Page 52 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)

Chapter Forty-Seven

Kurt bit back a shout of pain as rocks dug agonizingly into his back, tiny grains burrowing into the sensitive flesh of his open wound.

His body convulsed, and he remembered the agony of when the spell had first been cast on him.

Sabryn was being crushed against him, making it impossible for him to drag air into his lungs.

He wanted to curl in on himself, shrink away from the torment.

Yet he knew this was exactly where he was supposed to be.

He had delivered Diana’s message, at least. He caught sight of Edie’s triumphant expression, as if the battle—and the war itself—were over. She didn’t notice that his friends were thrashing the Edinburgh Druids . But then again, they were expendable.

Kurt fought against the pressure of the wind and lifted his head to stare into the dark blue pools of Sabryn’s eyes. He wanted to cling to her in the hopes he might wake from this nightmare, but the only way out was through. And the only one who could get them through was the woman he loved.

“ I don’t understand,” she said, her words broken by the wailing wind.

He smoothed his thumb over her cheek near her lips. “ You will,” he told her.

Then he gripped her shoulders and spun her to face Edie .

Sabryn gasped for air as the wind seized her breath.

She tucked her head to drag more into her starved lungs while still being flattened against Kurt .

The wind was Edie’s to wield now, and she used it like the savage, aggressive weapon it could be.

The air was thick with pressure and…something else. Something dark and cruel.

Something inhuman.

Power surged and pulsed threateningly. Sabryn looked up to see Edie moving her arms as she forced the wind to obey through brute strength.

The wind responded, becoming sharper and more violent.

It whipped and thrashed, whined and hollered as it lifted shards of rock and other rubble to hurl at her and Kurt .

A scream rose in Sabryn’s throat as she fought to lift her hands, but the wind wouldn’t release her.

The first bits of rock sliced her exposed skin, leaving trails of blood in their wake.

The wind was her friend, not something to be used against her.

It was her birthright, a legacy passed through her ancestors. And she wouldn’t let them down.

Bold , dazzling magic sparked through her veins. It was wild and fierce, defiant and turbulent. It was hers but magnified by a hundred. No , a thousand. As if she had only ever had a drop of magic before, and now, the entirety of it was available to her. And it wanted to be set loose.

The sheer force of it terrified her. She didn’t know what to do with that kind of power. And she didn’t know what it would do to her .

Edie’s maniacal laughter reached her. The wind redoubled its efforts to kill both her and Kurt .

“ No !” Sabryn hollered, twisting her hands until her palms faced Edie .

Then she called to the potent magic coming to life inside her. There was a rush as it answered. Words of a spell she didn’t know spilled from her lips and formed a cocoon to block the debris but not the wind. Kurt’s hands rested on her waist. Sabryn heard Diana’s voice filling her head once more.

“…your tether.”

His hands were there to hold her, secure her.

Ground her. Because he was her anchor. It was Kurt who would keep her secured to their world so she could give herself over to the power.

The instant that realization hit, the magic slid pleasingly beneath her skin, gliding over muscle and tendons before twirling around bone.

The rich, opulent sensation was like nothing she had ever experienced. It was lush, sensual. Carnal .

Warmth suffused her, and with it, certainty. A belief in herself, in the fate that had brought her to the isle. A conviction of her place among the Skye Druids and her ancestors.

No longer was she being crushed against Kurt .

She lifted her hands to find wisps of wind curling elegantly around her fingers.

She played with them and coaxed others to her with a mere thought.

The wind coiled in her palm, and she paused as it infused her magic.

It expanded and contracted as if breathing, and she realized it was matching the rhythm of her lungs.

And if she could do that with some of the wind, she could do it with all of it.

Sabryn lifted her head and speared her foe with a look. A flash of unease flitted over Edie’s face before she heaved more wind at them. Sabryn watched it barrel toward her and Kurt . It tried to knock her to her knees, attempted to pulverize them. And it might have. But she had been prepared.

She slowly lifted her hands and released the magic-infused wind she held so it mixed with the rest. “ I know you,” she softly called.

“ We’ve danced together before, you and I .

You’ve guided me, urged me. Warned me with words no others could hear.

And I shut you out because I was scared.

But I need you now. This land and the Druids who call it home need you.

Help me, and I will never ignore you again. ”

There was a hesitation in the air as if the wind were considering her words, weighing them.

“ You say there is no wrong or right. I say you’re wrong. Your connection to my ancestors saved the isle before. I’m asking—no, I’m begging —for you to join me in doing it again. Like those who came before me. We’re destined for this.”

Together .

“ Together . Always together,” she promised.

The wind wrenched and pulled away from her, twisting above her in a long, swirling tunnel that unraveled and ripped across the landscape. Sabryn hadn’t commanded it. She had asked, and the wind had answered.

But they were far from done.

Sabryn dug deep, pulling at the rich, new magic suffusing her. Then she reached for the wind. Not for control but for connection. It was automatic, and she didn’t question it. Her magic knew what to do, and she let it take her when it needed.

