Page 120 of Exquisite Monster

Near the hole in the earth I never wanted to see again. “All right.”

Behind us, the last sliver of sun disappeared beneath the horizon.

A silent blast of power rolled through the air like a physical blow. Endre dropped, wings struck still. Fear tore through all of us. “ENDRE.”

He caught us just before we hit the ground, swooping back up into the air, his beast shaking its head back and forth in anger.

Another blow came, but they were ready, moving to compensate as soon as they felt it.

My body felt bruised from the invisible blows, and I hadn’t even been flying. When I stuck my hand into my pocket,Varícurled around it, holding on tight.

A third blow came.

NO.

Endre cried out, the sound scratching across my mind like broken glass. He dove for the ground, landing hard. I barely slid off his back before he’d shifted, curling onto his knees with pain. “Endre?” I collapsed on the ground beside him. I touched him everywhere I could reach but found no injury. “What happened? Are you all right?”

The ground shook as my other mates landed.

I grabbed Endre’s face and pulled him to me. “What was that? Where are you hurt?”

All he did was shake his head.

He was whole. I would feel if he were in pain, and there was nothing. No injury. Only a sadness so deep I couldn’t explain it.

When I looked back at Sirrus and Zovai, their chests were heaving with breath, and they looked just as broken. Devastated. Their bonds felt dark with a despair I’d never known before.

“What’s going on?” I whispered. “Please.”

Endre finally looked at me. “Thesheyten. It’s thesheyten.”

I shook my head. “We fixed it. We healed it. We?—”

“Not that one, Princess,” Sirrus said softly.

Endre swallowed. “What just happened. What we felt…” He closed his eyes. “Each one was a stone.”

“No,” I breathed the word. “No, that can’t be. It’s not possible.”

“It is.” In my chest, I felt no trace of a lie. They knew. Endre opened his eyes, and there was nothing left but devastation. “The barrier has fallen.”

To be continued…