I’ll be right behind you, Frazer whispered.
I nodded and waited for Cai’s signal.
A hoot sounded. My insides churned.
Frazer gave me a push in the small of my back. Go.
I moved. Liora was out in front, sprinting. We were in the open now, racing down the hill, the open meadow all that stood between us and victory.
A high-pitched whistle sounded, and I knew it was them. Nipping at Liora’s heels, I risked a glimpse over my shoulder. Frazer was nowhere to be seen, but there were three fae flying, hurtling toward us. I veered right, away from Liora. If something had happened to the boys, it was up to me to distract the wild fae from going after her.
I became winded. I clutched my side, not giving the pain an inch. Refusing to let it slow me down, I kept on running.
A rustling sounded. I knew they were closing in. There was nothing else for it; I whipped around. And stopped.
The largest of the three fae was a giant with a mane of brown hair. He was stringing an arrow to his bow. The blood froze in my veins.
What the fuck? They weren’t allowed to hurt us.
They’ll try to pin you, Auntie hissed. Wait until the last second. Then, dive out the way.
She was right. The other two fae— fair-haired twins—hadn’t drawn weapons. They were swooping down low, flying straight for me.
I crouched down, readying to roll away.
Cai finally appeared from out of the forest. He was sprinting toward us, his tattooed palm outstretched.
A sickening crunch sounded. The three males slammed straight into an invisible wall of hardened air. Their shared oomph’s turned to panicked shouts, when a whirlwind blew them halfway across the meadow.
A hand suddenly gripped my elbow from behind. Instinct made me bring up my elbow.
“It’s me!” Liora yelled, blocking.
“Shit. Sorry.”
I twisted around, checking there was no damage. Nothing.
Cai reached us, waving at Liora. “Go! Keep running. Get the hair to Goldwyn. Serena—”
He glanced back to the forest. My heart stopped. Like a spear, I hurled my whole self down our thread, searching, searching.
Dead silence; only a distant echo. The bond must be weaker this far from each other. Rutting hell.
“Where is he?” I demanded.
A second of silence was a moment too long. I readied to hurtle past Cai, all reason gone.
He rushed out breathlessly, “He’s gone to help Adrianna. As soon as the whistling started, Frazer heard Tysion yelling. The rest of the pack went straight for her …” He faltered, his voice breaking.
His eyes creased over with pain. But there was no part of me caring, only panicking. “Where?” I shouted.
Cai’s jaw set hard, but his voice was steady. “He’s faster, he can get to her sooner. I told him to go help.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?” Liora asked. Anger brewed in her voice.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “He wouldn’t have gone if I’d left Serena unprotected.”
“What aren’t you saying, Cai?” Liora pressed.
His face ticked. “Frazer heard Tysion order them to use weapons. He thought it might be a trap.”
I bolted forward. Like an arrow from a bow.
Cai didn’t try to stop me. He was too busy restraining Liora.
“For moons sakes, this is what they want!” Cai shouted at her. “They want us to fail! Go give Goldwyn the hair. Report them. That’s an order!”
I didn’t hear Liora’s reply.
Lungs in a vise, my legs ate up the hill. I plunged into the forest, skidded to a halt and closed my eyes.
FRAZER!
Distant shouting. There was something, but not enough to get my bearings. He’d said the kin bond could be used to sense each other across distances. What was wrong with me? Gods damn it, why hadn’t he shown me how to use this thing?
Thready breathing sounded behind me. I spun.
It was just Cai. “Liora?” I glanced behind him.
Red hair on the horizon, headed back to camp: I felt only relief.
He bent over, wheezing. It must’ve been the strain of using magic. Cai was fitter than me by a mile. “I convinced her to find Goldwyn. Using weapons is against the rules—she can stop them.”
I nodded, distracted. Turning, my eyes swept the surrounding area. Praying …
“Can you hear his thoughts?” Cai asked, straightening.
My reply came out forced and angry. “I’ve tried. He’s too far.”
“But the kin bond—”
“Nothing’s working!”
My voice broke with a sob. Panic mounted, vast and staggering.
Cai gripped the tops of my arms and spun me around to face him. “You can do this, Serena,” he breathed.
“I can’t use the magic—you heard Maggie.”
“You won’t have to draw on your power.” He shook his head, insistent. His strong fingers bit down deeper. “Bonds have their own source of magic. But it won’t be like talking mind to mind. Fae connections are ancient, primal. They’re accessed through emotion, through feeling. Not thought. So don’t talk to him. Visualize Frazer; imagine the thread between you, and follow it to its source. Find his heart.”
It sounded like babble.
“Serena.”
“Can’t you use a spell?”
“It would take too long. You can do this.” He stepped back, and magic filled the air. Another sound barrier. “Breathe.”
Listen. Auntie ordered.
I closed my eyes and breathed in deep, visualizing his raven hair, the fine features that could cut glass, and the ever-pale skin. Our bond sparked to life in my mind, a living, breathing line of gold light connecting us. It was there, just like always, only this time threaded with red. Pulsing.
Glimpses and echoes … Tysion was bringing a sword down in a violent overhanded attack—
The images stopped. Reining in the blind panic that threatened to spill out into the world, I held the filament in my mind, and my eyes fluttered open. Beneath my feet a ribbon appeared. A trail to follow.
I was already running. “This way.”
Cai’s footsteps sounded heavy behind me, whereas mine were light, fast. Almost like racing the wind itself across the earth. And now that ribbon of light was in my center, my core, pulling me onward. Instinct guided me, molding my movements into a fluid dance. I leaped over rocks and fallen logs, and dodged trees. Sure, my breathing was shallow, but it didn’t stop me from pumping my arms and legs even harder, until the sounds of clashing steel and shouts caught my ear. I halted, unsheathing my Utem?.
Cai arrived beside me, panting. He pulled his sword free and gave a little nod. I didn’t need the bond to find Frazer now. Flying through the forest, heading toward the sounds of the fight, I rounded a bend and got a quick picture of the scene.
Adrianna faced Cole and a fae with white wings and features seemingly dusted with snow. I knew his name to be Lucian.
She fought on the ground. Her wings looked crumpled, her bag’s straps had frayed, and a spent quiver and an abandoned bow lay on the ground. It all spelled one thing—someone had been at her back. She rolled, picking up arrows embedded in the ground. Holding them crossed over her body, she slashed out as Cole and Lucian closed in. They’d both drawn their swords, but angled them low. She was to be the hostage.
Another bend revealed Tysion swinging a sword, locked in combat with my brother, who had a swollen jaw and a bleeding bite mark on his neck. My kin had nothing to defend himself; his bow was broken and scattered in pieces over the loamy earth.
A breath, forced out by contracting lungs, died on my lips, but the sight electrified my blood.
And my whole being just reacted. Exploded with a burst of singular speed and a howl to the gods.
Frazer’s eyes found me and widened in horror. I flipped my Utem? and threw it to him, hilt-first, screaming catch down the bond.
Tysion turned at the sound. I had seconds. Leaping onto his back, my legs snapped together, knees pressing deep into his spine. I seized those mighty, fierce wings and tugged.