Page 25 of The Midnight Death Match

Serel’s face shifts at that. “They’re holding the line, but not for long. It’s stronger than the two of them.”

I look down at my hands, where my pulse thunders beneath my skin. Just when I was starting to feel like I could breathe again, the danger closes in.

But not behind. Circling.

I turn my attention to Serel. “Why me?”

Her eyes darken. “Because you woke something that was meant to stay asleep by simply existing. And now it wants to see if you can be broken. The combination of bloodlines that run through you is completely new. You could either be the downfall of everything, or the one to fix it all.”

Her words suck the breath from my lungs. My mind races as I try to process her message. The weight is almost overbearing.

Harek, whose jaw is clenched, crosses his arms like he’s holding something back. His parents and my siblings are in danger because the bloodline has a target on its back.

My bloodlines have curses that need immediate fixes, and I don’t know how to help. The thought is too much, and I collapse to the ground.

Harek helps me to my feet. “We should go.”

“We can’t.” I brush dirt from my palms, my hands shaking, and turn to Serel. “What do you need?”

She studies me. “Your presence, your power, and your willingness to act before the fracture becomes permanent.”

“I’ll do what I need to.”

“No protest? No conditions?”

“You came here for help,” I say. “But I’m not doing this for you.”

She smiles faintly. “Good. Then you might just survive.”

My mouth falls open. What have I just agreed to?

She steps back into the shadows without another word, the mist swallowing her in seconds.

The moment she vanishes, wings sound. Sapphire lands beside the clearing, her claws biting into the moss-covered stone. Einar dismounts, his expression grim. “What did I miss?”

I lift my chin. “A sage with a dire warning.”

He raises a brow. “Just what we need. Tell me more.”

I look toward the trees where Serel vanished then back to him. “Our werewolf pack is in danger, so our quest to the fae city will have to wait.”

Einar nods. “Where are we headed?”

I meet his gaze. “To save everyone I care about.”

Chapter

Eleven

I rollover and bump into something, the restricted movement waking me. My father is like a boulder, taking up half the tent between Harek and me. I don’t know what Einar’s so worried about. Harek and I aren’t very affectionate. We toe the line between friends and something more, neither wanting to ruin our lifelong companionship while imagining how good a relationship could be.

It could be better than good. It could be amazing.

It could also ruin a bond I treasure beyond measure. The last thing I want is to mess up what we have with romance.

Einar mumbles something before sitting. Hopefully, he goes back to sleep because that’s what I want to do. After talking with Serel last night, it took me forever to fall asleep. I tossed and turned, going over the conversation at least a hundred times.

Both of my bloodlines are in danger and pose threats. My father and I will be forced to fight to the death if we don’t find a loophole for the hunter’s curse. Harek’s parents and my siblings are also at risk from the “something” Serel warned us about.