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A strong hand held me in place. "Damnit, Witch!" Tye spun me to face him. "We can't just keep blindly chasing her into danger!"

"She's as good as dead if we don't help her," I snapped, tugging my arm free.

Tye's lips twisted into a snarl, and he stepped forward.

Liam staggered into his path, gesturing towards the forest with his free hand as he blocked the bigger man. "Go, Kaiya. We'll be right behind you."

"What?!" Tye growled. But I was already gone, running into the forest as another inhuman scream pierced the air.

My heart slammed against my ribs as Tye's footsteps sounded behind me. "Stupid woman!"

Gods! Please let us not be too late …

We leaped over logs and ducked beneath branches, blindly moving in the general direction of the scream.

Then suddenly we were in a clearing, smaller this time, and filled with deep green grass and fallen trees.

Ahead, Della was pounding on the back of something enormous, black, and scaled. Parts of its body seemed to be shimmering like some sort of black liquid…

Gods, what kind of wraith was that?

The humanoid creature was hunched over something on the ground, large wings tucked against its back, indifferent to the woman's barrage.

"Stop!" I screamed as I ran to help.

Della didn't stop.

The monster's head snapped in my direction, though, dark eyes seeking me out as it jerked to its full height, sending the woman tumbling to the ground.

It loomed over her, nearly twice as tall as a man, and I froze as our gazes locked.

The darkness inside its eyes pulled at me, and when it opened its mouth full of sharp, black teeth, a familiar screech filled the clearing …

Holy hells!

That was the same sound as from the stronghold the night before!

What was the relic I was hunting for Frexin doing HERE?

"We can't face it head on," Tye snarled, stepping up beside me. "We need to pull back and make a plan. NOW."

My gaze had caught on a small form on the ground in front of the creature, though, and I lurched towards it, unable to stop myself.

The boy …

I moved closer, doing my best to ignore the monster. I couldn't see any injuries on Rowan, and he still seemed to be human. But the tall grass made it hard to tell…

"Damnit," Tye growled, lunging into a fighting stance just in front of me, Liam limping up to his side.

The creature's eyes narrowed in rage, and it began to move in our direction, oddly agile on its large, claw-like feet. It moved slowly, taking one step, and then another.

My mouth went dry and my heart slammed against my chest so hard it felt as though it were trying to escape.

Thatthinghad held off all of Frexin's ballista and men. What was I thinking trying to take it on myself?!

Jaiel's shadows might have had a chance, but there was NO way our little trio could hold it off alone …

"Rowan!" the woman cried, uncaring of the danger as she snapped out of her daze and began crawling once more towards her son.