Page 51 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)

Chapter Forty-Six

Every bounce of the boat as it zoomed across the water threatened to send Kurt to his knees from the piercing pain.

So many questions were running through his head.

Where was Parker ? Where was Diana ? How had Sabryn found him?

What had his brother done to him? Yet his need to know that Sabryn was safe dwarfed any necessity for answers.

He held the handle beside him in a death grip, willing the boat to go faster. Callum had the motor at top speed, but Kurt didn’t think it would be enough. He could feel it in his bones. They were going to be too late.

All their planning had been for naught. Again .

The anger that erupted within him made him want to howl in fury.

They had been so careful, so very fucking careful, and still, Parker had managed to be a step ahead of them.

Was it because of Diana ? Or were Edie and the power controlling her to blame?

Did it even fucking matter anymore?

The Skye Druids had staved off attack after attack, clawing their way to victory one inch at a time. He had honestly believed that would continue. That he would be a part of it. He had never considered that his brother would turn.

A hand landed heavily on his shoulder. He turned and looked into red-ringed silver eyes right before Balladyn teleported him off the boat.

The sudden stillness of the ground made him tip to the side with a wave of vertigo.

Kurt regained his balance, his heart thundering as he realized he stood on the edge of a storm of Druid magic, tearing through the air in violent, invisible waves.

Magic crackled like thunder, the earth scorched and seething around him.

And Sabryn was out there in the midst of it all.

He hurriedly scanned the battlefield for her. His lungs seized when he saw her right in the middle. Kurt started toward her, only for Balladyn to hold him back.

He shoved the Reaper’s hand off and whirled around, his fury unleashed. “ Why isn’t anyone helping her?!”

“ Hold up,” came a shout before Balladyn could respond.

Kurt turned at the sound of Elias’s voice and saw him, Bronwyn , and Rhona running from around one of the many hills.

He glanced back at Sabryn , impatience hounding him.

Every second he wasn’t with her meant another second she could be killed.

Kurt clenched his hands and fought against going to her.

“ Diana had a message for Sabryn ,” Rhona said when they finally reached him.

Kurt scrunched his face. That’s what he had waited for? “ She can wait. If you aren’t going to help Sabryn and Carlyle , I am.”

Elias seized his arm and drew him to a halt. “ I’m sorry, but Diana is dead. Parker stabbed her.”

“ No .” They must be mistaken. Kurt couldn’t have gotten it wrong. Diana and Parker had been working together. He wouldn’t have gotten that wrong.

Elias’s blue eyes were filled with sorrow. “ She clung to life long enough to impart a final message for Sabryn . And you need to get it to her.”

Kurt didn’t have time to think about his feelings about Diana when there was a battle to win. “ What is it?”

“ Fly .”

“ Fly ?” he repeated dubiously.

Elias shrugged. “ Hopefully , Sabryn will know what that means.”

“ Edie’s here,” Balladyn announced.

Kurt pulled his arm from Elias’s grip and headed toward Sabryn .

The wind began to whistle around Sabryn , its intensity swelling and strengthening.

But it wasn’t from her. Standing across the terrain was none other than Edie .

The other Druids , the blasts of magic striking the ground, and even Carlyle faded away as all of Sabryn’s focus was trained on her adversary.

Edie stood with her feet hip-width apart, her arms by her sides, her chin dipped slightly, and her gaze locked on Sabryn . It was time for them to dance again. And this time, only one of them would be walking away.

Edie’s lips curled in a taunting smile—challenging and dangerous.

Without warning, she rushed forward, her hands splayed and elbows bent at her sides as the wind whipped to life with a shriek.

The air struck Sabryn dead-center, slamming into her chest like a battering ram and hurling her backward.

Her skull cracked against the ground, and pain detonated white-hot behind her eyes.

Gritting her teeth, Sabryn rolled to her feet, magic flaring through her blood like a war cry.

She was ready when Edie halted and threw out her hands. Swirls of air, dense with fury, coiled tightly around Sabryn , restraining her. She reached for it, calling to it as she had done countless times before. She didn’t fight against it, didn’t struggle. Instead , she relaxed.

The wind surged again—a raw, snarling force—before it struck. It shattered like waves breaking against unmovable rock the moment it touched her. Edie’s gaze sharpened as she advanced, her confidence shifting into something darker.

“ I need you,” Sabryn whispered to the wind, spreading her hands.

It answered by multiplying the ribbons around her, the air crackling with power and the roar of the currents.

Kurt ran up behind an Edinburgh Druid and kicked the back of his knee. The guy dropped, allowing Kurt time to punch the back of his head and knock the Druid out cold. His shoulder throbbed mercilessly, but he would bear any pain, suffer any torment, to get to Sabryn .

He continued advancing, eyeing the many enemies swarming the area. Finn and Elias were suddenly on either side of him, fending off attackers who attempted to stop them. More of their friends poured out of the hills to surround the Edinburgh Druids .

The air crackled with magic as it was hurled and blocked across the ancient landscape.

The hairs on his arms rose while pressure dropped and static skittered over his skin.

Magic slammed furiously into the dirt and sent debris flying in every direction.

Each strike of earth, stone, and flesh landed with the force of a drumbeat—low, primal, and terrifying.

Bodies were tossed by unseen forces, the screams of the wounded lost in the chaos of battle.

