Page 118 of The Dryad Storm

Tierney gasps as the distance between them contracts, her body leaving the ground, the world a momentary blur as she’s pulled toward Viger, Or’myr’s and Fyordin’s powers surging toward her, filled with resentful, protective energy.

But Viger is too strong, his eyes full Dark, which sets the hairs on the back of Tierney’s neck prickling. She slows to a halt, thigh-deep in the water beside him, and Viger motions to the base of the runic arc. Sloughing off her ire at being dragged here by his thrall, Tierney takes in the single Shadow rune he’s left amidst the blackened runes, the rune slowly rotating, like something disconnected from a larger set of gearworks.

Touch the Shadow rune and tell me what you sense, Asrai, he shivers through her mind.

Tierney gives him a narrow-eyed searching look then complies, pressing one palm to the vaporous Shadow rune.

The rune’s energy slithers over her skin, and Tierney fights the urge to recoil as a vision of the Northern Forest’s huge Ironwood Tree, III, exploding into Shadow accosts her mind, the Great Tree’s vast root network shot through with a line of gray power as a Void-abyss swirls to life in its corpse-stump.

Shock breaks through her.

“Oh, gods,” she breathes out as she wrenches her hand from the rune.

Vogel’s taken hold of the Center of Nature, Viger seethes into her mind.He’s consumed the Northern Forest’s Great Tree.

“And linked its root network to his Shadow Wand,” she realizes, dread burgeoning.

Viger bares sharp, blackened teeth at her.And now, that Shadow Wand is going to use this connection to consume all of Nature’s power.

Chapter Two

Dryad’khin Call

Elloren

Northern Dyoi Mountain Range

“Vogel’s overtaking III’s rootline network with Shadow!” I cry out to everyone under the Dyoi Forest’s dome shielding, allies and adversaries alike. “He wants to siphon up the Natural World’s remaining elemental power!”

“Do you have any sense of how we can fight him?” Yvan demands as he firms his hold on me, keeping me from falling to the ground of the mountainside ledge as my surviving Errilor Ravens let outcaws in deep tones of warning.

Meeting Yvan’s intent gaze, I open my mouth to respond, but all words are scoured away as I’m assaulted, once more, by the image of the Shadow Wand’s huge Void tree emerging from III’s smoking stump.

“Link me to the Dyoi Forest,quickly!” Hazel suddenly shrieks.

Both Yvan’s and my attention whips toward the Deathkin Dryad, our bonded fire erupting into crackling tension.

Hazel is on his knees, his huge black insectile legs splayed out around him, larger than they were before. And his mouth... it’s grotesquely widened, his teeth sharper, his full-black eyes grown terrifyingly huge as they meet mine. A chill snakes down my spine as I realize he’s surrounded by my kindred flock, as if under guard. And he’s a distance away from all my allies, as if he’s keeping himself removed to protect us.

Fromhim.

A sizzle of urgent warning from the surrounding Dyoi Forest rushes through my rootlines, the image of purple branches flashing through my mind. With a whoosh of dread, I intuit what the Forest is trying to tell me—that when we connected my Dryad’kins’ withering rootlines to the Dyoi Forest with living branches tosave their lives, we never did the same for Hazel. And now, Hazel’s connection to the Shadowed Northern Forest has opened a pathway from Vogel’s great Void tree straight into his rootlines.

Shadow mist bursts to life around Hazel’s slender frame. He lets out a multitoned screech, his back bowing, his multiple legs contracting.

“Cut the Death Fae downright now,” Vang Troi booms out from beyond the shield-wall dividing my allies and adversaries. “Vogel istaking him over!”

Before I can protest, Hazel springs up, breaks through the circle of giant ravens, and scuttles toward me in a blur, my ravens surging toward me, Hazel’s grayed legs whipping out tendrils of Shadow.

All Death Fae blackgone.

“Dryad Witch!”Hazel hisses in Vogel’s voice as Yvan springs toward him, Rafe and Wrenfir joining him, all three men tackling him to the ground. Hazel lets out a bloodcurdling shriek as they pin him to the ledge’s stone, his legs violently thrashing.

The Dyoi Forest sends a binding spell rustling through my mind as my lines gain enough power to launch spells. I level my living branch at Hazel, murmur the spell and thrust my branch forward.

Deep-purple vines blast from my branch’s tips and spear to Hazel, magically binding him as my ravens lash out ropes of their Death Fae power to reinforce my bindings, and Yvan and I exchange a quick, intense look.

Hissing and screeching, Hazel thrashes against the bindings and those holding him down, his gray eyes fixated on mine. Vogel’s snarl erupts from his throat with terrifying force.“I will impale you, Whore Witch!”

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