Nasi stepped up, elbowing Canavar. “We can stay with her in a safe place.”
Enya stepped in as well. “Yes, I will go too, and watch over her. The quicker we get the ritual done, the quicker we can get her to safety.”
Benedict looked like he wanted to argue, but Enya stepped in again. “She won’t consent to being sidelined, and the treehouse won’t be safe in an earthquake. Besides, the child will take a long time to arrive. Get it done and get back! No more discussion!”
Benedict’s mouth snapped shut.
Nerissa exhaled sharply nearby. “Well. What are you waiting for? Pick her up and let’s go!”
The island was breaking and my body had chosen this moment to do the same. I forced myself to focus, pushing past the pain long enough to meet their eyes again.
“You have to go,” I said, quieter now but no less firm. “Finish the ritual.”
Benedict didn’t move. I reached for him, gripping his wrist, forcing him to look at me.
“If you stay,” I said, “this was all for nothing.”
He searched my face, looking for doubt, for any sign that I didn’t mean it.
He wouldn’t find it.
Another tremor shook the ground, and somewhere in the distance, something cracked with a sound that carried far too much finality.
Canavar picked me up, curling me up against his chest.
“MOVE!”
He started running with me, the bouncing painful, but there was nothing to do about it. His motion spurred the others into action. Vanca grabbed Domik and their witch partner and sprinted to their spot on the island. Kieran andRonan reluctantly did the same. Benedict looked like he wanted to cry. I tried to appear strong for him.
“See you soon!” I yelled, then lost sight of him as we disappeared into the jungle.
“Veskor, with us!” Nerissa yelled, and started running. Enya and Nasi joined our party, and we were off.
The clearing shifted around me as the others moved, the chaos reorganizing into purpose. Some fled, some prepared, and some followed the path toward the mountain.
I barely registered it.
Another contraction hit, and this time I cried out, the sound tearing from me without restraint.
The mountain answered.
I felt it as clearly as I felt the pain: an answering pulse, deep and ancient, rising from the heart of the island.
My labor and the awakening of the mountain were not two isolated events. They were happening together, bound by something we had not yet fully grasped.
Creation and destruction rising at the same time.
I pressed my hand into the earth, breath shaking, vision blurring as another wave began to build.
“OK,” I whispered, whether to myself, to the child, or to the island itself, I wasn’t sure.
Another contraction followed, stronger than the last.
This time, I didn’t fight it because there was no stopping what had already begun
The deeper we descended, the hotter the air became. The lava tubes were warm, despite the volcano supposedly being dormant now. The ground trembled beneath my bare feet and claws, each vibration rolling up my bones like a warning drum. My wings twitched involuntarily.
Our group stopped right outside the tubes, the heavy leaves of the canopy going still and quiet.
