Page 49

W e make good time getting to the village, a new one I’d yet to visit, and it makes me wonder how many there are.

At the very least, there are three, but I highly doubt that’s it.

Draven is counting on the fact that not everywhere can be protected at the same time.

He needs shifters to build his army, and this is the easiest way for him.

He doesn’t even do it himself, instead making his son do his dirty work.

He’s the worst kind of villain.

I hear them well before the village comes into view, and it takes everything in me to keep moving.

The memory of facing them last time hits me like a punch to the gut; the pain of the wound from the chimera was unlike anything else I’ve ever felt before.

I’ve never experienced anything that didn’t heal itself in moments, nothing enough to knock me out and keep me down for days.

That won’t ever happen again.

Serena’s voice is calming, and when I look up, I find her eyes on me as Pike continues to run toward the village. Her face is set, hard and determined. I can’t explain it, but I believe her.

This isn’t the same as the last time. This time we’re going in together, and we know what we’re up against.

Once upon a time, Serena was terrified of the chimeras too. She has her own scars from them, but she’s here with us, ready to face them, all of us together, the way it should be.

A surge of confidence fills me, and I’m not sure if it’s hers or my own, but it doesn’t matter.

I know we can do this. We can save the people of this village. We can save Ryker and Lyle. We can save this whole damn realm.

That’s the spirit! Pike shouts. I hear his excitement even through the bond as we break through the trees and into a village that’s fallen into chaos.

There are so many chimeras this time.

Easily double, if not triple, what there was the last time we faced them, yet somehow this time they aren’t as difficult to handle. I’d like to say it’s because we know what to expect and how to handle them, but that’s a lie.

It’s Serena.

Her shadows are not only super effective against the chimeras, but the way she supercharges our asses, it’s crazy. Her shadows flow from her like tentacles, making easy work of ripping them apart while also saving civilians.

I’m in awe of her; we all are.

It only gets crazier when she supercharged Blair, and instead of the fire we all expect, he shoots lightning at a chimera, blowing it to bits that fall from the sky in a grotesque rain of flesh and blood. It’s the thing of nightmares and leaves the air tasting like burning flesh.

What the fuck was that? Blair asks through the bond, and I’m not sure I’ve ever heard so much emotion in his voice, though you could never tell by his face.

I have no idea. Serena looks around at the rest of us as if hoping one of us has an answer. We don’t.

The only one who might know is Theo, but now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her since we left Ryker’s house.

Serena slides down Blair’s back, and Storm is there, ready to catch her. This fight has been like a big game of hot potato, and Serena’s the potato.

I watch their back as Storm takes Serena deeper into the village looking for villagers; her number one concern is getting everyone out safely.

We stick close, working through the village as a unit, a well-oiled machine.

It won’t last. I know it, and they know it too.

Lyle is out there somewhere, and so is—

Ryker.

I feel the pain in my chest as if it’s my own when Serena finally lays eyes on him. We all knew he would be here. Draven called him, and then the village was attacked. I don’t believe in coincidences.

It’s impossible to miss him, standing on the far side of the village on the tallest building, his purple, electric-looking shadows moving around him like those cool electric static balls we used to play with as kids.

His eyes are still white, and while his face is blank, I can see the way his eyes rake over Serena, looking for anything, even a hair, out of place.

She looks fucking fantastic, considering we’ve been fighting monsters for at least the last hour. Hell, I’d go as far as to say she looks even better than she did before. The confidence she has right now as she whoops ass and takes names changes her whole demeanor.

I’d follow this woman to the ends of the Earth already, but right now, I think she could convince the rest of the kingdom to as well.

She looks every bit the part of the queen she will someday be.

Ryker stands as still as a statue while he looks her over, finally breathing a sigh of relief once he’s sure she’s still in one piece.

The moment of peace doesn’t last long before his brows pinch and he looks off toward the west.

It feels like a warning. Serena follows his gaze, and I do the same a moment before a roar that’s both familiar and foreign shatters the air, making all of us freeze.