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Rion

Rion cursed and spun around. He’d hit the wrong wall. The entire structure crumbled behind him. Talon was shoved forward, and Ellie fell from his grasp, her body bouncing across the hard floor. Rion reached out, catching the crumbling stone before it could fully bury his mate beneath the surface.

The others stopped briefly, gasping for breath as they watched him pull Arianna’s limp body from the rubble. He checked her breathing, then cradled her in his arms before taking off again. They were all nearly ready to collapse. If they didn’t find an exit soon …

He’d expected to face hell eventually, Rion just never foresaw it rising to claim him itself.

The ground rumbled, quaking, just waiting for the chance to snatch them all with its flaming grasp.

“How much further?” Talon panted.

He didn’t know, and without an answer, he could feel the collective fear pouring off them all. Everyone’s magic helped to stave off the castle itself as the walls closed in. Even Gavin had regained himself enough to help. He seemed to be keeping the air clear enough for them to breathe at least.

If they vanished from the world, would Vairik wait for another Divine, or would he destroy the continent before moving on? Was someone like him even capable of moving on?

Faster, faster, faster.

Another chunk of rock crumbled, revealing sunlight through the rubble ahead. Rion nearly cried out in relief, even as another chunk of the wall fell and hit the light from view.

Rion carved a path straight through it. He didn’t even pause to see where it led before he jumped through the opening, the others leaping right behind him.

Rion’s magic surged outward, giving them a foothold as they fell from the side of the castle. Talon’s magic did the same, slowing their decent as much as he dared. Saoirse summoned vines and trees. They raced up from the ground below, forming a steep ramp. Rion’s feet met a trunk and he struggled to match the pace of his fall.

One of the castle’s towers landed directly to their left, a large crossbow releasing a large bolt that swept directly in front of him, narrowly missing his body. Saoirse kept her magic forming, guiding them until their feet hit the rocky ground below.

No one stopped.

Burning rock surrounded them on all sides, pooling around the castle as if it were a fiery moat. Rion cringed at the heat as they closed in, but Talon was already wrapping them all in ice, covering their skin with a thin layer in an attempt to keep them cool.

Raevina seemed to be dimming the flames themselves, the rocks turning black in small patches. Rion raised the earth there, and they flew across it, wincing from the blistering heat.

The scene around them was complete chaos. Dark Fae were pouring from the crumbling castle, but without magic, their bodies disintegrated when they tried to run through the molten rock.

Good riddance. Let them suffer in hell..

More Fae were fleeing the area, each somehow knowing exactly what he did. Any second now, the entire place would explode. The castle already appeared higher and it buzzed with intense energy that demanded to be set free.

“Don’t stop,” Rion breathed.

“We know,” Ravina chided. He wondered if she felt it too.

They raced as fast as their legs could carry them. Rion felt the break, the sharp release of pressure and barely had time to wrap his magic around them all before they were shoved forward so fast he lost track of his bearings.

They tumbled and Talon’s magic joined his own, as did Saoirse’s and Zylah’s and Gavin’s and Raevina’s. All fought to keep them shielded and Rion just clung to Arianna as they slammed into rock again and again, his head spinning with each strike.