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The gilded cage flickered and dissipated like there was no cage at all. The fae dispersed and cried out a fearsome cry, ready for battle. They picked up their weapons to fight. When I turned to Meriam to check on her, another fae kneeled next to her, weeping and shaking their head.

“She’s gone.” Her face was wet as she stared back up at me. “She’s gone.”

The thick, acrid smoke that had wrapped around Meriam had curled upward like a relentless serpent and was now gone.

It left a trail of blisters where it didn’t have time to eat the other half of her body.

Her flesh still bubbled and sizzled, the rest of her body still slowly eroding away, just like the other part of her body that had already been eaten.

My stomach churned violently, revolting against the nauseating sight and stench. My dragon let out a half-whimper, half-roar.

I failed.

“You need to go find Elena,” the winter fae ran up to me, a bloodied dagger in her hand. “The rest of the fae have this.”

The pounding in my head came back with a force and distorted my vision.

I failed. I didn’t save her in time.

“Anaki, you need to go!” The fae tapped my leg with the flattened part of her blade and brought me out of my stupor. “We’ve got it from here. They’re retreating.”

I snarled as I watched the fae who went to fight the hybrids returning. They were all wounded, bleeding. Some even coughed up blood.

But the hybrids were retreating? That’s not right.

The fae who were less injured were running into houses and pulling out their medical supplies. I didn’t want to stop to see if there were any more fae dead. My heart couldn’t take it.

My throat closed up with emotion. “They are retreating because they are going to attack the pack house. That’s the only reason they would leave. Go warn Locke.”

The winter fae eyebrows rose in surprise. “You can talk?” she squeaked. “Dragons can’t—”

“Goddess blessing. Now go,” my dragon grunted and turned away from her, ready to barrel through the forest. We stopped and turned. “What is your name again?”

She stopped mid-crouch, ready to run as well. “Nefeli.”

The wind picked up and brought a chill to my scales. When I blinked, she was gone.

The village was a cacophony of cries and wails, but nothing compared to the blood-curdling screams of my mate, which tore through the forest like a savage beast. It was a sound so chilling and raw, it seemed to rip apart the very air around us, drowning out every other noise.

My hearts broke for her as an intense emotional pain took control.

We leapt forward and followed the bond, straight for her.

Once we got closer, I could smell the saltiness of her tears, the dampness of the earth in which they fell. I scrambled closer to her once I found her, not caring if there was danger, but Scales didn’t seem to scold me either.

“Elena!”

Our voice thundered through the forest, the trees quivering under the impact of our commanding tone.

Her body, curled tightly in the fetal position, was pressed into the dirt.

With a sudden movement, she sat up and reached out desperately for me.

I swiftly gathered her into my arms, and she clambered up my neck with a frantic urgency, seeking the safety and closeness near my head.

“They took…” she sobbed, “… her. They took Abuela.” Her cries were desp erate. “She turned into me and told that fae she was me!”

Nothing of what she said made sense.

I pulled her off my neck. “Love, take some breaths. I know this is hard. Tell me. I’m here, listening.”

She took in three large breaths and stared into my eyes.

“Abuela can do more magic than we thought.” She hiccupped.

“She was protecting us. She said she was dying. She had enough manna for one more spell, to keep her promise to the goddess. She used it to protect me one more time. She made me look like her, I looked like Abuela. Then Abuela looked like me. The fae took Abuela, thinking it was me!”

Tears ran down her face. I took my claw and gently wiped them away. “But why? Why would he take you?”

Elena shook her head. “Collateral. He’s trying to stop Emm and Locke from making a pack to help rogues. If Locke makes a pack—”

“We’re stronger. We can destroy him, rise up and defeat him. Idris wants to make Earth his realm and become all-powerful. He can’t when the rogues who actually have a conscious band together and beat him.”

Elena wiped away her tears. “He knows about my father. He knows about the cartel that is after Emm, and some guy wanting to marry her? Why is he still holding a grudge like that?”

Her cries pierced the air once more, now laced with fury. She clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and her brown eyes blazed with an intense, fiery pink that seemed to burn with the heat of her rage.

Oh shit!

I pleaded, “Elena, you are going to have to calm down.”

Elena snapped her head to me and snarled. “You don’t tell a woman to calm down!” Her voice changed, darker. Her breathing picked up as she hyperventilated .

This wasn’t a case of her just being upset, but something entirely different. She was going to force a shift, just like Journey.