“No!” he shouted after her.
Raine snarled, pacing and pulling at his hair. Maeryn was inside the burning house. With his sister. And the children. The world narrowed and all he could see was the inferno before him.
Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.
He caught a glimpse of a beam as it fell, sparks spraying with the impact. The scent of charred wood tickled his nose. His heart thrummed a frantic rhythm in his chest as he took an involuntary step forward.
It took every bit of strength not to go in after them. Clenching his fists, he whispered prayers under his breath, staring into the flames.
Hurry. Oh gods, hurry.
After what felt like an eternity, a figure appeared through the smoke. Maeryn stepped out, clutching Jorrar’s sobbing granddaughter. Jorrar came next, carrying his grandson. Finally, Pax emerged, Fanya limp and unconscious in his embrace.
Raine rushed forward. “Fanya.”
He pushed a lock of curly platinum hair out of her face. Her pale skin was covered in soot, her clothing charred, revealing blisters along her arms and torso.
“She’s breathing,” Pax said, his face drawn tight with worry.
Raine released a breath. Alive. She was alive.
Jorrar’s granddaughter, Aria, continued to wail. “You’re safe, little one,” Maeryn cooed, tightening her grip. “I have you. It’s alright now.”
“We must get them to the healers,” Jorrar said, leading the way down the road.
Despite the state of his father and sister, Raine couldn’t help but admire the way Maeryn soothed Aria. The sweet words she spoke as she shushed her and began to sing a quiet lullaby, rocking her as they walked. Aria calmed, nuzzling into Maeryn’s warmth. Maeryn looked up, meeting Raine’s gaze, and smiled warmly.
Raine returned her smile, and for a brief moment, time stood still. What an amazing mother Maeryn would have been if she’d had any children, and Raine couldn’t help but imagine…
“Archers in the trees!” someone shouted.
Raine spun around as an arrow headed straight for Maeryn and Aria. He threw himself in its path, trying to snatch it out of the air with a vine, but he wasn’t quick enough, shouting as it pierced his shoulder.
Fae soldiers drew their bows and turned toward their enemies.
“Let’s go!” shouted Pax, upping his pace.
A daemon hound leaped from behind a nearby home. Raine raised a hand and entrapped it in vines, but it broke through. Maeryn lit it with her magic, its screams echoing in the night as it burned.
More reinforcements arrived through a portal while citizens escaped through another. Maeryn handed off Jorrar’s granddaughter, giving her a quick hug before they disappeared. After ensuring his father and sister were through, Raine paused, catching his breath as he leaned against a tree, and closed his eyes for a moment of reprieve.
Their enemies had infiltrated Mosshaven. Had gotten past their forces. Had burned his childhood home and destroyed almost everything he’d ever known. He couldn’t get the sight ofthe flames out of his mind, how helpless his sister looked in Pax’s arms.
Something growled from his left. He’d been so lost in thought, he hadn’t heard anything approach. Opening his eyes, he came face to face with a lone daemon hound, venom dripping from its teeth as its white eyes bored into him.
It lunged, leaving no time for him to move. But a figure stepped in front of him, shoving him to the ground. The scream that tore out of Maeryn’s throat as the hound’s fangs pierced her thigh was nothing short of horrifying.
Raine was on his feet in seconds, encasing the hound in vines, trying to pull it off her.
A blur of white fur barreled into the monster, throwing it against a tree with a yelp. Sabriel leaped on the hound and ripped out its throat, black blood dripping from her jaws. More fae soldiers joined, closing in on their enemies and making quick work of the rest of the daemons and monsters.
Raine rushed to Maeryn, kneeling at her side.
His soulbond was hurt, and he was going to destroy anyone in his way to get her to Kai. The flesh of her thigh had been torn open, her muscle visible through her leathers. A cry of agony left her lips as she tried to stand.
“Absolutely not,” Raine ordered, scooping her into his arms.
“Your shoulder,” she moaned. “You mustn’t carry me.”
