But why did Darian do this to Lynette? And what happened to him?
All of us split up in separate directions, except for Owen, who keeps one arm around my waist as I lurch painfully up the side path. The gardens of the manor are all dead, blackened sticks rising from the ground where colorful flowers should be blooming. The sight of it brings a new wave of doom sweeping through me, and I almost lose my balance.
“Maybe you should stop,” Owen says.
I shake my head, gripping his shoulder as I force myself to take the next step. “I can’t stop. She’s going to die out here, all by herself. I can’t let that happen.”
“I know,” Owen replies, his voice thick with emotion. He gets a better grip on my waist, and I gather my strength, forcing one foot in front of the other.
I’m beginning to despair of ever finding her when I hear a faint sound over the next rise. Owen lifts his head and looks that way, so I’m sure I didn’t imagine it.
“Should we check it out?” Owen asks.
“We have no other choice,” I answer. “If it’s a fucking raccoon farting, so be it. We have to check.”
Owen smiles as he props me up again, helping me to the top of the rise. What I see when I reach the top makes my blood run cold.
“Hyacinth!” I scream, my voice echoing around us to resonate into the field below.
She turns her head slightly but doesn’t stop what she’s doing. She’s kneeling in a blackened circle, a spot that appears poisoned or burned, chanting in a low voice.
I shove Owen off me and run down the hill, almost falling a dozen times. When I reach the edge of the circle, a powerful force stops me. A magical barrier I can’t pass through.
“Stay back!” she yells. “I have to do this!”
“No!” I scream back at her. “It’s an illusion—you’re going to fail! We have to do it together.”
“No,” she says. “I won’t risk your life. I can save you, I can save everyone.”
“But you’ll die,” my voice comes out as a helpless wail.
“I know,” she whispers, so softly I shouldn’t be able to hear it, but the words reach my ears all the same.
“I will not let you die!” I yell, attacking the barrier with both hands. “I will not let you do this by yourself!”
I pull back my fist and punch the barrier as hard as I can. A ripple bounces across its surface, making Hyacinth jump as the force field wavers.
Encouraged, I hook my hands, encouraging my claws to grow. To my shock, my wolf answers me, and my fingernails lengthen and sharpen as if I’m going to shift. I tear into the barrier with both hands, feeling it rip apart like old linen.
When I’ve made a big enough hole, I throw myself through it, landing heavily on the other side. There is a small pop and a painful ringing in my ears as the barrier closes itself again.
“Get back!” Hyacinth shouts, gesturing wildly. “You can’t be here!”
I crawl across the blackened ground, pain slicing through every nerve. The darkness seeps into my vision, and sickness rises in my guts, almost ready to pour out of my throat. Somehow, I make it to her side, reaching out to grab her hand.
“Hyacinth,” I whisper with relief. “I found you.”
“You shouldn’t have come,” she cries, tears pouring down her cheeks. Her skin looks as pale and sick as mine, and the normally vibrant hue of her eyes has darkened to black. I can feel her strength ebbing away as she pours all her focus into the spell.
“You’re not alone,” I say, sitting up and putting my arms around her. “You’ll never be alone again.”
Hyacinth sobs softly, clinging to me. We hold each other for a moment, and a vibration flows through the ground, making even the force field shudder.
“We’re joined now,” she says helplessly. “Your energy is bound to the spell. I can’t remove you from it.”
“We were already joined,” I reply, stroking her hair back from her face. “And I was already part of the spell. The only way forward for us is together—can’t you see that?”
Hyacinth’s lip trembles, and for a moment, I see her old fire flicker in her eyes. Even though she still looks weakened, there is a determination in her that wasn’t there before.
