managed to push myself upright. My lip trembled as I observed Eddie’s form. He was just as I remembered him, standing tall, optimistic, that same goofy smile plastered across his face…
