Page 62 of Boundless

And so it was decided.

We stayed there by the gate for a little longer, not speaking, just looking at the light, feeling the magic, looking at the statues of the dire wolf and the fae king when they were separate beings.

I wasn’t sure how to explain it, but it was the light of the ley lines that gave me strength. Gave me motivation. I was here now, wasn’t I? And I could take it one step at a time. I didn’t need to panic about what would happen with my family if I was indeed to stay here in Verenthia forever, or what would happen between Rune and I if we were both to sit on different thrones, or what would even become of us, and of Earth, if wedidn’tfind the Unseelie heir that the stars were so sure was out there.

One step a time,I thought. My panic, my anxiety was slowly fading away little by little as I looked into the piece of night sky surrounded by moving light.

That’s why I saw it the moment it happened.

It was a lightning strike—that’s the only way I could describe it. Aspiralinglightning strike that seemed to come from the very calm and very quiet sky, from the very middle of the gate, and it shot out toward us.

It came into our side of the world—exactly as fast as a lightning strike would—and I couldn’t move back in time because I was too shocked to witness the way it moved. That’s why, when something pushed me to the side, I fell, toppled over, hit the ground instantly. My body felt weightless, like it didn’t belong to me at all.

And the spiraling light slammed onto the very stone tomb I’d tried to rest against before.

The sound of it was like a mountain breaking in two.

A crack appeared on the tomb and the light that pulsated from the symbols burned brighter.

“Move!” Maera shouted and pushed me to drag myself farther away, behind the tombs.

By some miracle, I was able to get my body to obey me, even though I couldn’t breathe through the magic. It was too thick, had coated my throat, had zapped all the air out of the world when that light came, but I moved. And I got behind the second row of tombs—but not before I saw that same spiraling lightning strike moving from one plaque to the other, breaking the stone of each one it touched, lighting them up like fucking Christmas trees while the ground underneathvibratedlike someone had gripped the edges of Verenthia and was shaking it with all their might.

A hand around the back of my neck, and I was pulled behind the tomb. Maera’s wide yellow eyes were on me.

“Run,” she whispered, and in the next second, she let me go, threw her head back and howled at the dark sky while the ground shook still. She was shifting right in front of my eyes.

Clothes tore and fell to the ground. Her skin, pale and smooth, broke everywhere at once, and fur sprouted out of her while she howled away at the starless night. Her hair fell, disappeared before it hit the ground, and her bones broke and rearranged themselves as I watched in shock. This wasnevergoing to seem normal to me, no matter how many times I witnessed it. Her jaws extended, elongated, and her limbs took on a different shape, and her tail extended, her ears perked up—but her eyes remained exactly the same as that of the woman.

One second she remained motionless as she looked at me. One second, and I felt her like I was a part of her body, an extension of it. I felt the wind and the magic beyond those tombs. I felt her strength, the power that coursed through her veins.

And I heard the footsteps of the wolves that were running toward us, in the same rhythm as the earth shook.

Maera ran back where we came from, straight for the spiraling lightning strike.

Disoriented, I tried to hold on, tried to make it to my feet, to run after her, make sure she got back here where she was safe. Was shenutsto run toward that thing?! Couldn’t she see what it was doing to the tombs?

But by the time I was on my feet, the wolves had already arrived.

By the time I used one of the tombs to help me keep my balance, more than two dozen werewolves were howling and running toward the light where Maera had gone.

I wanted to follow them. I wanted to help. After all, I knew what ley lines felt like, had come all the way here through one. But the moment I let go of the cold stone and made to push my way through the wolves who were easily three times my size, I was pushed right back and thrown against the ground within seconds.

Cold grass against my cheek. The howls took over the night. The ground stopped shaking abruptly, and it felt like I’d just been thrown off a fucking roller coaster all of the sudden.

Silence for a heartbeat, before that same howl that had come out of Maera’s jaws a moment ago took over my mind.

She was alive, and more wolves were coming to join her, calmly now. Not running. That’s how I knew that whatever had happened with that gate, it was already over. They were all safe.

For now.

nineteen

Rune Kalygorn

I sat on the floor,played with the shadows etched onto the marble, considered leaving them there as a reminder, but then decided against it. There were plenty of reminders. I didn’t need the remains of a banishment ritual in my throne room. Especially since I would no longer need it.

My eyes closed. I breathed and the air went down easy.