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"I am light," I whispered, the words Gran had taught me. "I am fire. I am power."

A warmth spread through my chest, fighting against the chill of the sludge. I cupped my hands before me, willing the energy to manifest, to protect me.

"I command you," I gasped as the sludge reached my chin. "Light!"

A small orb of pure white light burst forth from my palms, piercing the darkness around me. The Shadow Beast screeched, a sound of pain and fury that echoed through my mind. The sludge receded slightly, pulling back from my face, my chest.

The weight lessened, enough that I could move again. I clutched the light close to my heart and ran, feet splashing through the shallow remnants of the black ooze. I didn't know where I was going—there was nothing to see, even with my magical light illuminating the space around me. Just endless darkness in all directions.

"Gran?" I called out, hoping that somehow, somewhere, she could hear me. "Gran, help me!"

The Shadow Beast's screech came again, more distant this time, but I could feel it regrouping, following me. I pushed harder, legs pumping, lungs burning.

Then I heard it—voices, muffled and distant, but achingly familiar. My mates. They were calling for me, trying to reach me through the veil of this nightmare.

"I'm here!" I shouted, changing direction toward the sound of their voices. "I'm coming!"

A chill wind suddenly cut through the darkness, whipping my hair across my face. It hadn't been cold before. The sludge had burned, but the air itself had been stagnant, oppressive. This was different. Fresh. Real.

I stumbled forward, the light in my palms flickering but still burning. The voices grew louder, clearer.

"Sierra!" That was Callum's voice, tight with concern.

"Where is she?" Archer, his usual calm completely shattered.

"There!" Rowen's deep command, laced with something I rarely heard from him.

Fear.

I ran faster, hope surging in my chest. They were looking for me. They would find me. They would save me from this nightmare.

"I'm here!" I called again, pushing forward.

And then, suddenly, there was nothing beneath my feet. No ground, no sludge, just empty air. I pitched forward, arms flailing, the light tumbling from my hands and extinguishing as I fell into nothingness.

A scream tore from my throat as I plummeted through the darkness, the wind now howling around me. This was it.

This was how I would die, falling forever in an endless void.

But then strong arms caught me, wrapping securely around my waist, halting my descent with a jolt that knocked the breathfrom my lungs. I gasped, eyes flying open to find myself staring into obsidian depths filled with frantic concern.

Rowen.

His powerful wings beat steadily on either side of us, keeping us suspended in midair. His claws, the black-tipped talons of his demon form, dug slightly into my skin where he held me. His face, usually so controlled, was contorted with worry.

"I've got you." His deep voice vibrated through his chest against mine, emotions welling within them. "I've got you, little mate."

The night air was cold against my sweat-slicked skin, making me shiver in his arms. I blinked, disoriented, as reality reasserted itself. We were outside. Actually outside, flying above the grounds of the estate. The full moon hung heavy in the sky above us, casting everything in silvery light.

"What—" I choked out, my voice raw from screaming. "What happened?"

35

Rowen

My heart thundered against my ribcage like a war drum, each beat pounding with primal fear that I hadn't felt in millennia. The sensation was foreign, unwelcome—rulers of the underworld weren't supposed to feel terror. And yet there it was, clawing through my chest as I clutched Sierra's trembling form against me.

She could have died.The thought ripped through me with devastating clarity.She would have died.