Kurt could finally breathe again. The wind was no longer shoving them into the side of the monument or bellowing in his ears.

It gave him a chance to see the rest of the battlefield.

He started to release Sabryn when he saw Carlyle in trouble, but her hands came down atop his, stopping him.

He sucked in a surprised breath at the rush of wind that crackled pleasantly up his arms, over his shoulders, and around his neck before gliding down his back.

There was a connection between the three of them now. Kurt could feel the wind as if it were a living, breathing entity. He didn’t need to hear its words to understand that it had chosen a side. The air pillar had found her place.

Sabryn lifted her head and spread her arms out to her sides. The wind buffeting them was a soft and yielding caress—no longer a weapon against them but for them.

He almost believed things were over. Until he looked at Edie .

Magic poured from Sabryn and spun in a dizzying dance with the wind, mingling and intertwining until they were one. The more she gave, the stronger and more powerful the wind became. They worked in tandem, steadily becoming more potent.

But it kept asking for more. Sabryn felt as if she might blow away at any moment. Only Kurt’s hands kept her from vanishing. She tried to tell the wind that, but it refused to listen.

More .

Sabryn hesitated, unsure.

More .

“ I can’t,” she answered.

More !

Kurt’s words returned then. “ Diana said you need to fly.”

MORE .

Everything clicked into place then. Sabryn understood Diana’s message. The only way to fly was to let go and trust—just as she had asked the wind to do. Sabryn drew in a breath and gave the wind all of her magic. All of herself.

Kurt’s hands were no longer on her waist. He was directly behind her, his chest against her back, his arms held out alongside hers, anchoring her not just to Skye but also to this dimension, to her body.

To him.

It took trust that hadn’t been there before. The kind of trust Corann and the Ancients had known she would need. She wouldn’t have believed them had they told her. She was too stubborn that way. She had needed to learn it on her own.

Sabryn watched the beautiful display of wind as it curled and twisted in dazzling displays before shooting in every direction at once, directed at her enemies.

And , just like that, the battle was over.

She didn’t move as the wind returned, swirling around her and Kurt in a soft caress before dissipating.

Sabryn thought she would be exhausted after such an emotional, physical, and mental battle, but she felt rejuvenated—invigorated, even.

She looked up at the stars overhead, searching for another look at the wind, but it was gone.

For now. It would be back whenever she needed it.

They had a new bond, a connection as old as the land they fought for.

“ Is it over?” Kurt asked.

She leaned her head back against him. “ This battle. Not the war.”

“ That was…” He chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around her. “ That was fucking amazing.”

She turned in his arms. “ I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Diana . She told me I needed a tether. You .”

His brows rose on his forehead. “ That’s why you gripped my hands.”

“ She warned me that, without you, I could die.”

“ And the flying?” he asked skeptically.

Sabryn slid her hands over his chest to his neck. “ To let go and trust—you and the wind. I did, which is what the wind asked as it demanded more of my magic.”

He drew in a breath and glanced around them. “ And it took out everyone.”

“ Everyone ?” She looked over her shoulder, searching for Edie .

Kurt took her hand as they walked to the last place Edie had been seen as the others made their way over. Sabryn scanned the ground, but there was no sign of Edie .

“ You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Kurt murmured.

Something moved in the shadows. Kurt had his hands up when Chief Superintendent Boyd came stumbling into view. Her clothes were torn and dirty, and there was blood on her face.

“ She’s gone,” the chief said.

Rhona limped over, blood coating one arm. “ Who ?”

“ The blonde you were fighting against.” Anne swallowed and swayed as she gazed around her in shock. “ She vanished right before a gust of wind knocked me over.”

Carlyle grunted as he and Song leaned on each other, both covered in blood and dirt. “ We couldn’t get lucky enough to take Edie out, could we?”

“ She went up against the speur pillar and got her arse handed to her,” Finn said as he looked proudly at Sabryn . “ I will be saying I told you so for years.”

Sabryn smiled as she turned to stare at the Fairy Glen . It was hard to tell just how much damage had been done to the area in the moonlight, but the evil hadn’t succeeded in destroying it—or her. That’s what mattered.

Ariah came up beside her and squeezed her hand. “ Did you find the location of your pillar?”

“ I did,” Sabryn said and looked at the base of Castle Ewan .

The wail of sirens could be heard in the distance. They looked at each other nervously.

“ Go ,” the chief told them. “ Take care of your wounded. I’ll handle things here.”

Balladyn stepped forward. “ I can help you.”

“ So can I ,” Theo told her.

Anne nodded to Theo . “ You stay. The rest of you need to go before the others get here. It won’t look favorably for any of you to be involved in this after what happened the other morning in the village.”

“ Thank you,” Rhona said.

The chief dipped her head and turned away, Theo at her side. Sabryn watched the approaching red and blue lights flicker as Balladyn teleported them out.