Page 113 of Bound By Roses

Aurelia’s lips move in what could be a silent prayer, and the moment they still, so does Teagan.

“No!” Petra screams, shoving Aurelia out of the way and throwing herself down beside Teagan. Abby’s arms wrap around my neck as she cries freely into my fur.

I don’t move because this can’t just end like this. I refuse to believe that this woman who has already survived more than most wasn’t strong enough to survive this.

“She’s breathing,” Petra says suddenly, and she’s right. It’s shallow, but I hear it too. Teagan’s body is still, all but the fractional rise and fall of her chest. If I listen close enough, I can even hear her heart beating. It’s slower than it should be, but as long as it’s beating, that’s all I care about.

“She’s alive,” Abby chokes on her sob. But for how long? There’s a battle brewing beneath her skin, and the outcome is just as unknown now as it was the moment I bit her.

Before Abby can ask, she doubles over and grips at her head. Through the bond, I know immediately that it’s Ty, but there’s no image or voice flitting through her mind. It’s just a wave of overwhelming emotion that crashes into her like a violent sea battering the shore—and then it disappears as if it never existed.

Fear.

“Something’s happening!” someone shouts from behind me, echoing my thoughts. I turn my head to find Rhett breathing hard in the open doorway that separates this room from the rest of the infirmary.

“What is it?” Merrick asks, no doubt thinking this has something to do with Nuri and his unborn child.

“It’s the shadows. They’re gone.”

I leave Abby with Teagan and bolt from the room, down the hall, and up that damn staircase. There’s only one place I’ll be high enough to see over the trees to Lunae, so I run for the tower Abby and I once shared. I feel the tightness of the space around me as I clamber up the spiral staircase in this canine form, but I ignore it. I ignore the memory of my tower in Rosewood and all the time I’d spent there. I ignore the panicked beating of my heart and the difficulty breathing as I force myself to the top of this tower and the crumbling wall that overlooks the forest I once called home.

And then I get there, my heart all but stops.

Rhett was right. Void’s shadows haven’t just changed—they’re gone.

‘Our time is up,’I tell Abby through the bond.‘We’re leaving for Lunae.’

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

ABBY

Marein is in absolute chaos as word spreads of our immediate departure. I thought we were ready for this, but now I realize we’re far from it. People scramble for their weapons while arguing over who stays and who goes. This should have already been decided, and perhaps it was, but clearly not everyone was agreeable to the plan. Now that the moment has come a full week early, what should be an organized army has dissolved into a squabbling mess.

I stand with the wolves on one side of the beach. Aside from Fern trying to join, all of Quinn’s people knew their place. He’d left it up to them who would join us on this mission and who would stay behind with the Mareiners. Altogether, there are sixteen wolves at my side—not including Quinn, who I haven’t seen for some time. He’s no doubt trying to ready the other groups that have slowly been gathering a short distance down the beach.

I spot Erwyn among the sirens, though I’m a bit surprised Aurelia isn’t with him. She’s likely stayed in case we’ve got this wrong and Lunae is planning another attack on us. All we know for certain is that the shadows that have been churning aroundLunae for months are gone, and for all we know, so is Void. It’s a hard choice to leave Marein now. To rescue Arabella, as well as the innocent people of Lunae that we believe are in danger. If we’re wrong, those we leave behind will pay the price.

I feel Quinn through the bond and know he’s close. I turn towards Marein in time to see him striding through the crowd towards me. He takes my hand in his and leads me further down the beach until we come to a stop ahead of the gathering. Ahead of ourarmy.

The remaining bickering ceases as Quinn takes a step forward and raises his hands for silence. His demeanour is hard, and I know this isn’tmyQuinn. This is the Quinn he becomes when he’s wearing the mask of a general.

“This is happening a lot faster than we’d hoped,” he says, his voice carrying on the wind and demanding attention. All eyes are on him and although I stand beside him, I feel invisible in this moment. Insignificant next to the sheer power this man commands, every bit the man his father wanted him to be. “I know a lot of you are scared—and you should be. Fear is normal. It’s healthy. We fear losing the things we love. We fear losing our homes, our family, our friends. We fear losing our very lives. But that fear is what gives us strength. It gives us something our enemy doesn’t have—something worth fighting for.” He pauses, gesturing a hand wide and then catching the air with a fist before bringing it to his chest. “Find your reason and hold it close, because nothing is going to be the same from this moment forward. We’re not leaving to Lunae to fight, but you need to be ready for that possibility because wariscoming. It may not be today or even tomorrow, but this is a battle that can only end in blood.” His warm hand slips around mine.‘I’ve found my reason.’

‘And I’ve found mine.’

Murmurs of agreement erupt from the sirens as swords clank against shields and the ends of spears thump into the sand. A few of the wolves howl, and although I don’t hear them, I know many of the dragons are just as eager to summon their claws and tear them through flesh. We may not be going to Lunae to fight, but these people are more than happy to.

I wish I could say the same. I’ve had a knot in my stomach since the moment I first learned of the shadows’ sudden disappearance, and it’s only grown larger since. This is the worst timing imaginable. Teagan still hasn’t woken, and although Tess is confident she will, I’m not going to be here when she makes it through the fever. Whether or not the curse is passed to her, I’ll be in Lunae and quite, possibly fighting for my life just as she now fights for hers.

Petra will stay with her, of course, and that’s one less fighter we have on our side. Merrick is coming with us, but he’s leaving behind Dru with strict orders not to leave Nuri’s side. Knowing the dragons, they probably wish they could come with us, but there’s no way any of them will risk the unborn heir. I’m surprised Merrick isn’t staying behind himself. The distance isn’t going to be easy for him. Though, I suppose, just as Quinn said in his speech, Merrick has his reason to fight.

Quinn doesn’t have to say it for me to know that we only have minutes to say our goodbyes. Many already have, but I wanted to wait for him. It’s hard enough leaving people behind, but it’s worse knowing that there’s a very real chance that not everyone who leaves with us will make it back. Kaylee can’t see the outcome of this, and until we have Arabella, we’re essentially blind.

“I know you’re still mad at me, but—” Quinn starts to say to Tess when we reach her, but she cuts him off with a hug tight enough to know the wind out of him.

When she releases him, she turns straight to me. “You make sure you bring that fool back to me.”

I laugh in effort to break some of the tension that still very much lingers between them. “Even if I have to drag him.”

---