The isle shuddered with every blow as if the very land itself recoiled and shrank beneath the strikes.

Kurt saw that Song had found her way to Carlyle and was helping him protect Sabryn .

He barely spared the couple a glance as he passed them where they fought side by side.

They , along with Elias and Finn , blocked any assaults directed at him.

The ground shook, the sky sizzled with power, and anguished screams rent the air.

He paid no attention to any of it. The only one that mattered, the only one that caused his heart to clench with both love and fear, was Sabryn .

She stood, her legs braced apart, arms at her sides, and palms facing forward.

Three strides past Carlyle , and he felt the edge of a cyclone.

The wind kicked up bits of grass and pelted him with tiny stones.

The ferocity stung his eyes and snatched his breath.

Sabryn’s short, black hair whipped around her in a violent dance.

His steps faltered as he saw her. His beautiful, formidable warrior was a magnificent sight to behold. Not the resilient woman before him now, but a powerful champion chosen by fate or magic—or both—to stand as one of the three pillars responsible for Skye’s protection.

The wind grew fiercer, angrier. It lashed at his face, yanking him from whatever revelation had been revealed and back to the present.

Back to the battle. He might not know what his mother’s dying words meant to Sabryn , but he would deliver them.

Kurt took a step forward, and was engulfed in the storm.

It screamed. It howled. It thundered and snarled. It both tried to rip him apart and squeezed him until he thought he might asphyxiate. Because it was wind against wind as Sabryn’s and Edie’s magic clashed, turning the battlefield into a windstorm.

The wind shrieked indignantly around her.

Sabryn sensed it turning against her as it had at the cottage.

Edie’s haughty smile said she believed she had gotten the upper hand again.

Her opponent advanced a step, confident in her victory.

But Sabryn wasn’t giving up yet. She leaned into the wind and pushed her magic into it, gently coaxing it back to her.

“ You know me,” she whispered. “ You know I’m on the side of right.”

There is no right or wrong side.

She blinked, unprepared for such a reply. “ Of course, there is. I’m protecting Skye and the people here.”

What makes you believe that’s the side of right?

“ Because we’re not killing innocents.”

And how do you know that’s what the other side wants?

Sabryn was taken aback by the question. “ Those wanting our land are coming from another world. They have their place. We just want ours.”

There was no response this time. The wind whipped at her face, the impact as sharp as a slap. It pummeled into her chest and tore at her clothes with claw-like fingers. And she never pulled away, never flinched. No matter how much it hurt. She only leaned into it.

“ You know me. You know my family. You have helped us win before. I’m asking that of you again,” she pleaded.

Edie’s snarl ripped through the air as she hurled her arms forward.

The wind obeyed like an unleashed beast, lashing against Sabryn’s skin in brutal strokes that left her burning and raw.

Her boots skidded on the grass, the ground sliding away beneath her.

Gritting her teeth, she dug her toes into the earth as her muscles strained.

But the gale refused to relent, shoving her backward more.

“ Sabryn !”

Her heart lurched when Kurt’s voice reached her.

Or was it a trick? Did she dare look away from Edie to find out?

Did she give her nemesis that slight advantage?

She was propelled back several feet, no longer directing the wind or influencing it.

It was now a weapon in Edie’s hands. And it intended to kill her.

“ SAbrYN !”

This time, she did look. Trick or not, she had to know if it was him.

Hair tangled in her lashes, impeding her vision, but she saw him, nonetheless.

His chest was bare, and his blond hair whipped around his head as he raised a hand to shield his face from the savage gusts.

Pale blue eyes met hers. And Diana’s words came back to her.

“ The only way you survive your power is if you have a tether. If you don’t, you will die.”

Diana had known Kurt was her anchor, but neither of them had had a chance to tell him. Sabryn hadn’t dared to hope he would revive after they’d fished him from the water. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about what life would be like without him.

And now, she didn’t have to.

Sabryn felt the explosion of wind as it feverishly whipped about her. She reached for Kurt , their fingers brushing, but the wind dragged his feet out from under him before she could grab him.

“ Kurt !” she screamed.

She spun back to Edie . Sabryn’s mistake was taking her attention off her enemy.

She brought her hands together and allowed her power to swell like wildfire.

Magic bloomed between her palms, growing fast and expanding into a pulsing mass of heat and energy.

A cry tore from her as she hurled it toward Edie .

Her foe lifted a hand to deflect it, but the force barreled through her, slamming into her and knocking her off balance. It was all the opening Sabryn needed.

She turned against the churning wind and ran.

Her heart pounded like a war drum. The stones of the spiral snagged at her feet, but she didn’t stop.

Then , finally, she gripped Kurt’s hand, solid and warm.

Relief crashed through her the moment their fingers locked.

She had him. And she wasn’t ever letting go.

They shared a smile as she helped him to his feet. A second later, the wind swirled around them and tossed them to the side to be pinned against the base of Castle Ewen .

Kurt grunted as she landed hard against his chest, his bare back crushed against the structure. The wind pushed against her back like a weight, lodging her against him.

“ Fly !” he shouted.

She wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. Sabryn attempted to ask him, but the wind snatched her words the second they left her lips.

He slowly, steadily moved his hands up her back to cradle her neck while his eyes remained locked on hers. Then he angled her head so her ear was near his mouth. “ Diana said you have to fly.”