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It was too perfect.

“I’ll go out there first,” I started. “And if you see any arrows or blood-sucking demons coming my direction, yell.”

“Absolutely not,” Wolf scoffed. “You’re not going out there alone.”

“If we both go, we could walk into a death trap. One of us will mitigate risk.”

“It isn’tworththe risk.”

I spun and faced him, scanning his face. “This is the whole reason we’re here, Wolf.”

His eyes glared into mine, intense and filled with a fierceness that made me shiver. “I don’t care. You stay here. I’ll go.”

“Seriously? How is that any different from me going?”

“I won’t have to sit here and imagine all the ways you could get hurt. Please, Huntress.”

I took a long breath. I didn’t want to see him get hurt either, but I had to keep my mind on the end goal.

We were too close for distractions. “Fine,” I answered. “But if you see or hear anything, you get back here immediately. Okay?”

Wolf gripped my face with both hands and placed a harsh kiss on my mouth. It wasn’t romantic or filled with desire like the kisses last night. This one was a promise. A lifeline.

He pulled away and marched out into the opening.

I watched every step with my hand on Venom, ready to pull it. Ready to kill anything or anyone who came after him.

My fae ears twitched toward a breaking stick to my right. I glanced and saw nothing, immediately returning my eyes to Wolf. My heart had never beat so quickly in my life.

Lord had trained me to be calm, collected.

But it was alwaysmylife at risk. I hadn’t been trained for this. Hadn’t prepared to watch someone else step into danger.

Wolf kept moving. He was halfway to the wall. A little further. Anticipation spilled from my veins.

We were so fucking close.

And then all hells erupted.

Chapter

Thirty-Eight

Fire split through the grassy land that separated the thick, magic forest from the walls of The Golden City.

At first, it came in a small trickle, feeding through the gap like a stream of water. But as soon as the wave of heat reached my feet, it burst into the sky, creating a wall of flames.

I screamed and leapt away from the source.

Someone controlled this fire, aimed it at us. This was no mere coincidence. I opened the bond, searching for Wolf.

Beyond the flames, he roared in pain, only for a second, before a massive gust of wind sliced through the valley, blowing fiery flames and fuel in a chaotic cyclone.

Natural magic.

Hells.

“Wolf!” I screamed. “Someone’s doing this to us!”