Carlo nodded. “Thank you. For now, Kallan and Teague, search for hints of that will assist us. If Asherah isn't here, maybe Skuld put her somewhere else, since this is where you saved her last time.”
Kallan shook his head but did as he was told, searching through the room. Carlo didn't need Kallan’s words to assume what the young male kept from saying.
If Skuld was doing something different than before, they all were fucked.
Nanshe came up to Carlo. “Let me go through the past and see what I find.”
Carlo nodded. There wasn’t really any other choice.
Nanshe let her head fall back and closed her eyes. It was disconcerting watching her skin begin to glow with the dust that floated over her flesh, the true essence of the past. It became marble and gold over her skin, and her eyes flickered behind her closed lids, showing she was scanning through what she could. Sweat dotted her brow, and Carlo couldn't stop himself from taking her into his arms and pulling her in tight. If this was going to become painful, he needed to do everything in his power to stop her from looking too far into it.
After a moment, she relaxed into his body, her soft curves meeting his. “I can't see anything right now. It's all dark; the past hasn't changed enough.”
Carlo grunted. “If the past hasn't changed, does that mean we're in the wrong location? Surely, if Skuld did something to affect it, we would see some traces or essence of her.”
Nanshe jerked, looking up at Carlo with startled eyes. “You might be right. And if she's not here–”
Lennox yelled, shattering the quiet a moment before the door crashed open and a beautiful woman—looking so much like Nanshe that Carlo had to do a doubletake—stalked into the room. Her hair was dark as midnight, her eyes glittering red. Delicate, white horns curved around her ears and her lips were ripe cherries.
“You do not belong here.”
Her ominous voice was heavier, more sensual than his mate’s. It curled into the room with a demand and pull much different from Nanshe’s, even though she had the same face. It confused and startled Carlo at the same time.
“Skuld.” Kallan’s anger pulsed through the room.
Lennox lifted a brow and stepping forward, shooting a stream of fire ahead of him. “Well, I'm not going to wait for her to send us an invitation or attack us first.”
The room spiraled into pandemonium.
What is Skuld doing here? She shouldn't be here without Asherah, unless she came to stop us.
Nanshe shook her head.“Something is not right.”
But they were too busy fighting for their lives for Carlo to try to figure out what she meant. The battle raged around them. Hollows bounded over each other as Skuld sent dark, miasmic clouds around them, buffeting their bodies.
Kallan was pulled into one first, his screams roaring through the room. The black smoke pierced through his stomach and wrapped around his throat, lifting him into the air. He struggled against it but couldn't get free as he choked on the blood drizzling out of his mouth.
“We’ve got to save him!” Carlo bellowed, blasting through Hollows and making them feel the harsh slash of his claws as he tried to get to the helpless Fae male.
“I will kill him,” Skuld assured them.
No matter what, they would have to find their way through.
“Stop!” Nanshe pleaded. “Something is wrong. She's different.”
He had no time to wonder why and figure it out. He had to save Kallan. If he didn’t, there’d be hell to pay. Heath was tethered to the Fae male, which meant their hearts were connected. If he died, the others died too. Carlo was unsure of what it would mean if one of them didn't make it back to Heath.
Carlo was nearly to Kallan, his hands hovering in the air and ready to grab him, when he was thrown back with sheer force. Skuld’s power was too strong to get through. They roared, the men twirling amongst each other, fighting hard as they could get to Kallan.
Teague sang a song of destruction and pain, weaving it through the room and belting notes that swelled and rippled through the air. Carlo fought to ignore his sensitive ears so they wouldn't start fucking bleeding from the noise. As beautiful as Teague's skill was, it was terrifying.
At the same time, Nanshe stepped forward and lifted her hands toward Skuld. “You will not hurt them anymore!”
A blast of her power burst forth, slamming into Skuld’s insidious black smoke.
Nanshe was much different, twirling with dust and glittering with white light. It was nearly the exact opposite of the oily residue left behind by Skuld. It pressed around Kallan, trying to pull him and yank him away from the smoke that held him aloft, but Skuld had a tight grip.
“You are not welcome here!” Skuld gripped Kallan's throat tighter with the smoke and dancing behind her guardian Hollows so the team couldn't reach him.
