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A scream echoed behind us.

A scream that morphed into a roar of fury, building louder by the second, then joined by more voices.

The crones, their dark souls haunted this cavern, that’s what I’d been told by other shifters in the area. They’d done this to Iris, and they wanted her back.

“Run,” I barked.

The sound grew behind us, louder, closer. I ran blindly, full speed, toward the sound of the falls.

Finally, the beginnings of dusk flickered across the cave walls ahead of us, turning the falls into the deepest of blue, its glow leading us out of this hellhole.

I exploded from the cavern, cradling Iris in my arms, and ran along the stone path, my warriors right behind me. As we stepped off the path, the echoes of rage from within the cavern were silenced.

I looked down at Iris, and fear filled my heart, taking its place beside the rage and pain I’d been carrying around for so long. I didn’t want her to die. She may have Selene’s face, but she was not that female.

The first streaks of morning sun rose over the horizon and shone across her blood-covered face.

Iris gasped.

Then she exploded into action, fighting as hard as she could in her weakened state.

“Shh,” I said. “I’ve got you.”

She stilled. “D-Draven?”

“You’re safe now.”

She slumped in my arms, instinctively trusting me, even after everything I’d said and done to her. Then her hands lifted to her face. I gently brushed them away. “Don’t try to open your eyes, they’re still sewed shut. I need to get you back to the keep to take care of it.”

Her lips trembled, and she nodded. Then she hung on to me, seeking comfort from me as tears slid out from between the crude stitches.

A moment later, she went limp again, losing consciousness.

“Run ahead,” I said to the others. “Find her car. Bring it to the keep.” I could get her there faster on foot, cutting through the forest.

They shifted and did as I said.

I held her tighter and ran for home.

She would not die. I wasn’t letting her.

CHAPTER 17

Iris

I woke with a jolt.

“Easy,” a deep voice said above me.

Draven.

I tried to open my eyes and cried out in pain.

“Keep your eyes closed, Iris,” he said and cupped the side of my face, his skin warm and rough. “They’re still sewed shut, remember?”

Everything came rushing back, and my hand shot up to grab his, hanging on to it. I needed him to ground me so I wasn’t still floating, stuck in that place, surrounded by lost souls, screaming in fear and pain.

A door opened and closed, and Draven murmured a thank you to someone, then I heard retreating steps and the sound of the door again.