“Asleep.” Ward glanced at the men, blinking away the magic in his eyes, the colors separating, the black bleeding toward the center until pupils formed. “The magic in this realm is twisted and warped. Traveling through the portal was…taxing.”
At his ominous words, Morgan glanced around for the first time. It was like they had fallen into a dark wonderland. The trees were nothing more than skeletal branches, the trunks gnarled, the bark nearly black, and oozing—she squinted, then shuddered—what appeared to be blood. Faces appeared in the twisted wood, almost as if people had been pulled into the trunk and consumed.
The blades of grass were withered and blackened, swaying without a hint of wind. Even the birds cackled in the distance instead of chirping cheerfully. The sky was so dense with a thick haze, she couldn’t even see the Sun or Earth, the clouds a churning miasma of black, navy blue, and a sickly green. The atmosphere smelled of decay, and the sharp stench of burned chemicals hung in the air, feeling heavy and stinging her lungs with each breath. “Is that—”
“We’re near the center of the infection.” Ward stood and rummaged in his pack, offering her a bit of crusty bread.
Morgan hesitated, then grabbed it gratefully. “Why are you helping us?”
Ward glanced at the land surrounding them, his brows lowered. “This is what the realm used to be like before the gods took possession of it.”
“Not very hospitable.” She took a bite of the bread, tearing her eyes away from the forest of dead trees.
“But relatively unoccupied.” He nodded to the guys a few feet away. “You know they will not be able to help you in your quest.”
“My quest?” She resisted glancing at the guys, suddenly uncomfortable being near Ward. She lowered the hand with the food, her spine stiffening at the slight insult.
“They don’t have the magic to help you purge this infection.” An amused smile tipped his mouth briefly, as if she was a cat that had suddenly puffed up.
She didn’t like that he guessed the reason why she was in the realm, but she let the matter drop. “That’s not why they are here.”
Surprise flashed across on his face. “Then why?”
“They’re here for me.” It was as simple as that. Come hell or high water, they would always be at her side. But Ward’s questions bothered her for some reason. She felt a pull of magic between them, but wondered if the pull was only because of the time he spent in the void. “Why are you here?”
“I am a warrior, bred to guard the void.” He seemed confused by her question.
“And how did you become stuck in the void?” Kincade stood, staggering slightly, as if the gravity was stronger here. He came to stand by her side, resting his hand possessively on her shoulder, and the tension melted out of her spine at the contact.
They were alive.
Morgan reached up, squeezing his hand, ridiculously glad to see him awake.
Loki poked his head out of the folds of his still-wet shirt, then climbed the rest of the way out, his claws making Kincade wince. He gently lifted the gardog and held him out to her. Morgan took him gratefully, hugging the pup to her chest.
“Thank you.” Her voice was barely a murmur.
A grumble of displeasure rumbled in Loki’s chest as he wiggled his way free, claiming his spot on her shoulder, rubbing his head against her jaw before wrapping himself around her neck as if settling in for a long stay.
Ward watched her and Loki in silence, both curiosity and confusion in his expression. “I was betrayed by those who wanted to gain free access to the portal. The only way to achieve it was to get me out of the way.”
“Why are you following Morgan?” Aggression swarmed around Kincade, and he stepped protectively in front of her. Morgan quickly grabbed his pant leg, unwilling for him to be drawn too far away from her.
“I am here because she is the only trace of pure void magic in this realm.” He began to close his bag. “The realm is fading, the magic is being consumed by this infection. Soon everything here will revert back to the way it was if she doesn’t stop it.”
“But the people? The animals?” Morgan shook her head, remembering what the infected people and animals the elves had captured looked like. “What will happen to them?”
“They will revert back to their more primitive creature forms, what they were like before magic made them come alive. Their humanity will perish.”
Morgan blinked at the enormity of his revelation, glancing at her men, horror spiraling through her as she imagined them reverting to nothing more than a primitive beast. There had to be a way to stop the infection.
“What about the king? He—”
“Is not here. You are.” He stood, shouldering his pack. “Which means you are the last of your kind. The only one who can stop the spread of the infection. Once you die, we all die.”
Morgan swallowed hard, her gut taking an ugly twist. “Where is the king?”
“He’s the only thing holding the infection away from the city…but only if he can continue to elude his people’s assassination attempts.” The complete lack of concern in Ward’s voice made Morgan leery.
“They believe sacrificing him will save them.” She slowly rose to her feet, her muscles tightening, half expecting him to attack. “Why are you here?”
“I am here because you called and pulled me out of the void.” His expression was confused. “My job is as it has always been—to protect the gates.”
“You’re the one keeping the portals from opening.” Even as she blurted out the accusation, she knew it was true. They could leave! The students—her guys—would be out of danger. “Why? You could portal everyone to safety.”
“The infection cannot spread.” He cocked his head, still seeming confused by her anger.
“Like a failsafe.” Part of her understood his reasoning—they had no way of knowing how the infection would impact humans. “And those not infected?” Her mind flashed to MacGregor and the other students. She avoided looking at her team.
“It is too much to risk. I am here to stop the two realms from colliding. You will either save this realm or we will all die here.” His brows furrowed. “You woke me, pulled me from the void for a reason…to do my job.”
Morgan closed her eyes at the hard tone of his voice.
He didn’t enjoy the job any more than she did.
Like her, he was stuck.
Of all the stupid, stubborn, jackass, moronic things—
“Morgan.”
She hadn’t realized that she was speaking out loud, until Kincade shot her an amused glance. She heaved a sigh, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “He’s right.”
“You need to find the heart of the infection, find a way to eradicate it before there’s nothing left to save.” Ward glanced between the two of them, then lifted a brow at her. “You two need to talk. I’ll rouse the others and set up camp.” He didn’t wait, just strode away.
“Do you trust him?” Kincade kept his voice neutral.
“Not completely.” She watched him wake the others with just a touch, turning away when Ascher and Ryder began to pull on their clothes. “His purpose is to save the realm. He would sacrifice us in an instant to achieve that end.” She reached up and stroked Loki’s snout.
“He is right about one thing.” Morgan stiffened at Kincade’s hard voice. “We do need to talk. You need to understand why I’m—”
“So stubborn? Such a hard-ass?” Morgan asked innocently.
Kincade cracked a smile, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes. “I don’t enjoy pushing you.”
She raised a dubious brow.
“Much.” He conceded through gritted teeth. “I’ve lost too many people in my life. The thought of losing you is—I can’t bear it.”