Page 33 of Cursed Wolf

Stone throws himself to protect Narah, but in the same heartbeat, a thunderous roar bursts from the river. I lunge for Narah as I twist my head toward the river.

“Run!” Ragnar shouts.

A wall of water has risen from the river, towering over us, and it’s coming down fast.

Panic has me scrambling, but it smashes down on us so violently, so fast, it feels like I’ve been run down by a fucking mountain. My shouts are drowned out as my legs wash out from under me. I swoosh with the current that tosses and twists me. Flinging out my arms and legs for purchase, I try to find a way to the surface. Holding my breath, I spin out of control, losing track of what’s up and what’s down.

She’s fucking with us. The witch is distracting us!

Next thing I know, I’m hurled and spat out, hitting the ground and rolling until I whack into a tree. I groan from the pain zigzagging down my leg from where my hip struck the tree. Every inch of me is drenched, and I’m sucking air into my lungs. Eyes open, it takes me seconds to work out what the hell’s going on.

Stone got Narah in a tree, both of them perched on a branch and mostly dry, while Ragnar and I are left floundering like fish out of water.

Narah’s safe, and that’s what matters.

“What the hell!” Ragnar growls, getting up on his feet. Water has drenched the surrounding woods, dripping from the house’s roof.

Sprinting to the river, my footfalls splash the soaked ground. Kaira is lying at the bottom of the riverbed on her back, coughing up water.

My heart soars with adrenaline.

Not waiting, I hurl myself in after her and drop to my knees. Hastily, I twist her to her side, rubbing her upper back so she can throw up any water she swallowed. Water rushes over my bent legs and Kaira from farther up the mountain, so I quickly sweep her up and pray she’s not possessed.

I keep studying her face for any signs she’s taken, but she’s too busy coughing. There’s a strange innocence to her expression I haven’t seen on her face. Since I met Kaira, she’s been under Lyra’s influence, but something feels different now. I can’t explain it, but I don’t feel magic around her.

Ragnar’s at the river’s edge. Leaning down, he grabs my arm and helps me up the sloppy bank. My other hand is around Kaira.

“She looks normal,” I tell Ragnar, whose brows are pinched, scrutinizing the girl’s face. I don’t blame him since we’d already been tricked by the High Witch.

Kaira finally calms down and hiccups, whimpering Narah’s name.

Narah’s down from the tree now, Stone attached to her side and both of them staring down at her mother’s body.

Something dark curls up from the magic talisman attached to Narah’s mother’s chest, a wisp of smoke tugged away by the breeze. Everyone watches as it disperses like ashes—there one moment, then gone.

“Please tell me Lyra is dead now,” Ragnar mutters. He’s drenched, his hair plastered to his head, but he doesn’t care.

Narah’s panicked face swings in my direction, her eyes locking on Kaira at my side. With tears and a smile, she squeals as she awkwardly hurries toward her sister. She’s at my side in seconds, hugging Kaira, and I step back to give them space.

“Narah, when did this happen?” Kaira asks, touching her sister’s pregnant belly.

Narah laughs and hugs her, telling her she’ll explain everything later.

I assume Lyra has been eradicated. The heavy sting of magic no longer lingers over my skin or in the air, which I take as the best news in the fucking world. My chest clenches at the emotions curling around my heart.

Kaira’s back. I can’t help grinning, knowing it brings Narah boundless happiness.

“Stone,” I call to him, and with Ragnar, the three of us come together.

“She’s gone,” Ragnar confirms. “As far as I can tell, that wisp we saw was the wicked witch vanquished.”

“And the river bursting its banks all over us?” Ragnar queries while wringing water out of his shirt.

“Her last attempt,” Stone confirms. “But you can feel the difference. The air is lighter. She’s definitely gone.”

“Fuck, yes.” I nod. “You can see it in Kaira’s face, too.”

A beat of silence passes over us, the three of us breathing easy for a change, and it has everything to do with us being unable to believe we might have actually destroyed that fucking bitch.

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